Ria Stevens

Ria Stevens

(she/her)

PhD Candidate

Rice University

About Me

I am a fourth-year Computer Science PhD student at Rice University, advised by Dr. Maryam Aliakbarpour and Dr. Tasos Kyrillidis. My research interests lie in theoretical computer science and statistical learning theory. I am particularly interested in problems involving differential privacy. For the winter 2026 semester, I am a visiting graduate student in the Federated and Collaborative Learning program at the Simons Institute in UC Berkeley. I am also passionate about teaching and recently developed and taught a discrete math course for incoming freshmen in Rice’s CS-RESP program.

Before coming to Rice, I completed my Bachelor’s in Computer Science and Statistics at McGill University, where I was fortunate to be advised by Drs. Elliot and Courtney Paquette.

Outside of my research, I enjoy playing sports, travelling and discovering new coffee shops. I play ultimate frisbee for Torque, Rice’s women’s club team, and I previously played varsity ice hockey for the McGill Martlets.

Research Interests

Differential Privacy Theoretical Computer Science Ethics in Computer Science
Recent Publications

Authors are listed alphabetically by last name, as is the standard in theoretical computer science. Exceptions use * to indicate equal or first authorship.