Blending Worlds: How 3D Drawing Promotes Observation and Discovery
CS&E Alumnus Jeff Dean Returns to Campus for Commencement
Professor Maria Gini earned the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring from President Joe Biden
Regents Professor Vipin Kumar Wins IEEE Computer Society Taylor L. Booth Education Award
Table of Contents
Letter from Dept. Head
Page 2
New Faculty Hires
Page 3
Blending Worlds: How
3D Drawing Promotes
Observation and Discovery
Page 4-9
Top Department News
Page 10-13
Faculty News
Page 14-17
Alumni & Student
Spotlight
Page 18-21
Invest in Computing
Page 22
CS&E Donor
Recognition
Page 23
Letter from Dept. Head Loren Terveen
Welcome back! As the newly appointed department head of the Department of Computer Science & Engineering, I will continue working to achieve the goals of our 2030 strategic plan, aggressively expanding our research program, and updating our educational offerings to integrate AI knowledge and skills at all levels. Over the past year, our very own Maria Gini was honored with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring by President Joe Biden. We also welcomed distinguished alumnus Jeff Dean back to campus as the College’s commencement speaker. Additionally, we added three new tenure-track faculty and four teaching faculty to our team. This summer, our humancentered computing and visual computing faculty moved into the newly renovated space in Shepherd Hall, ushering in an era of deeper collaboration and interdisciplinary efforts. Thanks to the many generous individuals and organizations who have invested in our future over the years, we have continued to grow and thrive as the world around us changes.
Alexi Brooks
Assistant Teaching Professor
Computing Education
Liia Butler
Assistant Teaching Professor
Computing Education
Adriana Picoral
Assistant Teaching Professor
Computing Education
Alexander Spangher
Assistant Professor
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (starting in 2026)
New Faculty Hires
Zhangyu Guan
Associate Professor
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
Zihan Tan
Assistant Professor
Computing Foundations
Joy Upton Azzam
Assistant Teaching Professor
Computing Education
Blending Worlds: How 3D Drawing Promotes Observation and Discovery
The highest bandwidth input into the human brain is the visual system, so how can we leverage this powerful, innate human capability to interface with computers and data? And better yet, how can we build computer programs that help us better observe and interpret the world around us? For Professor Daniel F. Keefe, the answer to blending these two worlds lies at the intersection of art and virtual reality (VR).
“In my life, there are certain things I have learned over the years that change the way I look at the world,” Keefe said. “Learning to draw and learning about physics have both had that impact. It makes you revisit the world and understand it in a different way. Drawing from real-world observation is one of the most fundamental forms of human creativity and is a special process.”
CS&E Ph.D. student Kiet Tran, who is also an artist, demonstrates how 3D drawing in virtual spaces becomes a tool for studying a subject when you can see through the headset to carefully observe the real world around you.
A world-renowned researcher in visual computing, Keefe has been exploring how three-dimensional (3D) drawing in a virtual space can aid observation and discovery since his days as an undergraduate at Tufts University in the late 1990s. A self-proclaimed undercover artist in the engineering program, Keefe made a point to take as many art classes as he could while pursuing his degree in computer engineering, which eventually led him to the world of VR and computer graphics during a summer program with NASA. After discovering his fascination with visual computing, Keefe went on to pursue his PhD at Brown University, which was conveniently situated near the Rhode Island School of Design.
“One of the very first projects that I did during my PhD program was a small group project on 3D painting in virtual reality. That project ended up being my first ever research publication on a system called CavePainting, which is the precursor to my current
work. That paper came out in 2001, so this work has been going on for almost 25 years. I did my dissertation on this topic and have used 3D painting as a tool in many different applications.”
Since planting those roots, much of Keefe’s research has focused on bringing art into virtual spaces in a meaningful way.
“The biggest thing that VR can add to the traditional practice of drawing is the third dimension. What we can create in VR has the immediacy of working with a paper and pencil, but you can work off the page and situate it into a space. You can scale and inhabit your creations in a true 3D space. It gives you a way to move the power of a sketch pad into your environment. Once you include observation in these tools, you can situate your creations in the real, physical world.”
As a fundamental form of human creativity and inquiry, the practice of drawing from real-world observation has opened the doors to scientific discoveries for tens of thousands of years. In order to draw, an artist must first learn to observe, making drawing a fundamental practice of studying and interpreting a subject. Blending this practice into a VR environment provides important tools for more impactful observation as the user can fully immerse themselves in their creations.
What if a surgeon could more deeply explore their patient’s anatomy in a virtual space to plan their next move during a procedure? Or if a field scientist could place their field notes and sketches into their physical space to get a more accurate representation of their
What we can create in VR has the immediacy of working with a paper and pencil, but you can work off the page and situate it into a space. You can scale and inhabit your creations in a true 3D space. It gives you a way to move the power of a sketch pad into your environment.
Currently a CS PhD student, Walter Sands, demonstrates the capstone project from his recently completed MS in Data Science. Walter’s mixed reality system, “Drawing in the Flow”, makes it possible to sketch accurate 3D visualizations of complex fluid flow datasets studied by scientists and engineers. Walter will present the work at IEEE VIS 2025.
environment? 3D drawing presents endless opportunities and applications that could improve how humans interpret and learn from the world around them. However, most VR applications fall short when blending the real world and virtual spaces, completely removing users from their physical surroundings.
“Currently, we do not use VR tools in a way that meets their potential. If you go online and you search for examples of what people have done with Google Tilt Brush and tools of that nature, you find a lot of very quick sketches that look like
doodles and cartoons. When people move into VR headsets to do a creative task like drawing, they are shutting out the real world, so all that is left to draw are things that come from your imagination. I want to expand the opportunities in this space and use drawing as a mode of study and observation.”
In order to bridge this gap, Keefe is advancing the underlying software that enables 3D drawing, while simultaneously exploring the best ways to teach students how to make realworld observations in a virtual space effectively. Now in the second year of a $600K grant from the National Science Foundation, Keefe’s latest 3D drawing project is a collaboration between his team at the University of Minnesota and Macalester College’s Associate Professor Bret Jackson, who earned his PhD from the UMN in 2014 with Keefe as an advisor.
On the technological side, the team has developed a technique called 3D sighting, which draws inspiration from the tools and techniques arists learn to better observe the world. If you want to draw a human figure with correct proportions, then
When people move into VR headsets to do a creative task like drawing, they are shutting out the real world, so all that is left to draw are things that come from your imagination. I want to expand the opportunities in this space and use drawing as a mode of study and observation.
it helps to know how tall the torso or the legs are relative to the head. You can learn to measure this visually, from a distance, by looking carefully at a human. First, close one eye and hold a pencil vertically at arm’s length, then align the tip of the pencil with the top of the head and move your thumb along the pencil until it lines up with the chin. The distance between the tip of the pencil and your thumb is now equivalent to “1 head”. Keeping your thumb in place and your arm at the same distance from your eye, you can now move the pencil to align with other parts of the body. If your subject is an adult, you will probably find that they are about 7 to 7.5 “heads” tall. Keefe’s team has been working to reimagine this technique as a novel human-computer interaction in their mixed reality software using 3D trackers to line up points of interest from multiple angles. This technique is one of many Keefe is putting into practice with a semester-long interdisciplinary course on 3D drawing.
Students in the computer science and data science graduate programs paddle a virtual canoe at Bdote, the sacred Dakota site at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers, while learning traditional star, water, and canoe knowledge from Keefe’s long-term research collaborator, Dakota elder and ethnoastronomer, Jim Rock.
“This spring, we taught an interdisciplinary class on 3D drawing that was a joint effort between the Department of Computer Science & Engineering (CS&E) and the Department of Art at the University of Minnesota. It was the first full-semester course on 3D drawing in the world. This course is explicitly integrated with our research, so students are getting the most recent tech developments in real time as we create them. We also put some of that curriculum out online so it is publicly available for others to replicate, and we will continue to add to that course and make it better.”
The Visual Computing Group’s 4-wall VR Cave is one of many exciting human-centered computing research instruments to move to the group’s new home in the renovated Shepherd Labs building.
The philosophy of putting theory into practice is central to visual computing and the larger human-centered computing group at the University of Minnesota. By testing software in real-time with students, Keefe has the opportunity to optimize 3D drawing for human use, ensuring this technology will have uses and applications that touch multiple domains in the real world.
“Ultimately, what we are interested in is the user being able to apply their own interpretation to something they see in the real world. As a human-centered project, we are not so interested in creating the perfect model; we want the human to be involved with what they are seeing. That is what will help us bring virtual drawing to the next level.”
Interdisciplinary collaboration is at the heart of this project and central to visual computing as a whole. The 3D seminar was hosted in the Art Technology and Science (ArTeS) studio, an initiative co-founded by Keefe and Professor Diane Willow in the Department of Art. Willow played a key role in the seminar and helped bring an artist’s perspective to the curriculum and VR techniques. The course itself had student representatives from four different colleges across the University of Minnesota, which was ranked the No. 1 public University in the Times Higher Education’s Interdisciplinary Science Ranking.
“When I think of why I came to UMN, it was because of people like Victoria Interrante (CS&E Professor and Director of Graduate Studies for Cognitive Science) who proved that you can collaborate across disciplines and colleges in the University. There are a number of art and design schools across the country, but it is more rare to have those types of programs at an R1 university. We have a great set up and we can work with colleagues in those art and creative spaces. You have to really be committed to interdisciplinary collaboration and recognize that it is necessary for this type of work to succeed.”
This interdisciplinary work is getting a boost this fall as the Shepherd Labs building on the east bank of campus reopens with a new look and new tenants. In addition to the existing spaces for the Minnesota Robotics Institute, two floors have been redesigned into
a more collaborative space that houses the entire human-centered computing branch of the department, including visual computing faculty as well as members of the GroupLens Research Lab. Previously spread across multiple buildings on campus, this new space will open the doors for collaborations across disciplines within computer science and beyond.
“This move to Shepherd Labs is so incredible, because we are getting closer ties to the robotics group, as well as the other human-centered computing folks in GroupLens. Having that kind of interdisciplinary and interconnected expertise within shouting distance is really special and one-of-a-kind. It is really a humancentered, interactive group that crosses a number of computer science disciplines. We collectively have the ability to mix the physical and the virtual in this new research space, which will position us well for future research endeavors.”
One such endeavor is a blossoming collaboration between Keefe and CS&E Assistant Professor Karthik Desingh, who specializes in robotics. While Keefe focuses on aiding real-world observation within a virtual environment, Desingh is working to improve how robots observe their surroundings.
“Karthik and I are working on similar problems. He works with Spot the robot dog to observe physical surroundings in order to walk around to engage with a space. Directing the robot around the room
is not so different from guiding an artist around a subject. It is a parallel construction that we are trying to build upon with some of our students. It really ties back to the bigger picture vision of enhancing observation of real and virtual spaces.”
Whether it is with a VR headset or a robot, CS&E researchers are committed to exploring how humancomputer interactions can facilitate discovery and improve how we move in the world.
“Our project is about drawing, but it really looks at a bigger question: how do humans work creatively with computers in the future? Drawing is an awesome use-case to study how to move between the physical and digital world and intermix human and computer insights. We want to bring all of these aspects together and do something with it to create something tangible.”
Learn more about visual computing and the renovation of Shepherd Labs at z.umn.edu/visualcomputing.
CS&E Alumnus Jeff Dean Returns to Campus for Commencement
(l-r) Jeff Dean, Nhi Dang, and Vipin Kumar pose together following Dean’s special CS&E seminar. Dang is a former Hopper-Dean scholar, CS&E tutor, and 2025 graduate.
Department of Computer Science & Engineering (CS&E) alumnus
Jeff Dean (CSci, ‘90) returned to the University of Minnesota this spring for a number of celebratory graduation events. Dean is Google’s Chief Scientist, focusing on AI advances for Google DeepMind and Google Research. His visit to campus included a special seminar for current CS&E students, a speech during the 50 year reunion luncheon, and the keynote address at the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) Undergraduate Commencement.
Every seat in the largest lecture theater in Keller Hall was filled for Dean’s special seminar, titled, “Modern Advances in Machine Learning and What Will They Enable?” He shared insights on the convergence of algorithmic research advances and large-scale computing systems that have enabled the rise of modern AI.
“Jeff’s journey from a student in Keller Hall to a global leader in artificial intelligence is a remarkable story that continues to inspire our students, faculty, and alumni alike,” said Vipin Kumar, Regents Professor and William Norris Chair. “Widely recognized as one of the most influential figures in computer science today, his pioneering contributions to AI are transforming virtually every aspect of modern life. It was truly special for our community to hear firsthand from someone whose impact on the field has been nothing short of transformative.”
Following the lecture, Dean met with a number of CS&E faculty members to discuss their current research at the Graduate Hotel’s Beacon Public House. Later that afternoon, Dean gave a speech at Huntington Bank Stadium for UMN alumni celebrating their 50th reunion. His presentation featured a comparison of the capabilities of computers in 2015 versus today, which served as a powerful illustration of an ever-evolving industry.
Dean capped his return to campus by delivering the keynote address at CSE Undergraduate Commencement in 3M Arena at Mariucci, where he discussed his time at the University, including memories
as Goldy Gopher, meeting his wife, Heidi Hopper, and key lessons he has learned throughout his academic and professional career.
“In 1999, I joined Google when we were about 20 people all wedged above what is now a T-Mobile store in downtown Palo Alto, California,” Dean said. “One of the beautiful things about software is that a small group of people can build things that have an enormous impact on the world. Technology can be a force for good in the world. It is important to recognize that not all uses of technology are beneficial, and it is important to be thoughtful about how we choose to use our time and what we work on … Work hard on things that matter to you, and you will have success.”
Dean now serves as Google’s Chief Scientist, focusing on AI advances for Google DeepMind and Google Research. He is a co-lead of the Gemini project, and his areas of focus include machine learning and AI, and applications of AI to problems that help billions of people in societally beneficial ways. His work has been integral to many generations of Google’s search engine, its initial ad serving system, distributed computing infrastructure such as BigTable and MapReduce, Google’s TPU machine learning hardware, the Tensorflow open-source machine learning system, and Gemini multimodal models, among many other things.
Dean received a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Washington and a BS in Computer Science & Economics from the University of Minnesota, summa cum laude. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and a winner of the 2012 ACM Prize in Computing and the 2021 IEEE John von Neumann medal.
Jeff Dean poses with a group of CS&E faculty during a networking lunch during his visit.
Jeff Dean conducts a special lecture to a packed classroom of CS&E students and faculty.
White House Honors Maria Gini with Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring
Department of Computer Science & Engineering (CS&E) Professor Maria Gini has earned the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) from President Joe Biden. Gini is one of 25 mentors from across the nation to receive the nation’s highest award for science and mathematics mentors, which highlights the vital role that America’s teachers and mentors play in shaping the next generation of technical leaders, including scientists, engineers, explorers and innovators.
“Maria’s impact on diversity in computing has been invaluable to our department and the entire field,” said Mats Heimdahl, professor and former CS&E department head. “She is a force of nature, and we are eternally grateful for her efforts.”
Established by Congress in 1995, the PAESMEM has honored the hard work and dedication mentors exhibit in broadening participation in STEM pathways. This award honors individuals and organizations that have demonstrated excellence in mentoring individuals from groups that are
underrepresented in STEM education and the workforce. Colleagues, administrators, and students nominate individuals and organizations for exemplary mentoring sustained over a minimum of five years.
“Receiving this incredibly prestigious award will reinforce confidence in myself and will give me renewed energy to continue mentoring students and junior colleagues,” said Gini. “This award really should go to all the people who supported me, inspiring me to share what I learned from them and to continue learning from my mentees.”
She is a force of nature, and we are eternally grateful for her efforts.
Department of Computer Science & Engineering (CS&E)
Regents Professor Vipin Kumar has been awarded the 2025 IEEE Computer Society Taylor L. Booth Education Award. Kumar was selected for his contributions to computational science and engineering through his foundational textbooks, outstanding mentoring, and exceptional scientific leadership.
Vipin Kumar Wins IEEE Computer Society Taylor L. Booth Education Award
Kumar is world-renowned for his research in artificial intelligence, data science, and high-performance computing. He has played a pioneering role in bringing “big data” and earth sciences together to address one of the grand challenges of our time—understanding the impact of human-induced changes on the Earth and its environment. Textbooks co-authored by him, titled “Introduction to Parallel Computing” and “Introduction to Data Mining,” are used worldwide and have played a defining educational role in two major areas in computer science.
“Vipin is an outstanding mentor to students at all levels,” said Mats Heimdahl, professor and former CS&E department head. “His former students have gone on to highly successful careers in academia and industry.”
Kumar’s notable mentees include Jeff Dean, Google’s Chief Scientist and member of the National Academy of Engineering, who recently endowed a $500,000 scholarship fund honoring Dr. Vipin Kumar to support undergraduate students at the University of Minnesota.
The Taylor L. Booth Education Award is given to individuals who have an outstanding record in computer science and engineering education. The award consists of a bronze medal and $5,000 honorarium.
Suma Rosenberg Elected to IEEE VGTC Virtual Reality Academy
Associate Professor Evan Suma Rosenberg has been elected to the IEEE VGTC Virtual Reality Academy. The academy was established in 2022 to recognize and honor the accomplishments of the leaders in the fields of virtual and mixed reality. Suma Rosenberg is a longtime member of the IEEE VR community, and has served multiple leadership roles, including General Chair of the conference in 2017, hosting the event at their previous institution in Los Angeles.
Mokbel’s Group Wins 2025 IEEE ICDE 10-Year Influential Paper Award
Distinguished McKnight University
Professor Mohamed Mokbel’s research group earned the 10-Year Influential Paper Award for their original paper, titled “SpatialHadoop: A MapReduce Framework for Spatial Data,” which was published at the 2015 IEEE ICDE conference. CS&E alumnus Ahmed Eldawy (PhD, 2016) is the primary author on the paper and is now an associate professor at University of California Riverside.
Fazzini’s Software Engineering Lab Earns IEEE TCSE Distinguished Paper Award
PhD student Mengzhen Li earned the Distinguished Paper Award for her publication titled, “Automatically Removing Unnecessary Stubbings from Test Suites.” Li is advised by Assistant Professor Mattia Fazzini. Their work was presented at the 2024 conference in Toronto, and was also featured in the IEEE Software Practitioner’s Digest. Li created an algorithm that is able to identify and safely resolve the unnecessary code from test suites.
Varatharajah’s Work Enables AI to Pinpoint Signs of Dementia in EEGs
Assistant Professor Yoga Varatharajah is leveraging AI and machine learning to analyze electroencephalogram (EEG) tests more efficiently. In a partnership with the Mayo Clinic, Varatharajah’s work has led neurologists to find early signs of dementia among the data analyzed in the EEGs. This is a first of its kind study that looks at EEGs in the context of dementia based on the findings of Varatharjah’s quantitative methods.
Myers Leverages CRISPR Technology in First-of-its-Kind Systematic Mapping Project
Professor Chad Myers has been working on decoding the complex network of genomic data for over a decade. His lab focuses on understanding gene function and leverages computational biology to make inferences about biological networks. Using CRISPR technology, the Myers Lab is able to conduct large-scale genetic screens in a controlled setting. The experimental and computational methods developed throughout the project will have lasting impacts on a broad range of genomic research efforts.
Ramadan Earns UMN Provost’s Unit Service Award
Lecturer and Research Associate Eman Ramadan earned the University of Minnesota Provost’s Unit Service Award for her countless service contributions to the department. In particular, Eman was nominated for her efforts to promote and increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in the department and beyond. In 2023, she also earned the CSE Postdoctoral Award for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership.
Sun Earns McKnight Land-Grant
Professorship for AI Work
Assistant Professor Ju Sun has earned the McKnight Land-Grant Professorship for his foundational and applied work in AI. The two-year, $50K program aims to advance the careers of new assistant professors at a crucial point in their professional lives. Sun is the founder of the GLOVEX lab, which works at the intersection of machine learning, numerical optimization, computer vision, and data science.
Professor Maria Gini earned the Donald E. Walker Distinguished Service Award for her substantial contributions, as well as her extensive service to the field of AI throughout her career. Gini has been involved with IJCAI for over 15 years and established a number of initiatives that are still in practice today. She served as an IJCAI trustee from 2018-23 and was the general chair for IJCAI 2021.
Karypis Received 2025 ACM SIGKDD Innovation Award
Distinguished McKnight University Professor George Karypis was honored for his pioneering work in graph partitioning, recommendation systems, and scalable algorithms for data mining and machine learning - work that is both foundational and has had tremendous real-world impact. He has been involved in the KDD community since the conference began and has held a number of leadership positions, including the PC chair for the technical program in 2019.
Gini Wins IJCAI Donald E. Walker
Distinguished Service Award
PhD Student Anna Yue Earns Distinguished Paper Award at PPoPP Conference
PhD student Anna Yue earned the Distinguished Paper Award for her paper titled, “EVeREST: An Effective and Versatile Runtime Energy Saving Tool for GPUs.” In collaboration with Professor Pen-Chung Yew and University of Minnesota alumnus Sanyam Mehta (2014, PhD), Yue created a tool that dynamically identifies opportunities to save power and energy at runtime without compromising performance.
Lab Wins Best Paper Award at IEEE VR 2025
Kuang Lab Wins Outstanding Student Paper Award at ISMB Conference
PhD student Charlie Broadbent won the Ian Lawson Van Toch Memorial Award for Outstanding Student Paper. His paper titled, “Deciphering High-order Structures in Spatial Transcriptomes with Graph-guided Tucker Decomposition” was co-authored by lab mate Tianci Song and their advisor, Professor Rui Kuang. The paper focuses on the development of a high-order factorization method for spatial transcriptomics that finds a compressed representation of gene activities in the spatial context of a micro-environment among cells.
PhD student Tongyu Nie earned the Best Paper Award for their paper titled, “Peripheral Teleportation: A Rest Frame Design to Mitigate Cybersickness During Virtual Locomotion.” Nie is advised by Associate Professor Evan Suma Rosenberg. Nie proposed a new technique to combat cyber sickness called peripheral teleportation, which replaces the black screen peripheral view with two stationary cameras in the virtual environment.
Illusioneering
CSci Tutor Room Successfully Improves
Test Scores in First Semester
CS&E introduced a new tutor room that will aid students in their first and second year computer science courses. The CSci Tutor Room provides a range of services for students to strengthen their coding skills, offering one-on-one tutoring sessions for personalized support, larger review sessions, and provides a supportive environment to help students reach their academic and career goals.
CS&E Alumnus Christopoulos Joined USC as Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Alumnus Vasileios Christopoulos (2010, PhD) joined the Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of Southern California (USC) as an assistant professor. The Christopoulos Lab combines neurophysiological recordings, functional ultrasound imaging, and computational modeling to explore the neural mechanisms underlying higherorder cognitive functions, such as action regulation, decision-making, and motor learning.
Data Science MS Student
Abigail Stokes Earns Fulbright Scholarship
Graduate student Abigail Stokes earned the Fulbright Scholarship for the 2024-25 United States Student Program. The Fulbright Scholarship is awarded to students and professionals who want to do research or teach English abroad and learn at host universities. Stokes participated in a nine-month-long research program on the geographic spread of wildfires at the Andrés Bello National University in Santiago, Chile.
Postdoctoral associate Ajay Kumar Gurumadaiah advised the team that won the SICK $10K Challenge 2025. Robotics MS students Abhishek Chaudhari and Sujeendra Ramesh developed SICK-MINE-GUARD, an autonomous 4WD ground robot designed for hazardous underground mining environments. The focus was to enhance safety and operational efficiency in mining through robotics and perception systems.
Robotics Students Win SICK $10K Challenge 2025 with Mine-Navigating Robot
CS&E Alumnus Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad Featured in Discover Magazine and PBS Documentary
Alumnus Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad (PhD, 2011) was featured in an issue of Discover Magazine (Nov/Dec 2024) for his work using AI to simulate one’s deceased loved ones. Ahmad and his family were also featured in a PBS documentary that showcased how his children interact with the text-based chatbot that simulates his late father. Ahmad established the building blocks for this project while studying behavior modeling during his PhD program at the University of Minnesota.
CS&E, ECE Team Up to Win IEEE
Associate Professor Caiwen Ding was the last author of the paper that won the Best Paper Award. The paper titled, “HiVeGenHierarchical LLM-based Verilog Generation for Scalable Chip Design,” was a joint effort between CS&E and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). PhD students Jinwei Tang (CS&E) and Jiayin Qin (ECE) were the primary authors on the paper exploring how Large Language Models (LLMs) can improve the chip design process.
CS&E PhD Student
Xiang Zhang Won Best Talk Award at GLBIO Conference
PhD student Xiang Zhang won the Best Talk Award for his presentation titled, “A deep learning approach for predicting synthetic lethality in human cells.” Zhang’s presentation focused on predicting synthetic lethal gene pairs in human cancer cells using advanced machine learning models trained on biological data. He is advised by Professor Chad Myers.
Ioana Munteanu, Distinguished Figure in Global Hackathon Community
Alumnus Ioana Munteanu (BS, 2022) is a leading software engineer at billion dollar cloud analytics and business intelligence company, Sigma Computing, and a distinguished figure in the global hackathon community. She regularly serves as a judge, mentor, and participant at international hackathons, and is a frequent speaker and workshop leader.
Two CS&E Students Earns CRA Outstanding Unvergraduate Researcher Honorable Mention
Undergraduates Ryan Diaz and Rhett Olson earned an honorable mention for the 2024-25 CRA Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award. Diaz’s research allows for more robotic assistance in unstructured environments, making them more robust to the possible variations that can arise in a household. Olson’s research aims to help researchers in disciplines like history, geography, humanities, and other fields that use historical maps effectively as resources.
2025-26 Scholarship Recipients
Hamza Ahmed
Mahmoud Alhihi
Adhithya Anandaraj
Kevin Babashov
John Bessman
Riya Bharti
Nimisha Bora
Gayathri Gajjela
Keezhan Hamasoor
Daanish Hindustani
Henry Hoang
Victor Hofstetter
The CSpotlight Series highlights the accomplishments of CS&E students.
Learn more about computer science student groups, internships, and research opportunities!
Xuan Huang
Duncan Joly
Devajya Khanna
Jordan McVay
Diya Menon
Zoey Ponnie
Zoey Schmit
Krivan Semlani
John Struyk
Jinghao Tan
Amoligha Timma
Nathan Vaz
Josephine Veum
Margaret Xiao
Damien Xu
Edo Yawovi
Yuki Zheng
Invest in the Future of Computing
Thank you to the many alumni and friends who provide critical support for our students, faculty, research, and teaching. Gifts from benefactors like you help us maintain and build upon over 50 years of excellence. Your support helps to attract and retain world-renowned faculty, invest in ground-breaking research, enhance our academic programs, and ensure that our deserving and talented students receive scholarships and fellowships.
Please consider a gift in support of the Department of Computer Science & Engineering today!
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We recognize the generosity of those in our community who have invested in the future of the department over the past year. Thank you so much for your support! Gifts listed are from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.
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Jon M. Rask
Joseph J. Piatt & Traci Huntemann-Piatt
Joseph M. Plasek
Joshua E. & Lucia J. Byrne
Judith P. & Vinay Khanna
Julie L. Ganz
Karen Aguirre
Thank You Donors
Dr. Lee-Chin H. & Chung-Wen Liu
Lubrizol Fdn
Luong B. Tran
Manasi N. Joshi
Microsoft Corporation
Mike & Shari Rogalski
NAVER Corporation
Optum Services Inc.
Peter D. Clark & Molly McBeath
Peter M. Sandvik & Fatemeh Shahedipour-Sandvik
Richard & Dorothy Seebach
Rynda N. & John V. Carlis*
Sandra L. Johnson
Seagate Technology
Shu-Ping Chang
Shyong K. Lam
TikTok Inc.
University of California at Davis
Warren R. & Geralyn S. Smith
*denotes in memoriam donor
Karen L. & Jared T. Sperry
Karen L. Chandler & Craig S. Schulz
Kathy Falk
Kenneth J. Lawrence
Kent B. Mein
Keola & Karen Caindec
Laura & Scott Maier
Lori L. Dietrich & Steven J. Piazza
Likun Zheng & Yu J. Gu
Mark W. & Linda K. Skogman
Marlys A. Kohnke
Martin A. Rowe
Medtronic & Medtronic Foundation
Melissa Pang Stenoien & Joseph G. Stenoien*
Palo Alto Networks
Patrick A. & Michelle Hillmeyer
Dr. Paul N. & Andrea K. Pazandak
Peter J. Davis
Raymond L. Slisz
Richard C. Booth
Rick A. & Susan M. Knoll
Robbi T. & Carmen M. Thompson
Robert D. & Carolyn Albright
Robert P. Goldstein
Robin S. & Pamela M. Ehrlich
Russell D. & Connie M. Huisinga
Sally L. Palm
Scott & Sheri Jackson
Shi Chen
Soumyadeep Chatterjee
Stephanie Mayer Hilbert
Steven R. & Roxanne M. Englund
Tammy Chi
Teofilo F. Gonzalez
Thomas W. & Jenny W. Wilson
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Fdn
Tianshi Xu
Tim Stapelman
Tina & Christopher Lund
Tommie Marsters
Valerie L. Branch
Vernon G. & Lauree Menk
Vicraj T. & Jill A. Thomas
Visa International
Wallace E. & Virginia Flatgaard
Wayne A. Michaelson
William O. & Michele Pollnow
Yan Sang & Eunice Lee
Yiming Shi
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