Thomas Gardos Joins CDS

BU CDS Welcomes Thomas GardosThomas Gardos joined the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences as an Associate Professor of the Practice and the Inaugural Director of the MS in Data Science Program (MSDS) in October 2023.

As a 30-year career veteran with Intel, Thomas worked in both research and in engineering roles. Most recently, he led a computer vision and computational photography research and development team, developing deep learning applications and algorithm specifications for ultra-low-power computer vision chips. When talking about his new role, Thomas said he is looking forward to applying his industry and research-driven knowledge to the MSDS program and to the classroom.

“I’m excited at the prospect of evolving existing curricula and developing new courses in data science and helping students progress in their academic and career trajectories,” he said.

Previously at Intel, Thomas led Intel’s video compression technology algorithm team and represented Intel at the ISO Motion Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) and ITU-T video experts’ group. Thomas sponsored academic research grants at Intel and was Intel’s Researcher-in-Residence at the MIT Media Lab. Thomas has been an adjunct lecturer at Oregon and Portland State Universities and most recently in Boston University’s Spark! Program.

“Thomas brings exceptional experience to CDS given his 30-year career at Intel,” said Azer Bestavros, Associate Provost for BU Computing & Data Sciences. “His industry knowledge and expertise will amplify our CDS mission, and we look forward to the positive impact he will continue to have on Boston University and our data science students.”

No stranger to CDS, Thomas has served as part-time co-instructor for the immensely popular Spark! Machine Learning Practicum course (DS-549), which he will continue to co-teach along with other courses supporting our MS program.

“I’m looking forward to applying machine learning to data-rich problems in other disciplines in fair and ethical ways, especially those pertaining to environment and sustainability,” Thomas said. “Often the most compelling innovations come at the intersection of disciplines and CDS is uniquely positioned to pursue those.”

Thomas received his master’s and PhD in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, in the concentration of Digital Signal and Image Processing, and his BSEE with Thesis from the University of Delaware. In his free time, he enjoys wing foiling, distance swimming, and Nordic skiing.