Ming Ming Hao (GRAD), a student in the Department of Computer Science, died in the early morning on Sunday, Feb. 22. She was 29.According to an officer with the Waltham Police Department, Ming was found in her Waltham home and taken to an area hospital. She was pronounced dead a few hours later.

The same officer said foul play was not suspected, but also indicated that an official judgment about Ming's death has not yet been reached.

Ming spent two and a half years at Brandeis, working with several professors in her department as a teaching assistant. She was known as a tenacious student with artistic skill and ambitious demeanor, according to her teachers and colleagues.

"I was just so shocked," Prof. Timothy Hickey, chair of the computer science department, said last Thursday. Hickey said he was "very, very sad" after learning of Ming's death.

Ming came to Brandeis after graduating from McGill University in Montreal. According to Hickey, she took great interest in working with three-dimensional graphics and computer games. She was also known for her upbeat personality and artistic endeavors around the department.

"I really enjoyed her," Hickey said. He added that "she was very artistic" and possessed "a really nice sense of humor."

Antonella Di Lillo (GRAD), another student in the computer science department and a friend of Ming's, also expressed her sadness and "shock" at Ming's death.

"What [could I] have done differently?" Di Lillo asked about her relationship with Ming. "Could I have made a difference? What, as a department, can we do?"

Di Lillo also remembered Ming's artistry and affinity for graphics and design.

"She was very into art," Di Lillo said yesterday. "[She was] very good at painting and drawing. She was very creative and extravagant in that she wanted to get into design."

Ming completed her course requirements last December. Hickey said after completing her studies, she was waiting to receive her degree in May.

"It's really so tragic when a young woman loses her life, especially when she had finished her education and was ready to move on to the next stage of her life," he said.

As a teaching assistant, Hickey said Ming was more involved with grading than instruction. Ming worked with Hickey multiple times on his class, Introduction to Computers (COSI 2a).

"She was a really hard worker, [a] very conscientious grader," Hickey said.

Ming also worked with Hickey on several projects as part of his research group last year. Her dedication to her science extended beyond the classroom and research lab when she exhibited her academic spirit at professional events he said.

"She was a very fearless student, and she would go to conferences and raise her hand at these professional symposia," Hickey said. "She was that way in class also."

Hickey said to preserve Ming's memory, the computer science department is creating a memory book for her parents. Her parents could not be reached for comment.

The causes of Ming's death are still unknown, and both Hickey and the Department of Student Life declined to comment about the circumstances.

Assistant Dean of Student Life Rev. Nathaniel Mays said a memorial service is scheduled for Wednesday at 4 p.m. at a location to later be determined.