The Columbia Engineering Community Mourns and Remembers Doctoral Student Davide Giri

It is with tremendous grief that we write with some very difficult news for our community. Davide Giri, a PhD student in Computer Science, was killed last night while walking near 123rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue.

Davide was advised by Professor Luca Carloni and worked on architectures and system-level design methodologies for heterogeneous system-on-chip, with particular focus on hardware accelerators. He won Columbia’s Andrew P. Kosoresow Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching and Service in 2018.

Davide received his M.Phil in Computer Science from Columbia in 2020, his MSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2015, his MSc in Electronic Engineering from Politecnico di Torino in 2014, and a dual BSc in Information Technology Engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Politecnico di Milano, and Tongji University (Shanghai) in 2012.

We are in contact with his family to provide support and assistance during this difficult time.

When we lose a member of our community, we are all affected. Regardless of whether you are near or far from campus, please remember that Columbia resources are always available to provide you or your friends with support; these resources can be found below. It is especially important at terrible times like these that we all reach out to each other.

Please take care of yourself and those around you. We know that all of you join us in sending our deepest condolences to Davide’s family and friends, and we ask that you keep them in your thoughts in the days ahead.

Read President Lee Bollinger’s statement to the community here.

Interim Dean Chang spoke at the vigil for Giri on Friday, December 3, 2021.

Thank you all for being here. I know it would mean so much to Davide’s family to see this show of care and support for Davide. This is a sad and tragic event that has affected all of us deeply.

Davide was a promising young man with a full life ahead of him. Originally from Italy—from the town of Alba—he had studied at the prestigious polytechnic institute in Turin and in Shanghai, and at the University of Illinois at Chicago before coming to Columbia.

Though young, he had already accomplished so much.

He was a gifted scholar in computer science, a fantastic researcher and problem solver. He was a much admired teacher and mentor to his students, ready to help anyone in his research group or any student who needed support. He came from a wonderful family and was a son, a brother, a volunteer in his hometown community, and a friend to all who knew him. As an international student, he had become part of our Columbia family and community. He was fond of soccer and enjoyed playing with other Columbia students and faculty and members of the neighborhood community.

I know we are all confused and shaken by this news and the violence that led to it. But at times like these, we must reflect on the memories we have of Davide and how his life enriched so many.

We are grateful for our Columbia engineering and wider Columbia community—this network can be a great source of strength and consolation. We can and should support one another at this time of tremendous loss and ask for help if we need it.

Thank you again for being here. Your presence is a beautiful testament and witness to Davide’s life.