On North Carolina’s low-lying coast, where trunks of dead trees rise silver and bare from dark waters, a team of storytellers trace how the past continues to shape the future. Through the Bass Connections project, Ghost (Forest) Stories: Unearthing History and Climate Change, they bring together science, history and art to reveal how centuries of human activity have transformed the Albemarle–Pamlico Peninsula, while uncovering what it all means in an era of rising sea levels and intensifying hurricanes… read more about Ghost (Forest) Stories: Uncovering the Past to Understand a Changing Coast »
Duke Computer Science alumni Entropy Xu and Yongji Wu, along with professors Danyang Zhuo, Matthew Lentz, Lisa Wu Wills and collaborators at Carnegie Mellon University, won the Best Paper Award at the MICRO 2025 conference on October 20th in Seoul, South Korea. The MICRO IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Microarchitecture® is the premier forum for presenting, discussing, and debating innovative microarchitecture ideas and techniques for advanced… read more about Duke Computer Science Alumni Win Best Paper Award at MICRO 2025 »
Students interacted with faculty, staff and other students from different programs in every corner of Duke. (Trinity Communications) From the moment I entered Penn Pavilion, I was welcomed by enthusiastic professors and friendly Trinity Ambassadors who generously shared their insights and patiently answered my many questions. Their warmth set the tone for an encouraging and intellectually vibrant experience. As I moved through the fair, I made a conscious effort to visit tables I… read more about More Than Choosing a Major: A First-Year’s Reflection on Majors Fair »
Almost every famous Hollywood robot or artificial intelligence system has some sort of personality. The most humanlike colleagues, such as Bishop in Aliens or Rosie from the Jetsons, are fully upright, talking personas complete with a wide range of emotions and interactions. On the other side of the body spectrum, even squat, appendage-less depictions without mouths like R2D2 easily convey senses of happiness and sadness.With the advent of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, computational… read more about Beyond Black Mirror: The Real Experiment of Giving AI Emotions »
Ivelin Georgiev, Ph.D., is a professor of pathology, microbiology, and immunology and of computer science at Vanderbilt University, and a faculty member of the Vanderbilt Center for Antibody Therapeutics. He received his B.S. from Eckerd College and his Ph.D. in computer science from Duke University, where his research focused on computational biology and the development of algorithms for modeling and analyzing biomolecular structures. From 2009 to 2015, he served as a staff scientist and co-head of the structural… read more about Computer Science Alum Is Bringing CS and Biology Together »
All students seek help, but what is academic help-seeking actually? In this episode, we are joined by Shao-Heng Ko, Ph.D. candidate at Duke University and our host’s advisee, to talk about all things student help-seeking. Shao-Heng explains help-seeking as a metacognitive process and introduces a framework for understanding the many ways students look for help—from classmates and discussion forums to office hours and generative AI. We discuss what students value most (spoiler: timeliness), how instructors can audit their… read more about CS-Ed Podcast: Exploring Help-Seeking »
Mary Osborne isn’t afraid of AI in the classroom — quite the contrary. The lecturing fellow in Linguistics teaches the two cornerstone classes of Duke’s interdepartmental major (IDM) in Linguistics and Computer Science. She worked with Edna Andrews, Nancy & Jeffrey Marcus Professor of Linguistics & Cultural Anthropology, to shape the major, aiming to connect the theory and insights of linguistics with the problem-solving and innovation found in computer science. Launched in 2020, this is one of only… read more about CS + Linguistics Major Gives Students a Front-Row Seat to the Future of AI »
On September 26, a group of Duke faculty representing several disciplines gathered in person for the first meeting of the new “Teaching in the Age of AI” Faculty Learning Community (FLC), led by Jennifer Ahern-Dodson, Associate Professor of the Practice in the Thompson Writing Program, and supported by CARADITE. Attendees exchanged introductions and reflected on their attitudes toward generative AI — a mix of excitement and caution — and their motivations for joining this new venture. read more about Teaching in the Age of AI: A New Faculty Learning Community Takes Root at Duke »
Long considered undruggable, transcription factors have finally become fair game for a clutch of innovative biotechs who are combining biological insights with innovative chemistry to bring into play a vast number of new drug targets. read more about Donald’s Cancer Therapy Work Among the Innovative Biotechs Studying Transcription Factors »
On July 25, 2025, the Trent Seman building was alive with energy as over 120 student researchers from 11 programs shared the results of their summer work. The Summer Research Showcase brought together students from Duke and from institutions nationwide, each presenting posters on projects that spanned the sciences, engineering, social sciences, and health policy. read more about Research That Saves Lives – and Changes Them »
When was the last time you got stuck in traffic? Or missed your exit and had to drive an extra 20 minutes to get back on track? Just like cars on a highway, information can sometimes get stuck, or slowed down, by clogged networks. Not any network, though. Siqi Liu, new assistant professor of Computer Science, studies high-dimensional expanders, exceptionally well-connected graphs (networks) whose local pieces are also highly connected. If these graphs were cities, no neighborhood would be considered isolated, and you’d… read more about Siqi Liu Wants to Make Better Networks »
For Shuyan Zhou, necessity really was the mother of invention.Zhou gifted her mother a Chinese version of Alexa, and while she loved it, the device was limited and unable to do much beyond executing simple commands. If her mother needed to book airline tickets, for example, she’d still call her daughter who would then walk her through the process, step by step. This got Zhou thinking about how many people — parents included — struggle with technology, even though today’s devices come packed with powerful features.… read more about Shuyan Zhou: An AI Collaboration Agent »
Four faculty in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences were recently recognized by the Arts & Sciences Council for outstanding achievements in undergraduate teaching.Each year, the Council’s Committee on Undergraduate Teaching honors outstanding faculty for their commitment to their students, for engaging them deeply in research and scholarship, for their continued development as innovative teachers and mentors, and more.Members of the council — in collaboration with the dean's office — select… read more about Four Trinity Faculty Receive 2025 Undergraduate Teaching Awards »
On May 12–16, 2025, Duke Computer Science hosted 30 Ph.D. students from across the country for a week of learning, brainstorming and networking at the Duke & Chen Institute Joint Boot Camp for AI & AI-Accelerated Medical Research. Made possible with generous support from the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute, the intensive program prepared research-ready Ph.D. students and postdocs to understand the latest advances in AI technology and its impact on medicine and healthcare. read more about Duke & Chen Institute Host Boot Camp for AI & AI Accelerated Medical Research »
Researchers working to understand and develop better therapies for diseases like HIV, cancer, and Parkinson’s have more power than ever before to “see” proteins and their interactions inside cells. Cryogenic electron microscopes visualize frozen proteins in their near-native state, capturing ultra-detailed images. Artificial intelligence-powered analysis then detects patterns and producesaccurate 3D models. But the process of turning raw data into usable protein structures requires stitching together multiple… read more about New Tool From Duke Researchers Cuts Protein Imaging Time from Months to Days »
Pardis Emami-Naeini is concerned about AI users’ privacy — and with good reason.The assistant professor of Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering and Public Policy focuses much of her research on human-computer interactions and social aspects of computing. As the director of the Duke InSPIre Lab, one of her aims is understanding how people use AI technology, as well as their perceived risk of interacting with the tool. AI systems are constantly learning, absorbing and adapting. Their… read more about Dangerous Helpers: Understanding the Privacy Trade-Offs of AI Mental Health Support »
Fresh from the Outer Banks, sun-kissed, slightly sore yet fully inspired, Torry Bend is eager to continue the work started at Duke’s Marine Lab this summer. The professor of the practice in Theater Studies spent six weeks in Beaufort, North Carolina, directing Arts+ Resilience Through Puppetry and exploring the art form’s roles in teaching climate sustainability and community building. They came. They saw. They built a leviathan. The Arts+ team (from… read more about When Puppetry and Environmental Resiliency Go Hand-in-Hand »
The Donald Lab's 20 years of research into protein design is the foundation of Ten63 Therapeutics, a startup out to drug undruggable cancer targets. Ten63’s platform, BEYOND, can analyze 19,290,123 feasible drug compounds per second in the search for molecules that might inhibit the proteins that drive cancer. Based on a generative quantum chemistry AI, BEYOND not only discovers hidden (cryptic) pockets within previously undruggable targets but also designs drugs for these previously intractable cancer targets. Like… read more about How A Duke Computer Scientist Turned an Academic Project Into an AI Platform for Drugging “Undruggable” Cancers »
The First-Year Experience in Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, designed to connect new students through themed courses, small group learning and interactive experiences, includes the longstanding FOCUS program and new Constellations cohorts.There are 16 Constellations offered in the 2025-2026 academic year, each exploring an important and timely question. Kristin Stephens-Martinez, associate professor of the practice in Computer Science is teaching COMPSCI171: Learning How to Learn with AI,… read more about Kristin Stephens-Martinez: Redefining Learning with AI »
A new algorithm could help researchers better predict how molecules bind to proteins —an essential step in designing more effective drugs to treat a wide range of diseases. Bruce Donald, PhD, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and professor of biochemistry, and Yuxi (Jaden) Long, a former undergraduate in the Donald Lab and now a graduate student at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, developed the Predicting Affinity Through Homology (PATH) model. read more about New AI Model Makes Drug Discovery Faster, Smarter and More Transparent »
Two Computer Science faculty are receiving inaugural Google Machine Learning and Systems Junior Faculty Awards.Assistant Professor Pardis Emami-Naeini and Assistant Professor Lisa Wu Wills will each receive an unrestricted gift of $100,000 to support their future research and will be invited to participate in a symposium with fellow awardees. They were selected in recognition of the significance and promise of their work in security & privacy and hardware acceleration, respectively.Emami-Naeini’s research focuses… read more about Computer Science Faculty Receive Google Machine Learning and Systems Awards »
In this episode, Dr. Lindsay Jamieson, Teaching Professor and Associate Dean of Teaching Faculty for Northeastern’s Khoury College, shares her journey from a small liberal arts college to being Associate Dean of Teaching Faculty. We discuss what teaching-focused careers entail, how to assess positions, and what support and growth look like in these roles. Lindsay offers advice for making career shifts and reminds us that it’s always okay to change course if your current job doesn’t fit.You can also download this episode… read more about CS-Ed Podcast: Pivoting to Teaching Faculty »
Computer Science Ph.D. candidate Govind Sankar is the lead author on a paper awarded Best Student Paper at the 6th annual Symposium on Foundations of Responsible Computing (FORC) on June 4-6 at Stanford University. As a forum for mathematical research in computation, the FORC Symposium aims to advance the application of theoretical computer science to address issues of current and anticipated societal concern. Sankar’s paper — co-authored by Duke Professor of Computer Science … read more about Computer Science Ph.D. Candidate Govind Sankar Wins Best Student Paper at 2025 FORC Symposium »
Cynthia D. Rudin, the Gilbert, Louis, and Edward Lehrman Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, received the 2025 International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence Organization (IJCAI) McCarthy Award.The award recognizes Rudin’s foundational work on trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI), which is shaping the field of interpretable machine learning and making a major impact on sweeping societal changes. The John McCarthy Award celebrates mid-career researchers who have sparked innovative research… read more about Cynthia Rudin Receives 2025 International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence McCarthy Award »
In hospital intensive care units, neurologists often use a simple scorecard to quickly evaluate a critically ill patient’s likelihood of having a brain-damaging seizure so they can prevent it. The scorecard saves lives, lowers costs and helps doctors make far more efficient use of important, expensive medical equipment. But it wasn’t always that way. Until about 2019, hospitals had no way to quickly monitor a patient’s electronic brain activity and accurately predict whether a seizure was lurking. Often, a… read more about A Tool That Helps Predict a Brain-Damaging Seizure »
On May 9, the Department of Computer Science awarded degrees to graduates in the class of 2025. Among the graduates were Computer Science student ambassadors, award winners, and the 2025 undergraduate student Commencement speaker.In his commencement speech to the graduates, chair and Arthur S. Pearse Distinguished Professor of Computer Science Jian Pei reminded graduates, "wherever life takes you, you’ll always have a home here."Congratulations to our 2025 graduates! read more about Class of 2025: Wherever Life Takes You, You’ll Always Have a Home Here »
On May 9, the Department of Computer Science hosted a commencement ceremony for families and graduates of the class of 2025. Chair and Arthur S. Pearse Distinguished Professor of Computer Science Jian Pei offered his congratulations as he ushered the class into the future.The following is a lightly edited transcript of Pei's speech. Jian Pei is chair and Arthur S. Pearse Distinguished Professor of Computer Science. (Photo by RTP.Studio) Dear graduates, families and… read more about A Note from the Chair: Commencement 2025 »
Sayan Bhattacharya, Sepehr Assadi, Soheil Behnezhad , Martín Costa, Shay Solomon and Tianyi Zhang have received a Best Paper Award at STOC 2025, the 57th ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing. Sayan Bhattacharya, one of the collaborators received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Duke University as is currently an associate professor at the University of Warwick.Held annually since 1969, STOC covers all areas of research within algorithms and complexity theory and is one of the two most prestigious conferences in… read more about Duke Alum Sayan Bhattacharya Receives STOC 2025 Best Paper Award »
The following is a partial list of national, university, school and departmental awards presented to the members of the Class of 2025. In some awards where there are multiple winners, only members of the Class of 2025 are included. read more about Department Honors and Laurels for the Class of 2025 »