Our research foci are two:
- We work on a computer-enhanced analysis of the Ancient Greek and Latin languages to study the Greco-Roman worlds, their culture, and societies. Our work aims at making historical research accessible and helping everyone understand the past, learn from ancient civilizations’ lived experiences, and prepare for the future from a more informed position.
- Under the aegis of the Digital Epigraphy and Archaeology Project (www.digitalepigraphy.org), we work on 3D digitization, digital preservation, dissemination, and advanced automatic analysis of historical artifacts.
Students of all disciplines contribute to different projects, acquire different skill sets, and conduct research in a multidisciplinary environment while learning to collaborate with peers with different areas of expertise.
If you would be interested in joining our team, contact Prof. Bozia (bozia@ufl.edu).
Profile of Professor Bozia 
Professor Eleni Bozia is an Associate Professor of Classics and Digital Humanities at the University of Florida. She studies linguistic and cultural diversity in Imperial Greek and Latin literature and its intersection with modern globalism. Founder of an international consortium for the digitization of historical artifacts, she promotes the collaboration between the humanities and the sciences. Bozia is also a pioneer in applying AI to the humanities and is the Founder and Head of the Data-Driven Humanities Research Group.
Bozia holds two doctoral degrees: a Ph.D. in Classical Studies (University of Florida, 2009) and a Dr. Phil. in Digital Humanities (Universität Leipzig, 2018). She is also the co-founder and serves as the Associate Director of the Digital Epigraphy and Archaeology Project, which advances the 3D preservation of artifacts with funding from American and European governmental agencies. Her work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and has been recognized with several awards, including the Young Researcher Scholarship from La Fondation Hardt in Geneva and the Mary A. Sollman Scholarship from the American Academy in Rome.
She is the author of the books Lucian and his Roman Voices: Cultural Exchanges and Conflicts in the Late Roman Empire (Routledge: New York and London, 2015) and Politics of Language: Foreign Nativeness and Identity in the Roman Empire (Bloomsbury Academics, forthcoming). She is also the co-editor of Beyond the Standards: Attic, Koine, and Atticism (Brill, forthcoming) and Multilingual literary practices in a multicultural world, from Archaic Greece to the Byzantine Empire (Brill, forthcoming). She has published widely and delivered talks on identity, otherness, and belonging in literature, digital humanities and AI, and the digital preservation of world heritage.
Professor Bozia is a TEDx speaker and a guest in the Podcast Series Beyond the Podium and Beyond the Talk TEDx UF.
Read more about Prof. Eleni Bozia here.
Team Members
| Name | Short Bio (major, minor, other interests) | Why did you join the project? What you find interesting? What you are learning (research, experience, teamwork, skills, etc.)? | Link to LinkedIn profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Stein | I am a Data Science and Math Double Major with a certificate in Machine Learning. Outside of research, I am involved in the Bob Graham Center for Public Service, and I play drumset in the Gator Pep Band. | I joined this project to improve my coding ability and work together with others who share a similar passion for the benefits of AI. This project was particularly interesting in how it melds both STEM and humanities research into one. From this research, I am improving both my programming skills as well as the ability to work effectively in a team towards a common goal. | Austin Stein's LinkedIn profile |
| Gillian Vilela | Hi! I am a fourth year political science major from New York City. Outside of this research project I have organized 5 concerts with UFSGP for artists like Brockhampton, Brett Young, Cole Swindell and others. I work with Swamp Records, a local student run record label, and I host a podcast for Rowdy Magazine. I like to read, and take long walks while listening to music. I love soccer and reading twitter threads too. | I was initially interested in this research to expand my knowledge on the uses and functions of AI, as well as the general objective of this research. I was also looking to add something different to my daily activities and challenge myself to explore. While I work on the non-technical side of this, it has been fascinating watching this research expand tremendously over the last two years. | Gillian Vilela's LinkedIn profile |
| Annie Gjineci | Hello everyone! I am a senior Information Systems and Operations Management student, additionally completing the AI Certificate at UF. I am originally from St. Petersburg, FL. Outside of research, I am involved in the business ethics case competition team, co-instructor for the introduction to business course, and president of the Florida Business Leadership Society. I also love to paint pottery and attending local concerts. | I joined this research team because I wanted to diversify my involvement at UF, while also learn about a new subject matter. I found AI in classics to be such an interesting combination of the technical side of computer engineering and the philogical side of Classics. Through this research, I am learning about the structure and process of building substantial code, I am also learning more about how humans in this era communicated and treated others based off of their beliefs. | Annie Gjineci's LinkedIn profile |
| Wavid Bowman | Major: Computer Science; Classical Studies Interests: Strategy and board games, Politics (both uf and real world), roller skating, music, cooking | I joined the project because it is at the direct intersection of my majors. Working on this project lets me apply my computer science knowledge to furthering the study of the ancient world while giving my hands-on experience with ML. Currently, I am learning how to code in languages I haven’t used to implement something I’ve only ever done in a classroom setting; hopefully later on I will learn more of the AI side of it though | Wavid Bowman's LinkedIn profile |
| Nitaicandra Stevens | I am a computer science major with a passion for machine learning and computer graphics. In my free time I enjoy 3D modeling in blender and working on personal projects. | I decided to join this project because I had prior experience with computer vision and I thought that this would be a great way to work on a unique machine learning project while expanding my skill set in nlp. | Nitaicandra Stevens |
| Rohan Prasad | I’m a sophomore computer science student with an interest in artificial intelligence and natural language processing. Outside of this project, I enjoy playing the guitar and working on personal projects | I joined the team because I’m deeply interested in machine learning and wanted to gain experience with working with others to build a practical application. In addition, my prior knowledge of greek | Rohan Prasad |
| Aidan Burrowes | I am a Freshman Computer Science major from Oviedo, FL. Outside of my classes, I love to play soccer, draw, and, of course, program. | I was very interested in joining this team because of my combined interests in linguistics and machine learning. I loved what the project was aiming to achieve, and I craved to be involved. | Aidan Burrowes |
| Aarushi Jain | I’m a freshman computer science student at UF from Tampa. I am interested in the field of aerospace, and hope to be a part of the aerospace industry one day. I love reading books, going into wikipedia rabbit holes, and listening to indie pop music! | I am extremely interested in the crossover between AI and the Humanities and how its applications could benefit us. In fact, I wrote one of my UF application essays on how I would like to see the fields of Computer Science and Literature combine to show trends in modern society that reflect novels. So when I saw this project, it seemed like the perfect project to apply my interests of Machine Learning and the Humanities, and work in a field that could potentially be groundbreaking. | Aarushi Jain |
| Zach Hracho | I am a second year Data Science Student from Tampa. However, I am considering a minor in Computer Science. Currently, I serve as a workshop coordinator for the Data Science and Informatics Institute. Outside of school, I enjoy playing pickleball, soccer, and tennis. | I stumbled across this project through the Undergraduate Research page and was fascinated by the goal that was being sought after. While I had an understanding in machine learning, I wanted to learn more about this field around computer vision and natural language processing. The team dynamic is very interesting as I enjoy working with them to accomplish an end goal. I am looking forward to the rest of the semester! | Zach Hracho |
| Lance Pollack | I am a second year Data Science student from Kingsport, TN. I plan to either minor in Business Admin. or pursue an MBA afterwards. Outside of research and school, I love playing and watching sports like soccer and football, hanging out with friends, and traveling when I get the chance. | I knew others that had participated in research and said it was something I should get involved in if possible. When I was looking at potential research projects, I happened to stumble across this one and it caught my eye immediately. It checked the box I was looking for using AI and machine learning. It also fascinated me with the combination of AI and analysis of ancient Greek and Latin texts. It was something completely new, but very exciting. I look forward to the future of the project! | Lance Pollack |
| Niloufar Saririan | I’m a third year Data Science major and Health Science minor from Upstate New York. I’m interested in pursuing a career in biostatistics. Outside of school and research I enjoy playing the cello, reading, and watching horror movies. | I joined this team because of its unique goals and my interest in the variety of fields that can have crossover with AI. The overlap between humanities and machine learning is new to me, so I’m excited to learn from this project while also improving my coding skills in the process. | |
| Melody Gu | I’m a first year Statistics Major with a Computer Science minor from Gainesville, FL. In my free time, I enjoy playing video games, crocheting, thrifting, and collecting vinyl. | I joined this team because I was interested in improving my coding skills along with being able to collaborate with others with coding, which is a real world skill I would like to develop. | Melody Gu |
| Haritha Kakani | |||
| Neema Alex Owji |
Past Team Members
| Name | Short Bio (major, minor, other interests) | Why did you join the project? What you find interesting? What you are learning (research, experience, teamwork, skills, etc.)? | Link to LinkedIn profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rayyan Merchant | Major: CS, Linguistics Interests: As a member of the UF Carillon Studio, I also regularly play the bells (carillon) in UF’s Century Tower! | I joined Dr. Bozia’s lab as I felt the research projects were unlike anything I had seen before in Computational Linguistics research. Through our research, I am learning how to apply my NLP and broader Linguistics and CS skills to the field of Classics. | Rayyan Merchant's LinkedIn profile |
| Bruno Dede Jr | Major: Digital Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Science My interests include: art, animation, ecology, and history. In my free time I like to draw and write. | I was interested in working alongside Dr. Bozia and Dr. Barmpoutis in the project because I wanted to apply skills from my engineering degree towards projects based in different subjects that I am also interested in, such as historical art programs. I am working in JavaScript and utilizing APIs such as GUI and SVG to develop software that will allow users to digitally manipulate and write on scanned artifacts. | Bruno Dede Jr's LinkedIn profile |
| Gladine Laguerre | Major: Microbiology and cell science. Minor: Health Disparities. Interests: Playing video games, reading, and doing hair. | There are various reasons as to why I joined Dr.Bozia’s project. First and foremost, to challenge myself and to expand my skill set. In the future, I would like to conduct research within the medical field, and I feel like this is a great start. Not only am I learning how to code, but the passion exhibited by Dr.Bozia for her work inspires me. Most importantly, I feel that doing this kind of work is attainable because of the chance that I was given by Dr.Bozia. Essentially, I joined this project to help towards analyzing the database and getting the XML files ready. | |
| Morgan Askeland | Majors: Computer Science, Japanese I am a sophomore and I like cooking Japanese food, drawing, and reading. | I joined the project because of my interest in linguistics and computer science and in order to obtain programming experience. I’ve found it interesting working on the intersection of Python and XML and learning to divide tasks as a team. | Morgan Askeland's LinkedIn profile |
| Caijun Qin | Major: Computer Science, Statistics Interests: Running, learning new programming skills, digital fanart | I hail from a research background in machine learning and especially NLP. I hope to gain experience with big data processing systems in the context of NLP. | Caijun Qin's LinkedIn profile |
| Breanna Hickerson | Major: Psychology Minors: Sociology and Anthropology I’m a junior at UF with an interest in cognitive neuroscience, law, and human behavior. When I’m not studying, I am a General Manager of a local restaurant. | I’m so excited to be a part of this project! I am extremely interested in inequality from a historical perspective, and I’m looking forward to getting to know the technological aspects that go into this type of project and analysis. | Breanna Hickerson's LinkedIn profile |
| Hannah Hardy | Major: Computer Science Interests: Data Science, Cooking, Yoga, Art, Music | I am all about machine learning models and AI. I was excited to join the team to see how we can apply deep learning frameworks to find historical and societal trends. | Hannah Hardy's LinkedIn profile |
| Abraham Yang | Senior at the University of Florida majoring in Computer Science. 19 years working as an analyst, consultant, and now manager at Aetna CVS Health. My main focus is business intelligence as I gather, clean, report, and analyze data for senior leadership | I joined this project to learn more about applications of machine learning algorithms to real datasets, drawing insights from the data, and making predictions using the data. I want to gain experience with the design of research experiments, and performing / testing hypotheses. | Abraham Yang's LinkedIn profile |
| Ruhi Reddy | I am a computer science major. Outside of school, I am involved in game development and playing the marimba. | I joined the team because of the project’s overlap of AI and the humanities. I hope to gain experience in machine learning and working in a team environment. | |
| Michael Rodelo | I’m majoring in Computer Science. In my free time I enjoy playing soccer. | This project caught my attention due to the unique combination of computer science/machine learning and classic literature. I joined to gain exposure to applied machine learning and experience working in a team | Michael Rodelo |
Presentations
- HiPerGator Symposium. Research Computing. University of Florida, March 2022.
- Center for Undergraduate Research. Panel Title: Research and Creativity: Research Breadth and Data Collection Methods. November 2021.
- Center for Undergraduate Research. Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences Workshop. October 2021.
- Frontiers in AI Lecture Series. University of Florida. February and September 2021.