Computer Sciences Alumni Spotlights

Brian Pinkerton, BS 1986

Brian Pinkerton has dedicated his career to advancing how we connect with information. From pioneering the first Internet search engine to leading teams at Amazon, Apple, and Roku, his work has left an indelible mark on the technology landscape.

Brent Seales, MS 1988, PhD 1991

Brent Seales has dedicated his life to solving one of history’s greatest challenges: recovering ancient “lost” texts rendered unreadable by nature and time. In addition to the profile below, read more about his work here: https://go.wisc.edu/csseales

Keith Noto, BA 1998, MS 2002, PhD 2007

From a UW-Madison student to Principal Scientist at the largest provider of consumer DNA testing in the world, Keith Noto shares details on his trajectory and current role.

Raj Rajamani, MS 2002

Rajesh Rajamani discovered programming in high school and never looked back. He really enjoys all the interesting problem he has to solve in his current position. Read about his time at UW, including adventures on wheels and on the dance floor!

Sowmya Subramanian, MS 1997

Sowmya Subramanian chose to come to UW-Madison because "the UW-Madison program really resonated with my interests." She advises current students to be curious, meander a bit, and have fun!

Leo Rudberg, BS 2016

Leo Rudberg started out at UW-Madison as a math major He says, “I thought only geeks studied CS. . . . However, I was intrigued by CS since I also knew that was how video games were made (again, I somehow didn’t consider myself a geek . . . ).”

Maria Yuin, MS 1998

Maria Yuin came to UW-Madison to study computer science – and to play bassoon. She was drawn to UW because she could play bassoon in music ensembles for non-majors in the School of Music while pursuing her CS degree. Now she's playing bassoon again!

Max Lynch, BS 2010

Max Lynch recommends that students "look up every once in a while and take it all in." He says of UW-Madison CS, "Being around so many smart, driven people was one of the best experiences of my life" Read all about the Ionic co-founder here!

Mary Ann Horton, PhD 1981

Mary Ann Horton tells students, "If you love what you do, it will show in your work." Read about the transgender activist and semi-retired software developer who says that she writes software tools to "keep the bad guys out of the electric grid."

Zachary Henkel, BS 2000

Zachary Henkel loves the challenge of his job as Principal Software Engineer on Office’s Core Architecture Team at Microsoft! He started in CS as an elementary school student and was immediately hooked. Read more below: