Department of Computer Science
NSF awarded Duke a $1.5 M grant to advance cybersecurity efforts as part of the $25.4 M Secure and Trustworthy Computing (SaTC) "Frontier" research program. With Indiana University as the lead institution, James B. Duke CS/ECE Distinguished Professor Mike Reiter is PI and Yale's Fan Zhang is Co-PI of the multi-institution and multi-disciplinary Center for Distributed Confidential Computing (CDCC) project at Duke. Researchers' goal is to provide solutions for protecting data-in-use, like… read more about NSF Awards $1.5M Grant to Duke for Secure and Trustworthy Computing (SaTC) Research »
NSF awarded a new STEM Education Postdoctoral Research Fellowship $1M+ grant over three years to The Alliance for Identity-Inclusive Computing Education. Duke Professor of the Practice of CS and Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies Dr. Nicki Washington is the PI, and co-PIs are Dr. Shani Daily, Professor of the Practice of ECE and CS and Dr. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, James B. Duke Distinguished Sociology Professor. With three postdocs supporting Duke-related activities,… read more about NSF Awards STEM Education Postdoc Research Fellowship Grant »
Duke Computer Science Associate Professor Ashwin Machanavajjhala and PhD student Yuchao Tao, together with their collaborators at HKUST (including Duke CS PhD graduate Ke Yi), won the Best Paper Award in Data Management at SIGMOD 2022. Professor Pankaj Agarwal and collaborators won Test-of-Time PODS Paper Award for Mergeable Summaries. Duke Computer Science faculty and PhD students presented seven (7) research papers at the conference. SIGMOD PODS is a prestigious annual… read more about Duke Computer Science Wins Best Paper and Test-of-Time Awards at SIGMOD PODS 2022 »
Dr. Cynthia Rudin was nominated as a 2021-22 Chron15 Pioneer. Duke Chronicle readers identified leaders, pioneers and icons that make positive change in the community. Rudin, also the director of Duke's Interpretable ML Lab, was selected for her innovative research and design of interpretable forms of AI, and her approach to ML which has generated breakthrough results. Rudin's national recognition includes the 2021 AAAI Squirrel AI Award and a 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship. read more about Rudin Selected as 2021-22 Chron15 Pioneer »
Congratulations to all recipients of the 2022 undergraduate student awards. Alex Vasilos Memorial Award Awarded to a graduating senior who completes an outstanding research project whose results should be published or of publishable quality with the intent to publish. In addition, this senior should have done excellent work in all computer science courses with a recognized joy of and appreciation for computer science as a discipline of study. Three students received this award.… read more about 2022 Undergraduate Awards »
Congratulations to all recipients of the 2022 undergraduate student awards. Alex Vasilos Memorial Award Awarded to a graduating senior who completes an outstanding research project whose results should be published or of publishable quality with the intent to publish. In addition, this senior should have done excellent work in all computer science courses with a recognized joy of and appreciation for computer science as a discipline of study. Three students received this award.… read more about Undergraduate Awards 2022 »
Congratulations to Dr. Cynthia Rudin, Duke Earl D. McLean, Jr. Professor of CS, ECE, Statistics, Math, Biostats & Bioinformatics on being named a 2022 Bass Chair. One of only four Duke Professors selected for this honor, Rudin is recognized for demonstrating excellence in both teaching and research. read more about Cynthia Rudin selected as 2022 Bass Chair »
Duke CS Alum and DraftKings' CEO, Jason Robins was named #12 on Boston Globe's Top 50 Tech Power Players list in May 2022 for growing and leading one of the region's biggest consumer tech brands. DraftKings is the vertically integrated Boston sports-betting and online gaming company he cofounded in 2011, which became publicly traded in 2020 and now operates in 17 countries. Robins expanded DraftKings’ reach across numerous platforms with daily fantasy, regulated gaming and digital media products via strategic partnerships. read more about Duke CS Alum and DraftKings CEO Jason Robins is #12 on Boston Globe's Top 50 Tech Power Players »
Duke CS Alumna Mary McKee was nominated Blue Devil of the Week in May 2022. Now the Deputy Chief Information Security Officer, Senior Director of Identity Management and Security Services at Duke OIT, McKee helps users of Duke's many online services have a seamless and secure experience, among other activities. read more about Duke CS Alumna Mary McKee Named Blue Devil of the Week »
Professors Nicki Washington and Shani Daily were selected as 2021 co-recipients of the Dean’s Diversity Award, which recognizes how diversity drives excellence in research, teaching, advising, mentoring, and service. Their leadership of the Cultural Competence in Computing (3C) Fellows Program and the Alliance for Identity-Inclusive Computing Education (AIICE) is transforming participation and perspectives in computing. read more about Professors Shaundra Daily and Nicki Washington Receive Dean's Diversity Award »
Robert Calderbank, Ph.D., Charles S. Sydnor Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Professor of Math, ECE, and Physics; Director of the Rhodes Information Initiative, and Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science and Society, was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Academy was founded in 1780 to honor excellence and national leadership in academia, the arts, industry, public policy and research. read more about Robert Calderbank Elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences »
Duke CS-Poli Sci '20 graduate Justin Sherman's research on data brokers — the multibillion-dollar industry of buying and selling your data — is featured in an April 2022 episode of HBO's LastWeekTonight with John Oliver. Sherman is a data security expert and a cyber policy fellow at Duke. In this 2019 profile, Sherman shares how he became interested in cybersecurity. read more about Duke CS Grad Justin Sherman's research featured on HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver »
Three Duke CS students received NSF Graduate Research Fellowships: Jerry Liu, who also just received the DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship, worked with Dr. Cynthia Rudin and will pursue a PhD in computational mathematics at Stanford. ECE-CS student Alex Oesterling worked with Dr. David Smith and Dr. Guillermo Sapiro, and will pursue a PhD in computer science at Harvard, focusing on algorithmic fairness and trustworthy AI. Andy Zhang, whose CS mentor was Dr.… read more about 3 Duke CS Students Receive 2022 NSF Graduate Research Fellowships »
Aditya Paul, Duke Computer Science/ECE double major with a Math minor, won the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship. This national award is based on academic merit and supports students who show promise of being part of the next generation of research leaders. Paul plans to earn a doctorate in electrical engineering, conduct research in quantum information systems and algorithms, and teach at a university. Congratulations! read more about Aditya Paul Named 2022 Goldwater Scholar »
Congratulations to Duke Computer Science, ECE, Statistics, Biostats and Math Professor Cynthia Rudin who was recently elected as a new Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) for groundbreaking and pioneering work on interpretable machine learning and trustworthy AI. New Fellows were honored at a special virtual ceremony during the AAAI 2022 Conference. Rudin also received the 2022 AAAI Squirrel AI Award for pioneering socially responsible AI and the prestigious… read more about Cynthia Rudin Named 2022 AAAI Fellow and Guggenheim Fellow »
Duke CS 2019 grad Joey Santoro founded the cryptocurrency startup Fei Protocol, a stablecoin in Ethereum native decentralized finance (DeFi). His participation in Duke Blockchain Lab as an undergrad no doubt influenced his innovation. Santoro said, “Being able to write code that’s immediately interoperable with dozens of financial protocols is the coolest thing ever.” Joey and his team recently conducted a multi-billion-dollar merger in DeFi, a huge milestone that sets a precedent for the potential of decentralized business… read more about Duke CS Grad Joey Santoro Founded Cryptocurrency Startup Fei Protocol »
Duke CS/Math Professor Bruce Donald's students use TikTok videos in his CS230 Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science class to illustrate complex mathematical and computer science concepts from Turing’s halting theory or computability to transcendental numbers. CS major Rhea Tejwani said, “In class, we were learning about a lot of big ideas and complex problems, so trying to compress them into a clear and concise 60-second video really helped me understand those topics.” The students'… read more about TikTok Videos Trend Math and CS Concepts in Bruce Donald's CS230 Class »
Duke Associate Professor of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, CS, Math, and Statistics Anru Zhang is the recipient of the 2022 Tweedie Award from the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. Recognized as a leading early career researcher in statistical science with this prominent and prestigious international award, Zhang will present the Tweedie New Researcher Invited Lecture at the upcoming 2022 IMS New Researchers Conference. Congratulations! read more about Anru Zhang wins Tweedie Award »
James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Computer Science Bruce Donald, his students, and collaborators at the University of Connecticut discovered how a single mutation in MRSA has such a large impact on antibiotic resistance. Now they can use computational strategies to develop better drugs to fight Staph infections. read more about Bruce Donald and Collaborators Discover How a Single Small Mutation Makes a Big Difference in Drug Efficacy: New Research Article »
Duke ECE, Computer Science, BME, and Math Professor Guillermo Sapiro has been elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), among the highest professional honors to be accorded an engineer. He was recognized for 3 decades of transformative contributions to the theory and practice of imaging which have significantly affected a wide range of fields. Congratulations! read more about Guillermo Sapiro Elected a Member of the National Academy of Engineering »
Governor Roy Cooper honored Duke Computer Science Professors Dr. Shani Daily and Dr. Nicki Washington, among others as NC Black STEM leaders during Black History Month for their critical, innovative work focused on helping their communities. Cooper said that NC is a stronger state thanks to the contributions of many talented Black leaders in STEM fields and that "As we celebrate their achievements, we must also work to break down barriers." read more about NC Governor Honors Two Duke Faculty as Black Leaders in STEM: Duke CS Professors Dr. Shani Daily and Dr. Nicki Washington »
Duke Computer Science doctoral student Zhi Chen won an award in the Section on Physical and Engineering Sciences (SPES) and Quality and Productivity (Q&P) 2022 Student Paper Competition of the American Statistical Association. The paper was entitled "How to See Hidden Patterns in Metamaterials with Interpretable Machine Learning" and co-authors include Duke professors Cynthia Rudin and Cate Brinson, and Caltech collaborators Alexander Ogren and Professor Chiara Daraio. Zhi is advised by… read more about PhD student Zhi Chen wins SPES+Q&P Student Paper Award »
In January 2022, Duke CS PhD David Kotz was named provost at Dartmouth College, where he had been serving as interim provost. In addition to his administrative expertise, Kotz has published over 200 reviewed scientific research papers. He received an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth in computer science and physics, and has worked at Dartmouth since 1991. read more about Duke CS PhD David Kotz Named Provost at Dartmouth »
Duke University Distinguished Professor of New Technologies and Professor of Computer Science, Economics, and Philosophy Vincent Conitzer and coauthor Professor Tuomas Sandholm of CMU received the 2022 IFAAMAS Influential Paper Award for their highly-cited, seminal paper entitled "Computing the optimal strategy to commit to." Their paper set the basis for computing optimal leader strategies in security games, leading to impactful work with real-world applications and establishing a strong mechanism design… read more about Vincent Conitzer and Tuomas Sandholm receive the IFAAMAS Influential Paper Award 2022 »
Duke University's 3C (Cultural Competence in Computing) Fellows Program was awarded 2022 Program of the Year by The Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity (CoNECD), an American Association of Engineering Education (ASEE)-affiliated conference. Director and Professor Nicki Washington, PhD; Professor Shaundra Daily, PhD; and PhD Student Cecilé Sadler will receive this award during the CoNECD 2022 conference in February. 3C Fellows is a… read more about CoNECD names Duke University's 3C Fellows Program of the Year »
Bruce Donald, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Math and Chemistry and professor of biochemistry, has received a five year, $2.9M Established Investigator Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) for computational and experimental studies of protein structure and design. “This project concentrates on two interlocking themes: protein structure and design,” says Donald. “The design of new therapeutics can alleviate… read more about Bruce Donald receives $3M Established Investigator MIRA award »
Duke’s Center for Computational Thinking (CCT) enables computational education by incorporating computer-related content into courses throughout the university. Duke Computer Science Chair Jun Yang says that exposure to computational thinking is important for all students “not just to prepare our students to survive in this new world, but to help them to lead.” read more about Computational Thinking is for Everyone »
Dr. Helen Li, Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science at Duke University, has been named an ACM Fellow for her contributions to neuromorphic computing and deep-learning acceleration. As a fellow, Dr. Li joins a select group of the top 1% of ACM professional members recognized for their outstanding accomplishments in computing and information technology. ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is the world's largest and most prestigious society of computing professionals. read more about Dr. Helen Li Named ACM Fellow »
The Graduate School's Senior Leadership Insights January 2022 video conversation featured Srinivasan (Chini) Krishnan (MS'91, PhD'92 Computer Science), founder and CEO of GetInsured.com. read more about Video Conversation with Duke CS Alum Chini Krishnan, Founder and CEO of GetInsured.com »
Two optional MS concentrations ‒ Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning and Cybersecurity ‒ are coming soon in Fall 2022! Please see MS Requirements for more information. read more about MS Concentrations Coming in Fall 2022 »