Avijit Roy ’21, '25, ’26: Computer Scientist Protecting People in the Age of AI
Current Role: Data Analyst, CUNY Central; Adjunct Lecturer, Computer Science, John Jay College; Researcher
Degrees: B.S. in Computer Science and Information Security; M.S. in Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity
Advanced Certificate: Applied Digital Forensic Science (2025)
Awards: The Claude E. Hawley Memorial Award; 2026 Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Innovative Computing
Mentors: Shweta Jain, Ph.D., Professor and Department Chair, Mathematics and Computer Science, Graduate Director, MS in Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity; Vivek Sharma, Ph.D., Doctoral Lecturer
Hometown: Bangladesh; Brooklyn, NY
Career Aspiration: Computer Scientist
What was life like before John Jay?
I was born in Bangladesh and grew up in a very small town. When I was in fifth grade, my parents and I moved to a bigger city to give me access to better education. In 2010, I moved to the capital of Bangladesh to attend university, and it was there that I began volunteering on a Google project. In 2013, I attended a Google event in Indonesia. When I came back from the event, my mom gave me a folder with files in it. She said, “I talked to your uncle about your education, and he applied to colleges and universities in the U.S. on your behalf.”
I’m the first in my family to go to college. It was my parents’ lifelong dream to send me to the U.S. to go to school, and my goal is always to make my mom happy. So, I decided to leave the university in Bangladesh and come to the U.S. to attend college. I was accepted to a private university in Ohio, and earned a scholarship. I got my visa and came over as an international student at 19 years old. But within a few days of being in Ohio, I realized the university wasn’t a good fit for me. I felt so isolated. I am a people person. I love talking to others, attending events, and doing things. While the environment was nice, there was little to do. Everything closed early. It wasn’t as diverse as I’d hoped, and it was incredibly quiet. It just didn’t feel right for me.
The following week, I got on a Greyhound bus and made my way to New York City. I knew I needed to get to New York, and once there, I would figure out how to transfer to another school. After some time in New York, I ended up going to a language school to improve my English, connected with friends, and enrolled in an associate program.
Why John Jay?
After I graduated with my associate degree, I took a gap year and returned to Bangladesh. When I came back to New York, I was supposed to continue my education at another CUNY college, but they were unable to evaluate my transfer credits—two and a half years’ worth—in time for the start of the semester. Because of that, I would have to start from scratch and retake the basic Gen Ed courses, which I had already done while earning my associate degree. I was frustrated by the situation, so I talked to a friend, who suggested I try John Jay. I called the College’s Admissions office, and they put me through to the International Students Office. Within five minutes of talking to someone, I sent over all my documents. Literally the next day, I was enrolled at John Jay, my credits had transferred, and I had my I-20, so all my documents were in order. I started at John Jay as a junior.
What sparked your passion for computer science and cybersecurity?
Since childhood, I’ve wanted to be a computer scientist and earn my Ph.D. Growing up, there were a lot of cybercafés in Bangladesh. They were a popular place for young people to visit. Kids would go to the cafés to play games, access the internet, and watch movies. I would go and talk to the older people in the café, like the manager. We would talk about computers and technology, and I would ask a lot of questions. I wanted to know how things worked. They became like mentors to me. It was in the cybercafé where I learned computer networking, how to replace a DVD-ROM and CD-ROM, and how to deconstruct a computer and rebuild it from scratch. For most, the cybercafé was a place to consume media and technology, but for me, it was like a research lab. I was learning how each part of this technology worked, bit by bit. Eventually, the manager trusted me so much that he would leave me in charge of the café and let me run it in his absence.
Were there any John Jay classes that affirmed your career goals?
The class that has stayed with me most, ironically, is not a computer science class, but rather an Interdisciplinary Studies course taught by Professors Katie Gentile, Ph.D., and Vida Samuel, Ph.D. In class, we discussed how everything is connected and examined technology through a justice lens. One of the topics we talked about was smartphones. These phones need chips (cobalt) to operate. Cobalt is used in the lithium-ion batteries that power cell phones. But where is cobalt found? In mines on the continent of Africa. Who does the dangerous work of mining for the cobalt? Often, it’s children. So, in class, we were able to see the connection between our cell phones and forced child labor.
The course really pushed me to view technology from a different point of view. Yes, these computers and phones can be a nice, fancy, and necessary thing to hold in your hand or have on your desk, but what was involved in the process of creating this machine? How much hard labor was involved? What was the human impact? Those are the questions that stayed with me.
What compelled you to pursue your master’s degree and an advanced certificate?
I’ve always wanted to work in cybersecurity, so learning that John Jay had a master’s program focused on the subject really appealed to me. In the last few years, especially, I’ve seen a big push toward artificial intelligence (AI), but very little on how users will be protected. I know there will be challenges in the AI space, with people wanting to use the technology for harmful purposes. If everyone in the industry is focused on advancing AI and automation engineering, then who is working to prevent the negative outcomes of this technology? Who is proactively protecting users? The answer is someone like me. My goal is to create safe programs and safeguards to protect users and their data.
As for the advanced certificate, it was the first day of the master’s program, and Professor Jain asked to see my schedule. She suggested I take on the advanced certificate since I was already taking some of the required courses. I thought, Why not? I already liked the subject and would love to learn more about it, so it was an easy decision.
How did these programs make you a better computer scientist?
Both the master’s and advanced certificate programs helped me better understand certain aspects of computer science, computer engineering, programming, and cybersecurity. I learned the value of the chain of custody, how the information log works, and the importance of making things auditable.
The programs also made me a more ethical and privacy-conscious developer. Previously, when I developed a product or software, I would build it using a developer’s perspective. But now, when I’m building something, the first questions I ask are: Is the product supporting and securing privacy? Is it safe from hackers? Is the encryption working, and is the user’s data safe? Is the information auditable? Being a John Jay student made me care about the security and safety of the programs and technologies I am creating.
How did your John Jay mentor put you on the path to success?
Professor Jain has always understood my personality, guiding me toward greater opportunities that have expanded my skill set and deepened my knowledge in computer science, digital forensics, and cybersecurity. I remember signing up for a project, and the one I chose wasn’t challenging me as much as I’d like. I went to her, and she put me on a much larger project she was developing, which involved working with law enforcement to create a human trafficking command-and-control center.
As it was being developed, the program had issues, and it was my job to help Professor Jain fix them. It took some time. I had to relearn certain programming languages and skills. I remember losing sleep over it, which I loved because it showed I was passionate and excited by the work. Over time, we figured out the problem and had to upgrade the whole system, but it’s running.
Professor Jain was also instrumental in helping me complete my thesis. My thesis focused on perceptual hashing on digital photos. In doing the research, I was overcomplicating everything, overthinking and re-running tests, and Professor Jain intervened and said, “Stop everything and start writing. You’ve done so much, but if you keep running tests, you’ll never come to a final conclusion. Start writing. Now.” I listened. That thesis enabled me to earn the Claude E. Hawley Memorial Award for best master’s thesis—an award I’m incredibly proud of winning.
What did winning the Claude E. Hawley Memorial Award mean to you?
Winning the award was gratifying. It was validation of my work and my abilities as a researcher, and for a graduate student, getting an award for your thesis is the highest level of validation, letting me know that I’m on the right track and should continue my career path. The award gave me the green light to keep going, to keep creating and researching so that I can help others. My motto in life is that everything I do, everything I build, should be done with a human touch and with people in mind. I want my work to help support and uplift others.
How did the opportunity to teach at John Jay happen?
I asked Professor Jain if there were any teaching opportunities at John Jay. She asked if I could teach the programming language C++, and when I said yes, she asked for my resume. Three days later, I had the offer letter and then started teaching Introduction to Computing and Programming (C++).
What I love most about teaching is the ability to change a student’s mindset toward computer science and programming. I get emails from students who have taken a course with me, saying that what they learned in the classroom has changed not only their perspective on the subject but also their personal and professional lives. I teach using my real-life experiences, using analogies that students can easily understand. Like how walking from home to John Jay connects to coding and computer science knowledge. Questions are always welcome in my classroom at any given moment. Seeing my students learn makes me really happy and motivates me to continue teaching in higher ed.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I see myself continuing my education, earning my Ph.D., working in academia, and conducting research. I would love to continue working in higher ed spaces, building research-oriented tools, and teaching the next generation of computer scientists. I also hope to work on projects with my wife, Proma Roy, who is studying computer science at CUNY and is now teaching at John Jay.
Please finish this sentence: Because of John Jay…
Because of John Jay, I got to explore the human side of computer science.
