News & EventsDepartment Events & Announcements
Events
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Feb13
EVENT DETAILS
lessInterested in Design, Technology, or Research?Join DTR (Design, Technology, and Research) to work on hands-on projects in human–computer interaction, learning sciences, and design innovation—and become part of a driven community of makers and researchers.
Our alumni have gone on to leading roles at OpenAI, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Stanford, with over 40% continuing into top tech companies or research labs.
DTR Open House, Winter 2026
Date: Friday, February 13th
Time: 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Location: The Garage, Workspace Room 1
RSVP: https://forms.gle/aKTdzZbKFsfwF7vh8Learn how to gain hands-on research experience while earning credit in CS 315/415: Design, Technology, and Research. The course counts toward technical elective, interface, and project requirements. Meet faculty and current students at the Open House to see what DTR is like firsthand, and yes, there will be snacks!
We welcome undergraduate, masters, and PhD students from all disciplines who are curious about people, design, technology, and learning. Applications for Spring Quarter 2026 are now open and due February 16th.
Can’t make it? Submit the form and contact us at hq@northwestern.edu or visit our website for more info.
TIME Friday, February 13, 2026 at 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
LOCATION The Garage, Workspace Room 1, North Campus Parking Garage/Academic Building map it
CONTACT Haoqi Zhang hq@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Feb19
EVENT DETAILS
lessHosted By CSPAC
Title: TBA
Abstract: TBA
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What is CSPAC?
We are the CS PhD Advisory Council. We are a PhD student-led organization, and our mandate is to interface between PhD students and faculty on academic issues. We want to advocate for PhD students in the department, so if there is some way we can support you, please come talk to us. We welcome PhD students to our weekly meetings on Tuesdays, 4:00-5:00pm in Mudd 3501 and on zoom. We also welcome anonymous concerns/feedback at any time via this form. Anyone in the community can reach us at cspac@u.northwestern.edu.
TIME Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT CSPAC cspac@u.northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Feb23
EVENT DETAILS
lessMonday / CS Seminar
February 23 / 12:00 PM
Hybrid / Mudd 3514Speaker
Xiaorui Sun, UICTalk Title
Toward Faster Algebraic Computation: An Isomorphism PerspectiveAbstract
"Over the past few decades, linear-algebraic techniques played a central role in the design of faster algorithms, with notable successes in many graph algorithms such as maximum flow and shortest paths. However, for many problems that are not yet known to admit polynomial-time algorithms—such as integer factoring and various isomorphism problems—linear methods alone are often insufficient. In these settings, more general nonlinear algebraic structures, including groups, rings, and modules, naturally arise. Achieving further algorithmic progress requires a deeper understanding of these algebraic objects.
In this talk, I will discuss how algebraic representations have become essential to recent advances in isomorphism problems. I will highlight connections among several central isomorphism problems and survey the techniques that have led to more efficient algorithms. I will conclude by discussing open challenges and outlining promising directions for future research."
Biography
Xiaorui Sun is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Illinois Chicago. His research interests lie in theoretical computer science, with an emphasis on the intersection of algorithms and algebraic computation. After earning his PhD from Columbia University, he worked at Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing and Microsoft Research. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, and his work have been featured in Communications of the ACM and Quanta Magazine.Research Interests: theoretical computer science, algorithms, and algebraic computation
TIME Monday, February 23, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Wynante R Charles wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Feb25
EVENT DETAILS
lessWednesday / CS Seminar
February 25 / 12:00 PM
Hybrid / Mudd 3514Speaker
Austin Mordahl, UICTalk Title
Challenges of Modern Static Analysis: Configuration, Flakiness and TestingAbstract
"Static analysis tools are essential for catching bugs early in software development, yet decades of research have failed to overcome fundamental barriers to their adoption: complicated configuration, high false positive rates, and failure to detect real bugs. Despite the proliferation of sophisticated tools for determining program properties and advances in underlying techniques, these challenges continue to hinder widespread adoption and effective use in practice. In this talk, we will explore solutions to three persistent problems that plague modern static analysis: configuration complexity, flakiness, and testing. First, we'll examine approaches to reducing the steep learning curves around tool configuration, making it easier for developers to deploy static analyzers in their projects. Second, we'll investigate techniques for addressing flakiness: when analysis tools produce different results on identical code, undermining developer trust in their results. Finally, we'll discuss methods for testing static analysis tools themselves: validating that tools correctly determine the program properties they claim to compute.
Throughout the talk, we'll also examine how large language models are reshaping approaches to each of these challenges and consider their potential to fundamentally transform static analysis workflows. Attendees will gain practical insights into emerging solutions to long-standing problems and new research directions in making static analysis tools more reliable and accessible."Biography
Austin Mordahl has been an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago since November 2024. Prior to this, he was a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Dallas. Dr. Mordahl’s research concerns automatic bug detection and static analysis, and he is especially interested in understanding and improving the performance of real-world static analysis tools. As a Ph.D. student, he was a recipient of the prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship as well as the winner of the 2019 ACM Student Research Competition at ICSE.Research Interests: Program analysis, software testing, software engineering
TIME Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Wynante R Charles wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Feb26
EVENT DETAILS
lessCS Community! Join us for our monthly free bagels and coffee while mingling with fellow faculty and students.
TIME Thursday, February 26, 2026 at 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Bella Barrios marbella.barrios@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Feb26
EVENT DETAILS
lessHosted By CSPAC
Title: TBA
Abstract: TBA
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What is CSPAC?
We are the CS PhD Advisory Council. We are a PhD student-led organization, and our mandate is to interface between PhD students and faculty on academic issues. We want to advocate for PhD students in the department, so if there is some way we can support you, please come talk to us. We welcome PhD students to our weekly meetings on Tuesdays, 4:00-5:00pm in Mudd 3501 and on zoom. We also welcome anonymous concerns/feedback at any time via this form. Anyone in the community can reach us at cspac@u.northwestern.edu.
TIME Thursday, February 26, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT CSPAC cspac@u.northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Mar2
EVENT DETAILS
lessMonday / CS Seminar
March 2 / 12:00 PM
Hybrid / Mudd 3514Speaker
Rana Hanocka, University of ChicagoTalk Title
Data-Driven Neural Mesh Editing – without 3D DataAbstract
Much of the current success of deep learning has been driven by massive amounts of curated data, whether annotated or unannotated. Compared to image datasets, developing large-scale 3D datasets is either prohibitively expensive or impractical. In this talk, I will present several works that harness the power of data-driven deep learning for tasks in shape editing and processing, without any 3D datasets. I will discuss works that learn to synthesize and analyze 3D geometry using large image datasets.Biography
Rana Hanocka is an Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago and holds a courtesy appointment at the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago (TTIC). She founded and directs the 3DL (Threedle) research collective, comprised of enthusiastic researchers passionate about 3D, machine learning, and visual computing. Her research interests span computer graphics, computer vision, and machine learning. She completed her Ph.D. at Tel Aviv University under the supervision of Daniel Cohen-Or and Raja Giryes. Her Ph.D. research focused on building neural networks for irregular 3D data and applying them to problems in geometry processing.---
Zoom: TBA
Panopto: TBATIME Monday, March 2, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Wynante R Charles wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Mar5
EVENT DETAILS
lessHosted By CSPAC
Title: TBA
Abstract: TBA
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What is CSPAC?
We are the CS PhD Advisory Council. We are a PhD student-led organization, and our mandate is to interface between PhD students and faculty on academic issues. We want to advocate for PhD students in the department, so if there is some way we can support you, please come talk to us. We welcome PhD students to our weekly meetings on Tuesdays, 4:00-5:00pm in Mudd 3501 and on zoom. We also welcome anonymous concerns/feedback at any time via this form. Anyone in the community can reach us at cspac@u.northwestern.edu.TIME Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Wynante R Charles wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Mar12
EVENT DETAILS
lessHosted By CSPAC
Title: TBA
Abstract: TBA
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What is CSPAC?
We are the CS PhD Advisory Council. We are a PhD student-led organization, and our mandate is to interface between PhD students and faculty on academic issues. We want to advocate for PhD students in the department, so if there is some way we can support you, please come talk to us. We welcome PhD students to our weekly meetings on Tuesdays, 4:00-5:00pm in Mudd 3501 and on zoom. We also welcome anonymous concerns/feedback at any time via this form. Anyone in the community can reach us at cspac@u.northwestern.edu.TIME Thursday, March 12, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT CSPAC cspac@u.northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Apr6
EVENT DETAILS
lessMonday / CS Joint Seminar
April 6 / 3:00 PM
Ford Motor ITWA joint seminar presented by Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, and the Center for Human–Computer Interaction + Design
Speaker
Faez Ahmed, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyTalk Title
From Data to Design: Rethinking Engineering Design With Next-Gen AIAbstract
Generative AI is transforming how we create, customize, and accelerate digital content. Yet applying these tools to engineering design introduces unique challenges, from maintaining precision under evolving requirements to working effectively in data-scarce environments and interpreting designer intent. In this talk, I will discuss these challenges and show how emerging engineering-focused foundation models are beginning to address them, reshaping workflows in areas such as vehicle design, CAD automation, and design optimization. I will highlight new opportunities enabled by generative AI that integrates multimodal data with engineering analysis and optimization, and present examples of AI-driven design co-pilots for engineering tasks. The talk will conclude with a perspective on how AI enables us to broaden design democratization, accelerate innovation cycles, and fundamentally reshape the role of engineers.Biography
Faez Ahmed is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, where heleads the DeCoDE Lab. His research focuses on AI for engineering design, including deep generative models, multimodal representations, and human–AI collaboration. His work has been recognized with the NSF CAREER Award, ASME DAC and DTM Young Investigator Awards, the Google Research Scholar Award, and the Amazon Research Award. He serves as an Associate Editor for Computer-Aided Design and Design Science.TIME Monday, April 6, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
LOCATION ITW 1350, Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center map it
CONTACT Wynante R Charles wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)