CS Department News

When Angela Thorp talks about her 19 years as graduate program manager in the x department, she doesn’t lead with policy or paperwork. She leads with people. “I’m really a strong advocate…

“We do very practical things that can have a real impact,” Banerjee says. “We are always looking for interesting collaborations with people who feel that they have an interesting problem.”

“Low vision is a complex and widespread condition that affects millions of people, yet it remains underrepresented in technology research,” Dr. Zhao said. “To create truly effective tools, we need a deeper…

When students join a WISCURDS project, they often arrive with ideas about what they hope to gain from the experience: a stronger resume, a letter of recommendation, maybe a publication. Less often…

Observing gaps in Large Language Models’ (LLMs’) abilities to process tabular data motivated UW-Madison Computer Sciences PhD candidate Sonia Cromp to develop Tabby, an architecture modification to LLMs that improves how they…

150 experts, legislators, and practitioners convened at Morgridge Hall for the inaugural AI Meets Society (AIMS) Symposium.

Computer scientists implement a new approach for introducing quantum computing to students, one that breaks through traditional barriers to learning.

Computer Sciences and Psychology alum Thomas Triplett builds the behind-the-scenes tools that keep Alaska Airlines flying.

Students plan to deploy an autonomous, two-armed robot that can deliver food and fold laundry by the end of this year, giving members project design skills. — The Daily Cardinal

A new student-founded productivity startup takes aim at simplifying student life. — The Daily Cardinal

Each episode is a deep dive into a top research paper from UW–Madison’s Department of Computer Sciences. Stream the first two episodes now.

For Singh, CS was a launchpad for building companies, pivoting quickly when ideas don’t work, and finding community in the process. 

For 24 intense hours on November 22–23, Morgridge Hall turned into a hub of caffeinated creativity as MadHacks 2025 drew over 400 participants from across the country — the largest turnout in…

Inside Josiah Hanna’s robotics lab, students train miniature soccer-playing robots to keep their sensors on the ball — all using AI.

“We have been approaching a point where we’re becoming very power constrained,” Sinclair said. “My group works to maximize the performance of workloads with a smaller than ideal power budget.”

During a landmark year, these were the defining moments and accomplishments that set the tone for 2026.

  The new college will build upon the university’s strengths in computer, data, library and information sciences and statistics.

We are excited to congratulate the hundreds of new graduates of the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences (CDIS) this December. Our newest alumni are already making an impact in their…

Students celebrated Wisconsin’s computer science education week (12/18-12/14) at nearby Randall Elementary School, where they lead afterschool coding clubs.

Using machine learning and deep learning models, Negreiro’s research supports healthier dairy cows with an improved quality of life.

Jen works at the intersection of software and robotics, creating the foundational systems that allow humanoid robots to move, perceive, and act safely.

Khachatryan reflects on the single principle driving his work: technology should work for everyone.

Faulkner began Epic in 1979, in her home’s basement with two part-time employees. Today, Epic has billions of dollars in annual sales and a staff of 14,000.

Josiah Hanna’s soccer-playing robots train with reinforcement learning, a branch of artificial intelligence that mimics one of the ways humans learn.

From Google to Epic and PlayStation to DraftKings, these top employers have plenty of advice for STEM students hoping to land internships and launch careers.

Backed by funding from the National Science Foundation, CS and L&S faculty are tackling a red-hot research topic.

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…

“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.” 

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.

Alumnus David Plonka MS’08, PhD’13 is a scientist, artist, and former roller derby mascot.

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…

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…

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 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…

Originally from Guangdong Province, China, Zhang joined Madison’s optimization research group after completing his postdoc at MIT’s Laboratory for Information & Decision Systems.

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.

The Wisconsin State Journal recently toured Morgridge Hall on its first day of classes.

View the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s photo essay from the first day of classes at Morgridge Hall.

Join the Cap Times for its tour of Morgridge Hall on the first day of classes.

Centered around the theme “Home Sweet Home,” the competition invited students to design limited-edition stickers that reflect the welcoming spirit of Morgridge Hall.

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…

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.

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.”

Morgridge Hall, the new home of Computer Sciences, is more than a building–it is a promise.

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.

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…

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.”

  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…

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.

Explore Morgridge Hall’s final construction update as Computer Sciences prepares to move into a brand new research and education facility.

Announced July 2025, the newly-formed Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub will build on UW–Madison’s rich history of innovation and strengthen entrepreneurial pathways.

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.

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)…

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…

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…

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…

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.

“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.

Wisconsin CS is ranked top ten among public universities; Explore Mars’ surface; Sloan Fellows; IEEE Pioneer Award; Antarctic astrophysics; & more!

Small Midwest office, founded almost 20 years ago by computer scientists from UW-Madison, helps power global technology.

Hosted by the N+1 Institute and UW’s longtime collaborator GE HealthCare, the reverse pitch tasked students with improving healthcare monitoring technology.

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…

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…

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.

Professor Swamit Tannu sits down with WPR to discuss how quantum computing could potentially revolutionize entire industries.

From video game creators to tech development consultants, this year’s crop of Computer Sciences graduates is as impressive as ever.

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 organizers of MadHacks, “one of the largest hackathons in the midwest,” discuss their process and impact with Professor Manolis Vlatakis.

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.

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.

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…

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.

This anniversary edition of the alumni newsletter journeys through the decades, highlighting incredible alumni, spotlighting students, and anticipating CS’s bright future.

UW educational psychology professor Amy Bellmore pioneered cyberbullying research through a collaboration with UW computer sciences professor Jerry Zhu.

UW–Madison’s 2025 Sloan Fellows are James Roberts Crall, assistant professor of entomology, and Sharon Yixuan Li, assistant professor of computer sciences.

One of just 126 recipients across the US and Canada, the Sloan Foundation counts Sharon Li among the next generation of scientific leaders.

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.

“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…

“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…

“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…

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.

“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…

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 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…

“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…

“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…

The latest edition details an AI hiring surge, award-winning database research by Paris Koutris, a visit from U.S. Cyber Command, and more.

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…

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…

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.

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…

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.

Asmita Pal, Zhewen Pan, and Elise Song won first place at a recent “reverse pitch” competition hosted by Google and CS’ N+1 Institute.

The U.S. Cyber Command delegation toured labs, visited classrooms, and held the first-ever USCYBERCOM Tech Talk hosted by an academic institution.

Brent Seales MS’88, PhD’91 may rewrite history with a technology that can read ancient scrolls buried for 2,000 years.

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.”

WisComputes, a new research newsletter from the Department of Computer Sciences, features stories from a record year of recruiting, rankings, and innovation.

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.

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.

These talented students, hailing from diverse backgrounds and pursuing various academic and research interests, exemplify the values of perseverance, innovation, and dedication.

Artificial intelligence offers an enticing array of benefits — but it also requires a growing supply of electricity.

The designation recognizes the quality of the Doctoral Program in Computer Sciences and opens the door to greater resources and opportunities for research collaboration in cybersecurity.

Ming Liu has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Early Career Development Award (CAREER) for his project, “Rethinking Rack-Scale System Design over Memory Fabrics.” “Scalable computing infrastructures are far more important…

At the Met Gala, costumes spanning 400 years of fashion will be brought back to life. CS grad student Robert Klock explains how.

The UW–Madison International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) team was awarded a silver medal at the world finals this year, and holds the North American record of advancing to 21 world finals competitions…

A lot goes into a bachelor’s degree in Computer Sciences. For these students, even more came out of it.