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 »
In this teaching practice byte (TPB), we bring you Professor Andrew Begel to discuss how to support communication for project teams through the lens of supporting our neurodivergent students. We first discuss briefly why there is a greater awareness of neurodiversity. Then we go into how to support student communication within a team setting, regardless of your students’ neurotype, since it turns out all students need to be taught how to communicate more effectively! This TPB discusses concrete ways to identify hidden… read more about CS-Ed Podcast: Scaffolding Project Team Communication, Including for Neurodivergence »
Benjamin Peng is a Trinity senior graduating in 2025 with a double major in Classical Studies and Computer Science. We asked him to tell us a little bit about his experience, and about the unexpected benefits of graduating with these two very different majors.Were you always interested in Classical Studies?I came into Duke with no experience with Latin and no experience with the classics more broadly, but I've come to really appreciate the four years I've spent studying Latin, and I can honestly… read more about Introducing Trinity’s Class of 2025: Benjamin Peng »
Felicia Wang (T ’25) is an artist and Mathematics major with a double minor in Computer Science and Political Science. Her career interests converge in climate policy, and she leaves behind something special at Duke: Climate Cafes. Climate Cafes are campus meetups where students can discuss themes around emerging issues of climate change. Bryan Koen the Assistant Director for Education & Experiential Learning at the Nicholas Institute, remembers, Wang discussing the need for… read more about Graduating Senior Felicia Wang Leaves Impact Through Climate Cafe Programming »
DURHAM, N.C. – A combined 33 Duke fencers garnered spots on the All-ACC Academic Men's and Women's Fencing Teams, as announced by the conference office Thursday. Junior Kunling Tong was tabbed the Co-Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year.The male Blue Devils honored were Ethan Boroditsky, Laith Elkousy, Lev Ermakov, Joseph Glasson, Justin Glozman, William Holz, Owen Li, Joshua Lo, Allen Marakov, Justin Morrill, Giulio Pech, Ryan… read more about Computer Science Major Named Co-Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year »
Jaeden Toy is a graduating senior with majors in Computer Science and Russian and a minor in Linguistics. He has served as a Trinity Ambassador for Computer Science. Trinity Ambassadors are student volunteers, nominated by their departments, to serve in this unique and important role.We asked a few of the ambassadors from the Class of 2025 to share their favorite memories from Duke. The below interview has been slightly edited for clarity. What was one of the most impactful classes you took during your time at… read more about Notes From the Class of 2025: Take a Chance and Say "Yes" »
One is a first-generation Indian-American who grew up in Princeton, N.J. The other grew up in the rural United States, rodeo riding. Though Danica Bajaj and Lucas Vaughan come from different upbringings, they have one thing in common: They were selected as the undergraduate and graduate student commencement speakers for the Class of 2025. A Message of HopeBajaj, who will graduate with a computer science major and a philosophy minor, says her message to students this year will center on “finding hope and community… read more about 2025 Student Commencement Speakers: Different Backgrounds, One Special Day »
Each year, Duke University awards Benenson Awards in the Arts, which provide funding for arts-centered projects proposed by undergraduates, including graduating seniors. This year, the Student Arts Award Committee awarded prizes to fifteen students for creative projects spanning film, theater, creative writing, music, dance, and visual art. read more about Announcing the 2025 Benenson Award Winners »
Two Duke University undergraduates have been honored as Barry M. Goldwater Scholars, which supports students who already have an exceptional research record and are pursuing careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. Each Goldwater Scholar receives up to $7,500 annually toward the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board.Deven Gupta and Paul Rosu are among the 441 students awarded Goldwater Scholarships this year. Goldwater Scholars are nominated by their respective universities and… read more about Duke Computer Science Sophomore Named 2025 Goldwater Scholar »