WiT & ACM Host Empowerment Hackathon

Posted on by usfcs

 

Students at Empowerment Hackathon
Students at Empowerment Hackathon

Introduction by Professor Beste Yuksel

We are very proud to announce that we held a hackathon on the theme of ‘Empowerment’ at the University of San Francisco in the department of Computer Science this year. This hackathon was sponsored by the very generous donations of Craig Newmark Philanthropies. It was organized by the Women in Tech (WiT) and ACM Student Chapter organizations. We had 53 students take part, 43% of which were female or non-binary! This is a huge coup for Computer Science where women generally make up 20-25% of classrooms and traditionally do not attend hackathons as much as men.

Continue reading “WiT & ACM Host Empowerment Hackathon” →

Not So Artificial Intelligence

Posted on by usfcs
Professor Greg Benson
Professor Greg Benson

As the public embraces artificial intelligence (AI) in self-driving cars, virtual home assistants like Alexa, and even humanoid robots like Hanson Robotics’ Sophia, USF’s undergraduate and graduate computer science programs have teamed with Silicon Valley companies to train students in the technology behind these innovations: machine learning. Read more…

MSCS Student Profile: Gauri Joshi

Posted on by usfcs

 

Gauri Joshi
Gauri Joshi

Graduate students in Computer Science come from a wide-range of backgrounds. With 16 countries and 13 states represented, they also come from all over the globe! Gauri Joshi is a second-year MSCS student, originally from India who will be joining Ebay, Inc upon graduation this month. Learn more about Gauri’s inspiring journey through the MSCS.

Continue reading “MSCS Student Profile: Gauri Joshi” →

BSCS Transfer Profile: Kevin Beltran

Posted on by usfcs
Kevin Beltran
Kevin Beltran

The University of San Francisco’s diverse community welcomes students from all over the world and from many different backgrounds. In this newsletter, we wanted to recognize our amazing transfer community and highlight Computer Science junior, Kevin Beltran. Kevin joined USF’s Department of Computer Science this past fall from the Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. Continue reading “BSCS Transfer Profile: Kevin Beltran” →

Yuksel’s New HCI Lab Applying Machine-Learning to Tutoring, VR to Social Justice

Posted on by usfcs

CS Faculty The first thing Professor Beste Yuksel did when she came to USF’s computer science department in Fall 2016 was create a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) lab. Today, the lab is equipped with fully-immersive virtual reality (VR) and brain-computer interfacing (BCI), with which Yuksel and her students have been putting to use on research in areas of tutoring and social justice. Read more…

Engineering Environmentally Friendly Energy

Posted on by usfcs

CS AlumAustin Bushree ‘17 has his sights on the energy industry. A double major in computer science and physics, he plans on taking his freshly minted degrees to Stanford’s Energy Resources Engineering graduate program to research tidal energy. Ultimately, he wants to learn how to engineer energy systems that use pre-existing infrastructures to keep the lights on in a more environmentally benign way. Read more…

Changing the Tech Industry From Here

Posted on by usfcs

CS studentsTop tech leaders at LinkedIn and Craigslist have joined a USF effort to reduce the tech industry’s gender gap.

Sarah Clatterbuck ’97, senior director of engineering at LinkedIn, and Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, paid for about two dozen female computer science students and faculty to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing in October. The conference is the largest gathering of women technologists in the world. Several  students also received prestigious scholarships from the Anita Borg Institute. Read more…

Faculty Brings Big Data Boost to Computer Science

Posted on by usfcs

CS FacultyProfessor Matthew Malensek, who specializes in big data, joined the Department of Computer Science this fall as an Assistant Professor. He said that he simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work alongside such inspiring faculty who are truly passionate about carrying out cutting-edge research. He’s thrilled to have the opportunity to teach (as well as learn from) such a diverse, talented, and motivated student body here at USF. Read more…