During the recent fall 2024 commencement ceremonies, computer science got a special moment in the spotlight, thanks to featured speaker Eddie Villarreal MS’24.
Villarreal spoke at both commencement ceremonies on Dec. 17, having graduated from the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science with a master’s degree in software engineering.
Several computer science graduates worked as student web developers in the Jonsson School’s Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications during the 2024 academic year. We caught up with three of them to find out what they would take away from their time at UT Dallas.
Jason Thanh Nguyen BS’24 intends to apply the skills he acquired through study as well as his work in the Jonsson School to further his career. “This experience taught me how to adapt my communication style to suit different roles and perspectives, ensuring that everyone was aligned toward a common goal,” Nguyen said. “This will be a valuable skillset that will be very helpful for me in my career after graduation.”
Through our interview series, we aim to showcase the experiences of CS alumni, current students, and faculty, providing valuable insights to inspire and guide future researchers. In this interview, we feature Dr. Austin Mordahl, who earned his PhD this year under the mentorship of Dr. Shiyi Wei.
He is now shaping the next generation of scholars as an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago. Explore Austin’s journey for an in-depth view of his academic and professional experiences, where he reflects on his thesis, inspirations, and mental health.
Dr. B. Prabhakaran, a renowned computer science professor at UT Dallas, is recognized for his innovative contributions to multimedia systems, computer vision, and healthcare informatics.
His advanced research—encompassing multimedia data management, 3D medical imaging and video analytics—has been extensively published in leading journals and conferences, solidifying his status as a thought leader in these domains.
With rapidly evolving current events, decision makers may be inundated with messages. With an increasing flow of information from multiple sources, data extraction is an important facet of controlling and identifying key patterns and events. How can data science experts help to simplify complex or extensive documents and streams of information?
Virtual reality (VR) offers a captivating and immersive way to revolutionize learning and training, especially when it comes to safety-related concepts.
Despite its potential, the intricate development process has slowed its widespread use—until now. In an exciting breakthrough, the University of Texas at Dallas computer science professors Drs. Balakrishnan Prabhakaran, Shiyi Wei, Yu Xiang, and Jin Ryong Kim have secured an impressive $750,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for their groundbreaking Scan to Multi-sensorial Interactive Learning Environment (SMILE) project. This substantial funding highlights the innovation behind SMILE and marks a significant step forward in bringing cutting-edge VR learning experiences to life.
Recently, Dr. Zygmunt J. Haas, Distinguished Chair in computer science and professor in the Department of Computer Science in the Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, offered some remarks to help commemorate 30 years of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) MobiCom conference, which will be held in Nov. 2024 in Washington, DC. The annual conference serves as the premier international forum addressing networks, systems, algorithms, and applications that support the symbiosis of mobile computers and wireless networks. MobiCom also covers all areas of mobile computing and mobile and wireless networking.
Dr. Jin Ryong Kim and his innovative team at the Multimodal Interaction Lab (MI Lab) have recently garnered acclaim for their groundbreaking advancements in haptic and thermal technologies. Their exceptional contributions have been recognized with several prestigious awards, highlighting their transformative work in these dynamic fields.
At the IEEE Haptics Symposium 2024, Dr. Kim and his students were awarded the Best Demonstration honorable mention for their presentation on “Thermal Masking.” This phenomenon, also displayed at the 2024 ACM Conference on Computer Human Interaction (CHI) in Hawaii, showcases a novel thermal illusion where thermal referral completely masks the original thermal sensation, leaving only the tactile site to register thermal feedback.
What inspired you to pursue computer science for your college degree?
UT Dallas is renowned for its excellence in undergraduate Computer Science education. This rapidly growing field has abundant job opportunities now and in the future. Although I initially knew little about computer science when I chose it as my major, I have become confident that it will be a solid decision due to its high earning potential and the increasing demand in today’s digital world.
A UTDesign® Capstone team from The University of Texas at Dallas comprised of electrical and computer engineering and computer science students placed first in the spring 2024 Raytheon Technologies, Inc.’s Autonomous Unmanned Vehicle (AUV) competition held in North Texas. This is the second time the team has won the annual event — a UT Dallas team also placed first in 2022.