CV

General Information

Full Name Griffin James Hurt
Email griffhurt@pitt.edu
Office Address 130 N Bellefield Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15017

Education

Honors and Awards

  • 2024
    • 2023-2024 Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award for the Department of Computer Science
    • NSF GRFP
  • 2023
    • Best Capstone Talk Award, Department of Computer Science, University of Pittsburgh
    • Chancellor's Undergraduate Teaching Fellowship, Frederick Honors College, University of Pittsburgh
    • Dean's List, University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information, University of Pittsburgh

Research Experience

  • 2023 - Now
    Senior Computer Science Research Lead
    Surreality Lab, University of Pittsburgh
    • Spearheaded the development of interfaces for endovascular surgical displays, aimed at mitigating cognitive load and enhancing surgical performance through mixed reality (MR) technology.
    • Authored a proposal submission to the NSF Graduate Researcher Fellowship Program, aiming to explore mixed reality needle guidance for arterial line placement.
    • Collaborated with medical professionals to explore novel mixed reality interfaces for annotation in robot-assisted surgery, emphasizing applications for DaVinci surgical robots.
  • 2022 - 2023
    Undergraduate Research Assistant
    Department of Computer Science, University of Pittsburgh
    • Designed and built mixed reality systems software for the Microsoft HoloLens 2 to investigate the effects of different display modalities on user sentiment and task accuracy.
    • Initiated and structured a study evaluating the effects of mixed reality on cognitive load and situational awareness in split attention tasks, employing LEGO assembly as a model task.
    • Participated in lab group discussions and assisted graduate researchers with reviewing current work.
  • 2021 - 2022
    High School Research Assistant
    Zervantonakis Lab, University of Pittsburgh
    • Investigated the spatial relationship between tumor cells and fibroblasts in HER2+ breast cancer and its effects on proliferation.
    • Wrote software to increase efficiency of AI microscopy image analysis pipeline. Application has now been used to analyze almost 1 million images.
    • Studied the trade-off between speed and accuracy in classical versus random forest machine learning-based cellular image segmentation.

Teaching Experience

  • 2023 - Now
    STEM Through Games
    • 11 students
    • Design, pilot, and evaluate a game design and development program that introduces high school students to computational thinking, foundations of programming, and cross-disciplinary academic STEM research through the design and implementation of digital games.
    • Teach Unity concepts including GameObjects, C#, and Components.
    • Collect data on the efficacy of teaching computational thinking and STEM topics through game design and development.
  • Sp '24
    CS 0449: Introduction to Systems Software
    • ~20 students
    • Led recitation section teaching elements of C programming, compiling/linking, and multithreading/synchronization.
  • Fa '23
    CS 0441: Discrete Structures for Computer Science
    • ~20 students
    • Led recitation section by selecting and presenting example problems to students.
  • Sp '23 - Sp '24
    CMPINF 0010: Big Ideas in Computing and Information
    • 30 - 35 students
    • Presented lessons in lab section covering Python programming, basic data science with Pandas, Linux command line, and version control with Git.
    • Awarded Chancellor's Undergraduate Teaching Fellowship to restructure lab section curriculum to align with material covered in lecture.

Professional Experience

  • 2023
    Resident Assistant
    UPMC Hillman Academy, Pittsburgh, PA
    • Supervised a group of 8 global students during a 7-week cancer research program, ensuring a safe and enriching living environment.
    • Exhibited strong leadership skills, guiding students in navigating the challenges of the program and setting a positive example for the dormitory community.
    • Served as a point of contact for students, offering mental health support and encouraging personal growth throughout the program.
  • 2021-2022
    Student Mentor
    IC4 Project, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA (Remote)
    • Devised and taught Python programming curriculum to a cohort of international students.
    • Directed student teachers in delivering lessons and building applications.
    • Mentored student programmers with computer science projects and technical presentation skills.
    • Developed proprietary educational technology to streamline computer science distance learning.
  • 2019
    Software Intern
    Fi360, A Broadridge Company, Pittsburgh, PA
    • Assisted in the development of UI (user interface) in Vue.js for company's Stable Value product.
    • Reversed engineered C# code and wrote reports on its functionality.

Projects

  • 2022
    Schedule++
    CSCHacks, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
    • Won first prize in hackathon
    • Technologies used: JavaScript, GraphQL, CORS, AJAX, Web App Manifest
    • Developed an open source browser extension to add additional features to University of Pittsburgh's scheduling portal
    • Led a team of 3 developers
  • 2021
    UB Founders
    University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY (Remote)
    • Technologies used: React Native, Bootstrap, PHP, MySQL
    • Developed a feature-rich mobile application for both iOS and Android to deliver the university's podcast content to donors, enhancing donor engagement and promoting university initiatives.
    • Created an intuitive and user-friendly web panel utilizing, enabling seamless uploading and management of new podcast episodes by university staff.
    • Collaborated closely with university stakeholders to understand requirements, design specifications, and feedback, resulting in a tailor-made solution that met the university's specific needs and preferences.

Leadership and Service