Congratulations to #ManningCICS Professor Alexandra Meliou, who has been named a Distinguished Member of the @theofficialacm, one of the organization’s highest recognitions for technical excellence and sustained impact.
Learn more: brnw.ch/21wZrsA
🌟 Congrats to #ManningCICS doctoral candidates Alireza Salemi and Cuong Than, who have been named 2025 Google PhD Fellows! Their projects focus on natural language feedback for multi-agent AI systems and on optimized network structures known as spanners, respectively.
Read more: brnw.ch/21wXZf6
Richard Sutton and Andrew Barto.
#ManningCICS Professor Emeritus Andrew G. Barto and alumnus Richard Sutton ’80MS, ’84PhD are featured in the latest issue of UMass Magazine for their research in reinforcement learning, which earned them the 2024 ACM A.M. Turing Award.
Read more: www.cics.umass.edu/news/positiv...
Upgrading your smartphone doesn’t have to mean the end of its usefulness. 📱
A team of researchers led by #ManningCICS Assistant Professor VP Nguyen is uncovering new ways to repurpose recycled smartphones into sustainable environmental monitoring tools. ♻️🌎
Learn more: brnw.ch/21wWUYs
Interested? Join us tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. to learn more about the online MS in computer science—our courses, program requirements, application process, and more!
Registration is requested. Sign up today at umass-amherst.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
UMass Amherst's top-ranked MS in Computer Science is also offered online. If you're eager to learn how to use AI and other advanced computing skills to solve complex problems, this 30-credit master's is your degree.
Additionally, Assistant Professor Mingda Qiao, who was hired in 2024, arrived on campus in July, and Professor Katrin Erk began in September as a joint appointment with the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, UMass Amherst (@umasshfa.bsky.social).
Read more: www.cics.umass.edu/news/six-new...
Joining us are:
*Assistant Professor Yicong Huang (starting Fall 2027)
*Assistant Professor Neha Makhija (Fall 2025)
*Teaching Faculty James Perretta (Fall 2025)
*Teaching Faculty Ella Tuson (Fall 2025)
*Distinguished Professor Holly Yanco (Fall 2025)
*Assistant Professor Wenting Zhao (Fall 2026)
From top left to right: Assistant Professor Yicong Huang, Assistant Professor Neha Makhija, Teaching Faculty James Perretta. From bottom left to right: Teaching Faculty Ella Tuson, Distinguished Professor Holly Yanco, Assistant Professor Wenting Zhao.
#ManningCICS is excited to announce the hiring of six #newfaculty members in 2025, bringing our cohort of tenure-stream and teaching faculty to 94 🎉.
#ManningCICS Associate Professor Ivan Lee has been named editor-in-chief of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference (EMBC) Proceedings, the flagship publication of the world’s largest biomedical engineering conference.
Read more: www.cics.umass.edu/news/ivan-le...
Last week, we caught up with first-year undergraduate students and our brand new dean at the #ManningCICS Come Home to Your College event to talk about what they're most excited about for the coming semester. 🍎✨
#Computing4CommonGood #Classof2029
New students, new semester, same shared mission of #Computing4theCommonGood 💫
#ManningCICS is excited to welcome our new and returning students with best wishes for the start of a new academic year.
⬇️🏗️ Our answer to "What have you been up to this summer?"
Stay tuned for an update on opening day...
Meet the new #ManningCICS dean, Keith Marzullo. In this short video, hear from Dean Marzullo, reflecting on his journey to @umassamherst.bsky.social and shares a vision for the next chapter of the college, fueled by a spirit of collaboration and a commitment to the common good. youtu.be/VmFnLEhyY1s
The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) has released a new white paper, "Envisioning Possible Futures for AI Research," co-authored by #ManningCICS professors David Jensen and Holly Yanco that maps 6 possible directions for AI research.
Read the white paper: cccblog.org/2025/07/31/e....
A new AI-powered debugging tool developed by #ManningCICS PhD students Kyla Levin and Nicolas van Kempen and Professor Emery Berger integrates LLMs into a conversational interface to help programmers diagnose and resolve software bugs more efficiently.
Read more: bit.ly/41wQdaa
#ManningCICS Professor and Associate Chair of Faculty Development Alexandra Meliou has been elected vice chair of the ACM Special Interest Group on Management of Data, where she plans to build on existing strengths, diversify membership, and foster greater inclusion.
Read more: bit.ly/44RV5aR
Associate Professor Mohammad Hajiesmaili and Associate Dean and Distinguished Professor Ramesh Sitaraman, in collaboration with @caltech.edu and @uofcalifornia.bsky.social researchers, have coauthored a new paper published in the July issue of Communications of the ACM.
Read more: bit.ly/44prG91
#ManningCICS Assistant Professor Eugene Bagdasarian and Professor Shlomo Zilberstein have received a $500,000 Schmidt Sciences grant to advance critical research in AI safety.
Read more: www.cics.umass.edu/news/bagdasa...
What if your smartwatch could charge itself just from your movement? 🏃♀️☕️ That’s what #ManningCICS students Rishi Nandurbarkar and Max Loper are building with Diel Technologies—and their idea just won the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship’s 2025 Innovation Challenge.
Learn more: bit.ly/4kC1wVz
In her essay, “Is AI Good for Society?”, Berman reflects on the whirlwind debut of ChatGPT and argues for public-interest “digital infrastructure” that pairs innovation with clear accountability.
Read more: hdsr.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/yn7p8jik...
How do we make sure rapid advances in generative AI actually serve the public good?
#ManningCICS Research Professor and Stuart Rice Honorary Chair Francine Berman tackles that question in Harvard Data Science Review’s special issue “Future Shock: Grappling with the Generative AI Revolution.”
Image of (left) Andrew Barto and (right) Richard Sutton smiling while standing in front of a chalkboard
Today, #ManningCICS Professor Emeritus Andrew G. Barto and Richard Sutton '84PhD will formally be presented with the prestigious 2024 ACM A.M. Turing Award.
Explore how next-gen UMass researchers are building on their legacy to tackle society's toughest challenges.
Read more: brnw.ch/21wTkvY
Jensen emphasized that large language models aren't the final frontier and highlighted the ongoing evolution of AI, pointing to quantum AI, embodied AI, and neuro-symbolic AI as exciting future directions. ⚛️🧠
Read more at cccblog.org/2025/06/03/a...
The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) recently featured #ManningCICS Professor David Jensen in the panel "The Future of AI Horizons" at the CCC Computing Futures Symposium, where leading minds in AI discussed the incredible trajectory and profound responsibility of artificial intelligence.
📸 Sharing your own shots? Tag us and use #CICSGrad25 and #UMassGrad2025 so we can cheer you on!
Caps off to our graduates! 🎓 On May 17, the #ManningCICS community celebrated the outstanding Class of 2025 at Senior Celebration. Professional & candid photos and the full ceremony recording are now live.
View the photos: flic.kr/s/aHBqjCf13L
Watch the recording: youtu.be/w1982pR0We8?...
🎉 Congratulations to Jennifer Donelson, assistant director of human resources, who received the #ManningCICS Outstanding Staff Award for 2025! Donelson was selected for her improvements to the college's onboarding process and staff mentoring program.
Read more: www.cics.umass.edu/news/2025-ou...
Congratulations to #ManningCICS Assistant Professor Ravi Karkar on earning an NSF CAREER award! His project will work to advance the design and theory of everyday self‑experimentation tech to allow more people to take charge of their own health data and decisions. Read more: brnw.ch/21wSAj7
Congratulations to #ManningCICS Senior Teaching Faculty Marc Liberatore, one of four recipients of the inaugural UMass Amherst Delphi Leadership Award, honored for his sustained efforts to advance equity and improve working conditions for non-tenure-track colleagues.
Read more: brnw.ch/21wSxes
