The Grubb Lab
The Grubb lab is the software engineering lab in the Department of Computer Science at Smith College. Our work focuses on goal modeling, and how stakeholders can effectively use models in collaboration. Goal models are a collection of nodes and links that represent the intentions of stakeholders and tradeoffs within the system under consideration. They can be used to make decisions in early-phase requirements engineering as well as in other contexts. The following image is an example of a goal model created in our tool BloomingLeaf, a browser-based tool developed by the lab. See below to join us. 
Lab Members
Dr. Alicia M. Grubb (Principal Investigator 2019-Present)
Alicia is from Canada and loves maple syrup and gooses (and duckies). When they are not in the lab, they can be found riding bikes or paddling a kayak on Smith College’s Paradise Pond.
Molly Daniel ‘26 (STRIDE 2022-2024, SURF 2023, NSF Funded 2024-2025)
Molly is a computer science major from Evanston, Illinois. She joined the lab in September 2022. Outside of academics, she enjoys playing hockey and video games.
Karenna Kung ‘25 (SURF 2023, NSF Funded 2023-2024, Senior Honors Thesis 2024-25)
Karenna is from Salem, Connecticut and is a Computer Science and Statistics & Data Science major. Outside of academics, they enjoy playing soccer, hiking, and Shrek the Musical.
Sonora Halili ‘25 (Volunteer Spring 2022, SURF 2022, Work Study 2022-2023, Senior Honors Thesis 2024-25)
Sonora is a Computer Science major from Elbasan, Albania. Outside the lab, she enjoys traveling, watching trashy reality TV, and trying out new coffee flavors when possible.
Sydney Weisberg ‘26 (SURF 2024, NSF Funded 2024-2025)
Sydney is a computer science major from Los Angeles, California. She enjoys crochet, performing arts, and games outside of the lab.
Kika Kovaleski ‘25 (SURF 2024, NSF Funded 2024-2025)
Kika is a computer science and history double major from Brooklyn, New York. Outside of academics, she enjoys going for walks, doing crosswords, and spending time with her dog.
Milka Carbonell Matos ‘28 (STRIDE 2024-2026)
Milka is an intended computer science major from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Outside of the lab she enjoys singing, poetry, music and cooking.
Vivian Myers ‘28 (STRIDE 2024-2026)
Vivian is a computer science major from Cleveland, Ohio. She enjoys listening to music, spending time with her cat, gardening, and playing badminton.
Moya Zouhon ‘28 (AEMES 2024-2026)
Moya plans to double major in computer science and data science. Moya enjoys running, biking, or learning guitar.
Lab Alumni and Recent Members
Yilin Lucy Wang ‘20 (SURF 2019, Senior Honors Thesis 2019-20)
Isabella Brody-Calixto ‘21 (Special Studies Fall 2020 & Spring 2021)
Ali Eshghi ‘21 (Special Studies Fall 2020 & Spring 2021)
Lauren Forando ‘21 (Work Study 2019)
Isabel Montesanto ‘21 (Senior Honors Thesis 2020-21)
Ester Zhao ‘21 (Special Studies Fall 2020 & Spring 2021)
Ella Chang ‘22 (Special Studies Fall 2020)
Sophie Crane ‘22 (Special Studies Fall 2020)
Omema Ibrahim ‘22 (SURF 2019)
Catherine Kung ‘22 (SURF 2021, NSF Funded 2021-2022)
Kate (Max) Spencer ‘22 (Volunteer 2020, SURF 2020, Special Studies Spring 2021)
Naomi Cebula ‘23J (SURF 2019, Special Studies Fall 2019)
Kathleen Hablutzel ‘23J (STRIDE 2020-2021, NSF Funded 2021-2022, NSF Funded Fall 2022)
Yesugen Baatartogtokh ‘23 (Volunteer Spring 2021, SURF 2021, NSF Funded 2021-2022, SURF 2022, Senior Honors Thesis 2022-23, Postbaccalaureate Research Affiliate 2023-2024)
Lily Diao ‘23 (SURF 2019, Special Studies Fall 2019)
Irene Foster ‘23 (SURF 2021, NSF Funded 2021-2022, SURF 2022, NSF Funded 2022-2023)
Yanning Tan ‘23 (Special Studies Fall 2020, Volunteer Spring 2021, Special Studies Fall 2021, NSF Funded Spring 2022)
Sasha Yeutseyeva ‘23 (Senior Honors Thesis 2022-23)
Xinran Bi ‘24J (SURF 2022, Special Studies 2022-23, SURF 2023)
Manar Alnazer ‘24 (SURF 2021)
Bobi Arce Mack ‘24 (Volunteer Fall 2022, NSF Funded Spring 2023)
Cyrine Ben Ayed ‘24 (Volunteer Spring 2022, NSF Funded Fall 2022, Special Studies Spring 2024)
Aline Marra ‘24 (NSF Funded Spring 2024, SURF 2024)
Thu Tran ‘24 (Volunteer Spring 2022, NSF Funded 2022-2023)
Megan Varnum ‘24 (STRIDE 2019-2021, SURF 2020, Volunteer Fall 2022, Special Studies Spring 2023)
Annie Karitonze ‘25J (Volunteer Fall 2022, Special Studies Spring 2023, SURF 2023, NSF Funded 2023-2024)
Cameron Darling ‘25 (Volunteer Fall 2023)
Christine Dong ‘25 (Volunteer Fall 2023)
Joey Elsbernd ‘25 (SURF 2022, STRIDE 2022-2023)
Anisha Jain ‘25 (STRIDE 2021-2023, SURF 2022)
Venus Nguyen ‘25 (AEMES 2021-2023, SURF 2022)
Emma Ruckle ‘25 (SURF 2023)
Caroline Zouloumian ‘25 (SURF 2023, NSF Funded 2023-2024)
Emily Kung ‘26 (STRIDE 2022-2023, SURF 2023)
Angela Chu (SURF 2021)
How to Join
We are seeking new lab members interested in both software development and requirements research. There are different ways to conduct research in the Grubb Lab (e.g., volunteer, special studies, SURF, STRIDE, AEMES, or a senior honors thesis project). Those interested in development or software engineering research should have completed or be currently enrolled in CSC210. Ideally, students interested in pursuing a Senior Honors Thesis should contact Alicia in their junior year. Interested? Contact Alicia. Not sure what to say? Review the “Recommendations for Emailing Professors” on the Research at Smith page. Want to know what it’s like? Reach out to one of our current or past members.
