CS Chair Steve Wright

Dear Badgers,

Fall in Madison has become one of the most pleasant seasons, with warm days and crisp nights going deeper and deeper into the year. Perfect for Badger football spectators (if not necessarily for the players). In CS, faculty and students alike return from summer sojourns to take up the responsibilities of a new academic year. This year will be our last in the current building, where we are bursting at the seams after the explosive growth of recent years. The new building, Morgridge Hall, is in our sights - literally and figuratively! - and we look forward eagerly to moving there in mid-2025. 

At the time of my last column, we were in the maelstrom of the Spring 2024 faculty recruiting season. The many changes that we made to the recruiting process this season bore fruit, as we recruited seven new members to our tenure-track faculty, some of whom have joined us already, with the rest arriving during the next year. This is already a record number of acceptances, and there are several offers still outstanding. We have also made several hires to our teaching faculty, and additionally appointed several staff in critical areas to help with grant proposals and administration, student instructor training and coordination, and other areas. We continue to support our students and faculty by hiring prudently in critical areas as our department expands.

In recent weeks, our former Chair, Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau, has taken on the new role of special adviser to the provost on computing. We have been thinking hard for years about the role of computing and our CS department in the university, the state, and the world, and we took a big step with the formation of CDIS in 2018. With our new building almost ready, a greatly expanded faculty and student body, and the impact and profile of computer science (and particularly AI) continuing to grow, the question is: What next? Remzi has the experience and wisdom to guide us in tackling this question, and I know it will be an exciting journey.

Happy Fall, and On Wisconsin!

Steve Wright

Computer Sciences Chair

Steve Wright is the 2024 recipient of the George B. Dantzig Prize, widely regarded as the most prestigious award in the field of Optimization. He was chosen for his fundamental contributions to nonlinear optimization and for applying optimization techniques to such areas as control, compressed sensing, machine learning, and data science.

The leap was the largest in the top #25, with the CS undergrad program being ranked #9 among public universities. In addition, computer systems and programming languages were ranked #8 and $9, respectively.

Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau named special advisor to the provost for computing.

It is with tremendous gratitude that we announce the retirement of Professor Tom Reps. In addition to his numerous research, teaching and service contributions to CS, which you can read about below, he is also endowing a professorship in honor of his late wife and CS Professor Emerita Susan Horwitz.

Sophie Stephenson's research is among the first to focus on sharenting - people sharing information about their children on social media - on TikTok, which has both positives and negatives. A member of the Security and Privacy Research Group, Stephenson's work also focuses on technology-facilitated abuse, analyzing how technology is used in intimate partner violence.

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.

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 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!

Announcing The Badger Effect. Want to leave a legacy that lasts? Now’s your chance to be part of something extraordinary. Be part of history and join us in shaping the future of technology education at UW-Madison.

By becoming one of our esteemed 500 donors and making a generous gift of $2,019 in honor of our founding year, you can secure your place on the captivating donor wall (shown above), ensuring your legacy is forever etched in the heart of our new CDIS building. The Badger Effect is about more than a donation; it’s about leaving a legacy that inspires future generations of Badgers to innovate and lead.

Every donation is a vital piece of the puzzle. Your generosity combines with others to create a tangible and lasting impact, leaving a legacy that will be felt for generations to come. Imagine a lasting ripple that touches every future Badger. That’s The Badger Effect. Learn more here.