Student in CSSE awarded Southern Regional Education Board Doctoral Scholars Program fellowship
Published: Sep 22, 2025 7:55 AM
By Joe McAdory
Daniel Benjamin, a doctoral student in computer science and software engineering (CSSE), is the department’s first Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Doctoral Scholars Program fellow.
The SREB Doctoral Scholars Program, an initiative aimed at increasing diversity among college and university faculty supports underrepresented doctoral students with financial aid, mentoring and professional development, helping them succeed in graduate school and transition into academic careers.
“Daniel’s selection as an SREB fellow is a proud moment for Auburn University and the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering,” said CSSE Chair Hari Narayanan. “This reflects the department’s growing national presence and its commitment to fostering inclusive excellence in computing. Daniel’s recognition through this prestigious program speaks volumes about his potential as a future leader and we're excited to see him represent our department on such a distinguished platform.”
Under the mentorship of Cheryl Seals, the Charles Barkley Endowed Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Benjamin is conducting research on hate speech detection in large language models, focusing on both explicit and implicit forms of harmful content.
Benjamin’s research portfolio demonstrates breadth across artificial intelligence, data processing and applied research. He was part of a team that developed a document summarization pipeline to support regulatory compliance for child nutrition programs, using advanced prompting strategies and large language models. His interdisciplinary approach extends to sports analytics, where he built a system to detect pitch tipping in baseball through video analysis.
Benjamin, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in software engineering from Auburn, emphasized that college “is about discipline.”
“It's learning how to manage time, learn how to communicate effectively with professors and how to use failure as a learning tool,” he said. “Auburn’s computer science program, and engineering in general, is very difficult.”
A key component of the fellowship is participation in the program’s annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring, Oct. 30-Nov. 2, in Atlanta. The conference gathers hundreds of scholars from across the nation and provides workshops, career mentoring and recruitment opportunities.
“I want to be a professor one day, and I think that this is going to be a really good experience for me to be able to go to that conference,” Benjamin said. “I look forward to networking with other scholars.”
Media Contact: , jem0040@auburn.edu, 334.844.3447
Daniel Benjamin also earned bachelor's and master's degrees in software engineering from Auburn University.
