Blue Nucleus is an experiential learning platform created and led by GVSU's Applied Computing Institute (ACI).  Blue Nucleus is a marketplace providing comprehensive custom software development services, where project teams are a blend of professional and student developers.    With a mission to offer transformative experiential learning, the consultancy aims to integrate classroom knowledge with real-world multidisciplinary projects for all computing students. 

Jonathan Engelsma, Faculty Mentor

Jonathan Engelsma is the founding director of GVSU’s Applied Computing Institute (ACI).  ACI provides applied computing services and collaboration opportunities in cybersecurity, apps, data science, health informatics, high-performance computing, and beyond to industry partners  In addition to his leadership of ACI, Jonathan serves as a professor of computer science in the GVSU School of Computing and Information Systems, where he teaches courses in distributed systems, mobile computing, and web development.   Prior to joining the faculty at GVSU, Jonathan spent almost two decades working in the tech industry and has numerous publications and patents in mobile computing-related areas. Jonathan earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Michigan State University in 1993.

Max Mulder, Senior Developer

Max completed his BS in Computer Science at the University of Michigan and then spent a number of years working as a software developer at Amazon.  Max has a knack for coding and is always game for a tough technical challenge.  He particular enjoys mentoring less experienced developers and helping them grow.  

Rahat Rafiq, Faculty Mentor

Dr. Rafiq is currently an assistant professor in the School of Computing. His research interests mainly concentrate on social computing, data mining, cyber safety, ubiquitous computing, and distributed systems. Before joining GVSU, Rahat worked at ThoughtSpot, a startup based in Palo Alto, California, for 14 months. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was one of the co-founding members of CUCyberSafety Lab. His Ph.D. dissertation is titled “Scalable and Timely Detection of Cyberbullying in Online Social Networks.”

Richard (Brandy) Wells, Delivery Lead

With more than 20 years of experience as an Executive Product Management Leader, Brandy is focused on emerging organizations through growth-focused initiatives. Brandy has a leveraged innovative background in cross-functional team leadership, agile project management, and culture transformation. His passion is to align business strategies to reach goals through product development lifecycle, all the way to execution.

Usman Qureshi, Staff Developer

Usman has focused on fine-tuning large language models for text generation tasks, exploring cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud for hosting models, and figuring out best practices in terms of cost efficiency for language model utilization.
Usman's previous work experiences include developing innovative and user-friendly AI chat solutions for mobile applications. In addition Usman has extensive experience in web and mobile application development. He is proficient in Swift, React Native, React.js, Node.js, MongoDB, PHP, MySQL, Ruby, Python Flask, and Flutter. Usman enjoys learning new tools and frameworks and applying them to create impactful and intuitive digital experiences.

Muttaki Bismoy, Developer

Muttaki specializes in building machine learning models, with a focus on computer vision tasks such as real-time sign language detection and UAV-based disease detection in forestry. He has worked extensively with frameworks such as VueJS, Flask, and Streamlit for full-stack web development and is proficient in mobile app development using Flutter. Muttaki’s expertise also includes deep learning techniques, having developed high-accuracy models for projects funded by Michigan DNR and PRTS. His recent work includes the development of a machine learning model for detecting oak wilt with UAV imagery, which was successfully deployed for Michigan DNR. Muttaki enjoys working on impactful projects, continuously learning new technologies, and integrating them into his research and development efforts.

Aroup Dhruba, Developer

Aroup is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Applied Computer Science. With seven years of experience as a Full-stack software engineer, he has worked with various Y-Combinator, Silicon Valley, and unicorn startups. Before Blue Nucleus, he worked in identity management systems in the biggest unicorn startup in Bangladesh that aimed at ensuring financial inclusion for marginalized populations in his country.

Luis Gomez, Developer

Luis likes facing challenging technical problems and believes strongly one can learn new things every day

Natalie Kline, Developer

As a senior at Grand Valley State University, Natalie is on an ambitious path, pursuing not one, but two undergraduate degrees - one in Computer Science and the other in Oboe Performance. In parallel, she is actively working towards a Master's degree in Applied Computer Science, broadening her expertise and skill set.

Cameron Schneider, Developer

Cam completed his BS degree in computer science at GVSU in December 2023. He is now pursuing a M.S. in Applied Computer Science at GVSU, with an estimated graduation date being December of 2025.

Minh Tran, Developer

Minh Tran has over two years of hands-on experience in software and data engineering.  He enjoys backend development.   Beyond coding, Minh is passionate about unraveling complex problems and crafting innovative solutions. I'm driven by a curiosity that extends beyond technology, exploring its intersection with society and its potential for transformative change.

Mateo Vrooman, Developer

Mateo is a Senior studying computer science with interests in system level programming, web and mobile development, and machine learning. In addition to his work at the ACI, he worked for over a year at a tech startup based out of Ann Arbor called MeetYourClass INC, where he worked on a small team to build their social media platform using ReactJS, NextJS, Node, and Firebase.