Governor Tony Evers and Wisconsin leadership celebrate the opening of Morgridge Hall
Morgridge Hall has decades ahead to foster the learning and research that will help Wisconsin industries flourish in a high-tech future. But even before Friday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony drew a crowd of hundreds to officially open …
Junjie Hu joins CS to build AI systems that help people understand each other
"When we build AI systems that allow people from different linguistic, cultural, or professional backgrounds to understand one another, we’re expanding access to knowledge, education, and collaboration."
The future of cybersecurity with Ethan Cecchetti
In a world where technology is everywhere, it’s important to keep our data safe. Ethan Cecchetti believes cryptography is the key to protecting our information.
David Plonka MS’08, PhD’13: Building, creating, and connecting
Alumnus David Plonka MS'08, PhD'13 is a scientist, artist, and former roller derby mascot.
Computer Sciences undergraduate program now ranked #9 among public universities
The University of Wisconsin–Madison ranked among the top 40 institutions in the country for undergraduate education for the fourth consecutive year, according to the 2026 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges rankings …
Eight faculty members appointed teaching professors for ongoing excellence in education
Defined by their student-centered approaches to course material, these educators are recognized for their commitment to supporting young minds.
New faculty member Misha Khodak working toward faster and more accurate machine learning models
By Karen Barrett-Wilt New faculty member Misha Khodak started out studying math as an undergrad and switched to CS for his MS and PhD after a “throwaway comment” to a CS professor while looking for …
New faculty member Charles Yuan will focus on quantum computing and programming languages
By Karen Barrett-Wilt Charles Yuan arrived in Madison for the first time just after a blizzard. He recently completed his PhD at MIT in Cambridge, MA, so winter is something he already understands, but he …
New faculty member Gavin Brown focuses on privacy and the power of computers
by Karen Barrett-Wilt New faculty member Gavin Brown joins UW-Madison from a postdoc position at the University of Washington. In his research, he focuses on the question, “What happens when the models we train or …
New faculty member Jiawei Zhang hopes his students will develop effective algorithms to address complex problems
Originally from Guangdong Province, China, Zhang joined Madison's optimization research group after completing his postdoc at MIT's Laboratory for Information & Decision Systems.
CS student Ben Young wins 2025 Best Student ICALP Paper
PhD student Ben Young has been awarded the 2025 Best Student ICALP Paper at the 52nd EATCS International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP) in Aarhus, Denmark.
UW-Madison opens new building to house School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences
The Wisconsin State Journal recently toured Morgridge Hall on its first day of classes.
UW-Madison unveils new Morgridge Hall on first day of classes
View the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's photo essay from the first day of classes at Morgridge Hall.
Cap Times checks out Morgridge Hall
Join the Cap Times for its tour of Morgridge Hall on the first day of classes.
Meet the winners of the Morgridge Hall sticker competition
Centered around the theme "Home Sweet Home," the competition invited students to design limited-edition stickers that reflect the welcoming spirit of Morgridge Hall.
New faculty member Mike Hagenow is a human-robot interaction researcher – and skilled in the art of espresso
Mike Hagenow first moved to Madison for a job at Epic Systems. He thenwent on to complete a PhD in mechanical engineering here, and is "ecstatic" to return to Madison as a faculty member after completing a postdoc at MIT.
Will robots take over the world? CS major Manas Joshi explores AI/robotics research through LASER
Through L&S' LASER program, Manas Joshi, a rising sophomore majoring in computer sciences and data science, has gotten the chance to research robots and AI first-hand.
Paul Barford assumes new role as chair of Computer Sciences
Barford's tenure will be defined by its impact: “We have a significant responsibility to develop innovative ideas and programs in education, research, outreach, and service.”
CDIS’s Morgridge Hall: A New Chapter for Computer Sciences at UW–Madison
Morgridge Hall, the new home of Computer Sciences, is more than a building–it is a promise.
Computer Sciences, CDIS, and OpenAI shape the AI future with SAIL
Through the Summer of AI Laboratory (SAIL), undergraduates were immersed in real-world AI development, hands-on mentorship, and cutting-edge tools supported by OpenAI.
Computer Science in Action: UW–Madison Students Power Research Through LASER
At the heart of this year’s LASER (Letters & Science Summer of Excellence in Research) program, the Department of Computer Sciences is playing a pivotal role in shaping the next generation of STEM leaders.
Professor Steve Wright steps down as Computer Sciences Department Chair
After serving the Computer Sciences department as Chair from 2023-25, Steve Wright is stepping down to “embrace my role as a professor and researcher once more.”
Rakesh Agrawal PhD’83 receives WAA Distinguished Alumni Award
Agrawal is widely hailed as the father of data mining. His work fundamentally changed how the world extracts insight and value from data, laying the groundwork for today’s data science. Read the full story …
UW–Madison Team Honored with Best Student Paper Award at Premier Machine Learning Conference
By Karen Barrett-Wilt UW–Madison Computer Sciences PhD student Lisheng Ren, his advisor Sheldon B. Lubar Professor Ilias Diakonikolas, and UC-San Diego Professor Daniel Kane have received the Mark Fulk Best Student Paper Award at the …
Alum Faisal Mushtaq ’88 and the importance of creating consensus and listening – and fast cars
By Karen Barrett-Wilt Faisal Mushtaq ’88 came to UW-Madison to study computer engineering and computer science with the goal of becoming an embedded systems engineer. He is currently senior advisor of Data/AI Center of Excellence …
Andy Konwinski ’07 receives Wisconsin Alumni Association Luminary Award
“Andy is unique even among our accomplished alumni. Few have so deeply reshaped the tech landscape — let alone done it twice.” — Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau, director of UW Madison School of Computer, Data, & Information …
PhD student Naman Gupta named Morgridge Fellow
Gupta's research is committed to advancing the safety and well-being of marginalized populations who face gender-based violence (GBV) by amplifying their silenced voices.
Three Wisconsin CS professors receive inaugural Google ML and Systems Junior Faculty Awards
Jelena Diakonikolas, Sharon Li, and Shivaram Venkataraman are among the first recipients to receive new award from Google.
Morgridge Hall, July 2025: Final progress update
Explore Morgridge Hall's final construction update as Computer Sciences prepares to move into a brand new research and education facility.
Gupta joins search committee for director of new Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub
Announced July 2025, the newly-formed Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub will build on UW–Madison’s rich history of innovation and strengthen entrepreneurial pathways.
CS professor Miron Livny & HTCondor celebrate 40 years powered by community
The brainchild of Miron Livny, director of the Center for High-Throughput Computing, HTCondor uses a vast network of computing resources to power a wide range of research projects across the globe.
Jin-Yi Cai awarded WARF Named Professorship
Professor Jin-Yi Cai was named the Juris Hartmanis Professor of Computer Sciences in honor of his late PhD advisor, “a father of complexity theory.”
Translating Legacy Code for a Safer Future: DARPA Backs Effort to Convert C to Rust
A team of researchers from Madison, Berkeley, Edinburgh, and Urbana-Champaign has received a $5 million award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under its Translating All C to Rust (TRACTOR) program.
PhD student Seth Ockerman awarded prestigious NSF grad fellowship
By Karen Barrett-Wilt Computer Sciences PhD student Seth Ockerman has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP), which is a highly competitive program that provides funding and support for graduate students …
Patrick McDaniel co-editor of new ACM journal on AI security and privacy
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is pleased to announce a new journal, ACM Transactions on AI Security and Privacy (TAISAP), with UW-Madison Computer Sciences professor Patrick McDaniel as an editor-in-chief. As AI technologies have become …
Computer Sciences capstone prepares to scale experiential learning for students
Students are drawn in droves by the promise of real-world experience and—for a lucky few—the possibility of a job at the end. Interest is also growing among industry, for whom the capstone course offers access to top talent.
Celebrating Computer Sciences’ PhD students
At the PhD graduation ceremony on May 9, 23 CS students walked across the stage toward their futures, finally becoming alumni after (on average) five to seven years of rigorous research and study.
PhD student Shawn Im awarded prestigious NSF graduate fellowship
Computer Sciences PhD student Shawn Im has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP), which is a highly competitive program that provides funding and support for graduate students.
Computer Sciences professor Ming Liu’s Netlab Research Group’s in-house distributed file system ranked 26th by IO500
UW-Madison's Netlab Research Group, housed in the Computer Sciences department, has had their in-house distributed file system ranked 26th in the 10-node category and 33rd overall, an impressive achievement for an academic group with more limited resources than corporations.
CS/DS double major Trinity Krohn embraces entrepreneurship at UW–Madison
“It’s cliché, but I really believe that your network is your net worth,” she said. After noticing a significant gender gap in the entrepreneurial space, Krohn felt compelled to make a change.
WisComputes 03: Inside a “feat of modern computing” on Mars
Wisconsin CS is ranked top ten among public universities; Explore Mars’ surface; Sloan Fellows; IEEE Pioneer Award; Antarctic astrophysics; & more!
With UW-Madison roots, Google office in Wisconsin works on data centers, chips for AI
Small Midwest office, founded almost 20 years ago by computer scientists from UW-Madison, helps power global technology.
Students tackle global health, pitch industry in GE HealthCare-sponsored reverse pitch
Hosted by the N+1 Institute and UW’s longtime collaborator GE HealthCare, the reverse pitch tasked students with improving healthcare monitoring technology.
Ilias Diakonikolas wins ACM Grace Hopper Award for breakthrough techniques in algorithm design
By Rachel Robey Ilias Diakonikolas, Sheldon B. Lubar professor of Computer Sciences, received the 2024 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Grace Murray Hopper Award, one of the highest honors for young researchers in computing. The …
Graduate student Sayali Alatkar and Professor Daifeng Wang to present at ISMB/ECCB 2025
By Karen Barrett-Wilt Sayali Alatkar, Computer Sciences graduate student, and Biostatistics and Medical Informatics professor Daifeng Wang (also CS affiliate) have had their paper accepted to ISMB/ECCB 2025 proceedings. ISMB is the annual international conference …
New Deep Learning Method Identifies Transition States in Protein Conformational Changes
In collaboration with Chemistry, Sharon Li introduced a deep learning method that could the study of biomolecular dynamics and have applications in drug design, biomolecular engineering, and materials science.
Swamit Tannu shares the “promise of quantum computing” with WPR
Professor Swamit Tannu sits down with WPR to discuss how quantum computing could potentially revolutionize entire industries.
Meet some of Computer Sciences’ outstanding graduates
From video game creators to tech development consultants, this year’s crop of Computer Sciences graduates is as impressive as ever.
Computer Sciences grad program now ranked #7 among public universities
UW–Madison's Computer Sciences graduate program is now ranked 7th among public universities and 13th overall (three-way tie) according to the 2025 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools.”
The spirit of MadHacks podcast: organizers explain their process and the hackathon’s impact
The organizers of MadHacks, "one of the largest hackathons in the midwest," discuss their process and impact with Professor Manolis Vlatakis.
In the People & Robots Lab, Hailey Johnson PhDx’26 is finding her own path
Through cross-campus collaboration and NSF funding, Johnson explores avenues for improving the fit, function, and accessibility of technology among Wisconsin adults with Down syndrome.
Paul Barford selected for Chancellor’s Teaching Innovation Award
Barford felt it was critical to equip computer science students with a basic understanding of moral and ethical principles and the ability to reason about the technologies they will develop.
Bilge Mutlu and co-authors receive Best Paper Award at HRI 2025
"ImageInThat: Manipulating Images to Convey User Instructions to Robots" wins Best Paper Award at the 20th edition of the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction.
Guri Sohi receives 2025 IEEE CS Computer Pioneer Award in Honor of the Women of ENIAC
A legacy of innovation: Professor Gurindar Sohi wins prestigious Computer Pioneer Award
PhD student Sean Xuefeng Du earns 2025 Ivanisevic Award
Recently, doctoral candidate Sean Xuefeng Du PhDx’25 was named this year’s recipient of the Ivanisevic Award, a distinction granted to graduate students researching their dissertation. Du, who is advised by Professor Sharon Li, came to …
Alum Jing Liu wins Best Paper Award at USENIX File and Storage Systems Conference
We’ve all experienced an untimely computer crash while working on an important file or playing a game, only to reboot and discover that the document or game progress has been corrupted—or worse, lost. As a …
Teaching Professor Jim Williams: “Together, we’ll shape the future of computer science education”
In addition to his novel teaching methods that help the department handle its record popularity and class sizes, newly appointed Teaching Professor Jim Williams provides an unrivaled education to students of all skill levels.
CS students head to DC’s Capitol Hill to present on AI safety
Members of the Wisconsin AI Safety Initiative visited the Rayburn House Office Building to lead presentations and live demos highlighting the dangers associated with artificial intelligence’s growing popularity.
Read Badger Bytes: 60th Anniversary Edition
This anniversary edition of the alumni newsletter journeys through the decades, highlighting incredible alumni, spotlighting students, and anticipating CS's bright future.
Making Social Media Safe
UW educational psychology professor Amy Bellmore pioneered cyberbullying research through a collaboration with UW computer sciences professor Jerry Zhu.
UW–Madison researchers win prestigious Sloan fellowships
UW–Madison’s 2025 Sloan Fellows are James Roberts Crall, assistant professor of entomology, and Sharon Yixuan Li, assistant professor of computer sciences.
Sharon Li receives 2025 Sloan Fellowship
One of just 126 recipients across the US and Canada, the Sloan Foundation counts Sharon Li among the next generation of scientific leaders.
Emeritus Professor Mark D. Hill joins prestigious CRA Board, shaping the future of computing
Mark D. Hill, Emeritus Professor of Computer Sciences, has been elected to the Computing Research Association (CRA) Board of Directors to serve a three-year term.
Computer Sciences 60th Anniversary Student Stories: Taylor Wilmot
"I’ve always been driven by a desire to make a positive impact on people’s lives, and I believe technology has the power to bridge gaps, connect people, and transform the way we live, work, and communicate," says Wilmot.
Computer Sciences 60th Anniversary Student Stories: Tanay Nagar
"Growing up bilingual, I noticed the fluidity of human communication and technology’s struggle to adapt to it," says Nagar. "Computer science allows me to work toward developing adaptive, socially-aware technologies that are actually cognizant of socio-cultural values."
Computer Sciences 60th Anniversary Student Stories: Chaitanyasuma Jain
"My interest lies in human-centered computing, ensuring computational systems are accessible and safe for diverse users," says Jain. "My research work in privacy-preserving database design, advised by Professor Xiangyao Yu, has been one of the most rewarding experiences during my time here."
Computer Sciences 60th Anniversary Alumni Spotlights: Mikayla Buford
As a Design Researcher at ChiByDesign, a design agency guided by anti-racist principles, Buford works on projects related to education, youth wellness, and service design.
Computer Sciences 60th Anniversary Alumni Spotlights: Mike Epley
"I love that the work I do reaches millions of people around the world and positively impacts people’s lives," says Epley, a software developer for Epic. "On occasion, patients send us emails or notes telling us how MyChart literally saved their life."
Computer Sciences 60th Anniversary Alumni Spotlights: Nidhi Aggarwal
Aggarwal is an early stage tech-investor and board member. "I like learning about new technologies and helping start and scale new companies," she says. "UW has very strong ties with industry, and I benefited a lot from that interaction."
Computer Sciences 60th Anniversary Alumni Spotlights: Camille Fournier
"I wrote a book on engineering leadership and management called 'The Manager’s Path' that has been far more successful than I ever imagined, including being translated into nine languages," says Fournier. "I am proud of the fact that it has had a positive impact on the way people across the tech industry think about and approach engineering management."
Computer Sciences 60th Anniversary Student Stories: Sonia Cromp
"Computer science is such a fast-evolving area: Especially in machine learning, you never know what breakthroughs are going to happen in the next twelve months that could completely change the state of the field," says Cromp.
Computer Sciences 60th Anniversary Alumni Spotlights: Ellis Horowitz
"I originally was aiming for a PhD in math, but the computer science department was just forming and I quickly gravitated to it," says Horowitz, professor of computer science and electrical engineering at the University of Southern California.
Read Issue 02 of WisComputes, a CS research newsletter
The latest edition details an AI hiring surge, award-winning database research by Paris Koutris, a visit from U.S. Cyber Command, and more.
Meet Adithya Murali, Assistant Professor focusing on program verification and synthesis
Adithya Murali comes to UW-Madison from University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, where he completed his PhD on program verification and program synthesis. He says he is “deeply passionate about the fundamental aspects of problem solving and …
Paris Koutris’ award-winning research addresses the “fundamental problem” of database theory
At the 2023 and 2024 Symposiums on Principles of Database Systems, Koutris received a string of awards for his groundbreaking research on join processing.
Meet Akarsh Prabhakara, Assistant Professor in wireless systems and cyber-physical systems
Akarsh Prabhakara comes to Madison from his PhD studies at Carnegie Mellon University. In his research, Prabhakara is working on wire-free, non-invasive health monitoring to reduce patients’ discomfort at healthcare facilities. He hopes to teach …
Jelena Diakonikolas receives NSF CAREER Award
By applying optimization methods to machine learning tasks, Diakonikolas is “creating the theory from the bottom up.”
CS professor Paul Barford chosen for 2025 Distinguished Teaching Award
Paul Barford is one of just twelve faculty members to receive a Distinguished Teaching Award, an honor recognizing some of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's finest educators.
UW-Madison faculty makes impressive showing at NeurIPS 2024
NeurIPS, the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, is one of the most prestigious conferences in artificial intelligence (AI), held each year in December. This year, Computer Sciences department faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison had …
Jerry Zhu Guides UW-Madison’s RISE-AI Initiative
As the Steve Kleene Professor in the Computer Sciences Department, Zhu was tapped as a thought leader for this initiative because of his extensive background in machine learning.
UW-Madison research is $1.7B operation ready to grow, new leader says
UWMadison's new Vice Chancellor for Research Dorota Grejner-Brzezińska recently spoke with The Capital Times about growing research efforts, which recently topped $1.7 billion in annual spending. Two areas stand out: AI and cyber security.
Students pitch Google at N+1’s AI sustainability competition
Asmita Pal, Zhewen Pan, and Elise Song won first place at a recent “reverse pitch” competition hosted by Google and CS' N+1 Institute.
Celebrating December 2024 Computer Sciences graduates
Hundreds of newly-minted Wisconsin alumni will walk at commencement on Sunday, December 15. We’re introducing a few of our most accomplished graduates.
U.S. Cyber Command visit highlights UW–Madison’s leadership in cyber research and education
The U.S. Cyber Command delegation toured labs, visited classrooms, and held the first-ever USCYBERCOM Tech Talk hosted by an academic institution.
Computer Sciences’ top ten stories of 2024
From breakthroughs in research to leaps in rankings, these headlines capture some of the massive achievements made in the 60th year of Computer Sciences at UW–Madison.
UW-Madison team does it again, placing first at regional ICPC
For the sixth year in a row, UW-Madison has placed first at the regional round of the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC).
CS assistant professor Yuhang Zhao developing AI and AR technology to support day-to-day activities of people with low vision
A recent NIH, NEI-funded R01 award will enable Zhao and collaborators to support people with low vision by using AI to empower them in real-life activities.
For Army scholars, an MS in Data Engineering offers advanced training in a high-demand field
Beyond professional development, the MSDE program serves those who serve.
How alumnus Brent Seales is unsealing ancient mysteries (via On Wisconsin)
Brent Seales MS’88, PhD’91 may rewrite history with a technology that can read ancient scrolls buried for 2,000 years.
‘Trial by fire’: UW-Madison hackathon generates tech ideas in 24 hours (via The Capital Times)
After 24 hours of programming and coding — fueled by plenty of snacks and energy drinks — the organizers of an annual hackathon event at the University of Wisconsin-Madison announced which of the 55 projects would move on as finalists.
IndyNXT rookie Yuven Sundaramoorthy ’23 is the fastest Badger in Wisconsin
After “a big learning year,” rookie Yuven Sundaramoorthy ’23 — a UW–Madison computer sciences graduate and now a professional race-car driver — says he’s “picking up speed.”
Celebrating 60: Anniversary sticker sheet honors six decades of Computer Sciences
Designed by School of Human Ecology student Grace Edwards BSx’25, here’s where to find the (free!) limited-edition stickers on campus.
Read Issue 01 of WisComputes
WisComputes, a new research newsletter from the Department of Computer Sciences, features stories from a record year of recruiting, rankings, and innovation.
Brent Seales MS’88, PhD’91 receives the Distinguished Achievement Award
Now a professor of computer science at the University of Kentucky and the pioneer behind “virtual unwrapping,” Seales uses technology of the future to preserve texts of the past.
Brian Pinkerton ’86 receives the Distinguished Achievement Award
“[UW–Madison] gave me the ability to tackle incredibly hard problems and be fearless about it,” says Pinkerton. “I'm just so incredibly grateful for that.”
The Security Risks of Generative AI: a CRA blog post by Somesh Jha & colleagues
A recent CRA blog post written by Professor Somesh Jha and colleagues covers a panel discussion on GenAI opportunities and risks at the 2024 CRA Conference at Snowbird.
Professor Bart Miller, the SC Conference, and some of his favorite people: his grad students
An affable, earnest guy, Dr. Barton Miller, the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the Computer Sciences Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW), has made an oversized impact on the SC Conference.
Meet new teaching faculty member Hina Mahmood
She hopes students will come away from her classes with "a robust problem-solving mindset" and with "both the confidence and capability to approach complex problems creatively and tackle them with a lifelong enthusiasm for learning."
Meet new teaching faculty member Cole Nelson
He first got into computer science through MIT's Scratch coding community and now wants "to teach students not only about building web applications and user interfaces but doing so in a secure and usable manner."
