CV
You can download my CV here!
Education
- Ph.D in Computer Science, Purdue University, May 2030 (expected)
- M.S. in Computer Science, Wake Forest University, GPA 3.9, May 2025
- B.S. in Applied Mathematics, Wake Forest University, 2023, GPA 3.5 Cum Laude
- Minors in Computer Science and School, Education & Society
Professional Experience
- Teaching Assistant, Department of Computer Science at Purdue University, Aug 2025 - Present
- Supported course instruction by assisting with assignments and leading discussion sessions in which I deliver lectures and guide students through course material.
- Research Assistant, Department of Computer Science at Wake Forest University, July 2023 – May 2025
- Conducted NSF-funded research under Dr. Grey Ballard, contributing to projects on tensor decompositions with applications in matrix multiplication algorithms, numerical optimization, and multidimensional data compression.
- Developed expertise in algorithm design and high-performance scientific programming systems.
- Collaborated with interdisciplinary teams of computer science and mathematics professors, enhancing interdepartmental communication and teamwork skills.
- Presented research findings at SIAM CSE25 and SIAM PP26
- Academic Tutor, Math and Stats Center at Wake Forest University, Jan 2021 – May 2025
- Provided one-on-one tutoring for 10+ undergraduate mathematics courses, from introductory to advanced levels, while refining subject expertise and communication skills; prepared thoroughly for higher-level sessions by reviewing course material in advance.
- Leveraged nearly four years of experience to mentor and support new tutors, fostering their integration into the center’s operations and promoting a collaborative environment.
- Program Ambassador, Summer Immersion Program at WFU, Winston-Salem, May 2022 – July 2022
- Guided middle and high school students through STEM career pathways and experiential learning activities while managing logistics, social media, and administrative tasks; ensured safety and engagement during on-campus and off-campus activities by demonstrating adaptability and strong leadership.
- Student Tutor, Latinx Mentoring Initiative at Latino Community Services, Aug 2019 – Dec 2020
- Tutored middle and high school Latin American students in mathematics and statistics, fostering academic achievement while building trust and mentorship through bilingual communication; created supplementary resources to support the program’s structure, ensuring long-term success and sustainability beyond my involvement.
Research Experience
In Computer Science
- Tensor Decompositions, Dr. Grey Ballard & Dr. Aditya Devarakonda, Summer 2023 – present
- Developed, implemented, and benchmarked a new algorithm for Tucker decomposition, leveraging both MATLAB and C++/MPI on NERSC’s Perlmutter supercomputer.
- Contributed to the TuckerMPI library, integrating novel improvements for handling large-scale tensor decompositions on high-performance computing systems.
- Fast Matrix Multiplication, Dr. Grey Ballard & Dr. Frank Moore, Summer 2023 – present
- Developed and implemented new numerical optimization methods for tensor decomposition to search for fast matrix multiplication algorithms with cyclic invariant structure.
- Discovered several algorithms, including both previously known ones (validating our optimization methods) and new algorithms (contributing novel insights to the field).
- Collaborating with mathematicians to explore the mathematical foundations of these algorithms, studying permutations and actions to improve efficiency and develop new variants.
- Machine Learning & Computer Vision, Dr. Paul Pauca, Fall 2022 – Spring 2023
- Developed a machine learning algorithm to identify species of palm trees in drone imagery from Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil, leveraging computer vision techniques for automated recognition.
- Contributed to environmental preservation efforts by providing valuable data to local agencies, aiding in the reduction of deforestation of endangered palm tree species.
In Education
- Latin American Education, Dr. Betina Wilkinson, Fall 2019 – Spring 2020
- Collaborated with Dr. Wilkinson and fellow tutors to investigate the educational impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on underprivileged Latin American students at Latino Community Services (LCS).
- Conducted pre-pandemic baseline assessments on academic performance and self-perception, later shifting focus to analyze the pandemic’s effects on education in communities represented by LCS.
- Educational Computer Science, Dr. Ali Sakkal, Spring 2023
- Explored the methodology and best practices of conducting research in computer science as part of a dual research project within Dr. Paul Pauca’s lab.
- Investigated the research process in computer science, including problem identification, data collection, algorithm design, and result analysis, while performing hands-on machine learning research.
- Conducted qualitative interviews with professors and postdoctoral researchers to gain insights into effective research practices and compiled findings into a comprehensive final report and presentation for the SES program
Skills
- Fluent in English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian
- Programming Languages: MATLAB, Qiskit, Julia, LaTeX/Tikz, Git
Publications
João Pinheiro, Aditya Devarakonda, and Grey Ballard. 2025. Parallel Rank-Adaptive Higher Order Orthogonal Iteration. In Proceedings of the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis (SC 25). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1800–1815. https://doi.org/10.1145/3712285.3759865
João Pinheiro. 2025. Advances in Tensor Decompositions: Fast Matrix Multiplication Algorithms and Parallel Adaptive Compression Techniques. Thesis, Department of Computer Science, Wake Forest University. http://hdl.handle.net/10339/111016
Kangning Cui, Zishan Shao, Gregory Larsen, Victor Pauca, Sarra Alqahtani, David Segurado, João Pinheiro, Manqi Wang, David Lutz, Robert Plemmons, and Miles Silman. 2024. PalmProbNet: A Probabilistic Approach to Understanding Palm Distributions in Ecuadorian Tropical Forest via Transfer Learning. In Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Southeast Conference (ACM SE 24). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 272–277. https://doi.org/10.1145/3603287.3651220
Talks & Posters
Parallel Rank-Adaptive Higher Order Orthogonal Iteration
March 06, 2026
Conference proceeding talk at Zuse Institute Berlin and Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Advances in Tensor Decompositions
April 16, 2025
Master Thesis Defense at Manchester Hall at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
Parallel Higher-Order Orthogonal Iteration for Tucker Decomposition with Rank Adaptivity
March 07, 2025
Talk at Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort-Worth, TX, USA
Searching for Cyclic Invariant Fast Matrix Multiplication Algorithms
March 04, 2024
Poster at Atrium WFBH School of Medicine at Biotech Place, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
Searching for Cyclic Invariant Fast Matrix Multiplication Algorithms
October 18, 2023
Poster at Discovery Partners Institute on 200 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL, USA
Teaching Assistantships
- Spring 2026 - CS 182 Discrete Mathematics - Dr. Wojciech Szpankowski and Dr. Sarah Sellke
- Fall 2025 - CS 314 Numerical Methods - Dr. Alex Pothen
- Spring 2025 - CS Numerical Linear Algebra - Dr. Grey Ballard
