Department of Computer Science at The University of Arizona

Jordan Rodriguez, native Tucsonan and Department of Computer Science alum🎓 (BS - 2025; MS -2026), is continuing his journey here as a lecturer this fall!

Leveraging his time as an undergraduate and graduate student in the department, Jordan will be able to provide a unique perspective on the curriculum and student experience. Jordan worked as an undergraduate teaching assistant and course coordinator and developed a strong connection to teaching -"Working as a TA, I found teaching very fulfilling. That feeling of passion, combined with the inspiration of the teachers that I knew had impacted my life so positively, inspired me to get on the path to become a teacher myself. I love the academic environment that combines teaching, bringing in the next generation of computer scientists, and research, exploring and expanding the boundaries of the field."

Jordan hopes to make a positive experience and impact as a lecturer. We know Jordan will inspire his students, much like our faculty inspired him - "I applied to the department because I found a home here throughout my degree. The teachers have been approachable, and have inspired me in many ways with their passion and dedication. I've found there's a general appreciation for the beauty and elegance of computing, which I appreciate and resonate with. I was inspired to bring more students into that culture through teaching."

When Jordan isn't preparing for the upcoming semester, he is reading📖 , meditating , or doing yoga 🧘‍♂️ . He recently completed a summer program at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center (https://bit.ly/4wpqzBM)!

Read more about Jordan here (https://bit.ly/4wolBW3)!

Happy to have you join the faculty and look forward to your success!

⭐ 🤩Staff Spotlight🤩 ⭐ featuring Tina Mendoza, our amazing (and award-winning) Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC). Tina has been a staff member at the University of Arizona for 18 years - having been a GPC for 8 of those years. Her passion for supporting graduate students is evident in her daily work and celebrated by all who are fortunate to know her.

Tina came to the U of A after having worked as a stunt show performer, Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), and Regional Office Manager! Her "cool under pressure" approach makes our graduate students feel calm and reassured in Tina's presence. Her passion for higher education stems from her own experiences at UA - having earned a BA in Linguistics and MA in Library and Information Science and served as a student worker and administrative associate.

Tina was recognized this past year for the UA Graduate College's Outstanding Contributions Award 🥇 - only one GPC is selected across campus! (read the article here: https://bit.ly/4evLcWq) A strong student advocate, Tina has served as a GPC representative on the campus Graduate Council and several department and university committees. Her mindset serving on these important groups has always been - "Will this benefit graduate students....and doing right by graduate students"

The key to Tina's success as a GPC? "Be a good listener...give students time and space to discuss openly...know policies and resources."

Prospective grad students, make note of Tina's advice: "Do all that you can while you are an undergraduate to set yourself up to apply to graduate school...prepare to apply early."

Tina's love of sport and physical activity started young, having been a gymnast 🤸‍♀️ , a soccer⚽ player (still to this day in a Tucson league), basketballer ⛹️‍♀️ , an Irish Traditional Dancer☘️ , and hiker🥾 .

Watch the CS Staff Spotlight interview to learn more about Tina (and see some cool pictures of her as a stunt person, EMT and gymnast here: https://bit.ly/4eK6deG .

Ojas Sanghi (spring 2026 graduate) made the most of his time at the University of Arizona - undergraduate research, internships, and prestigious accolades including being selected as a Udall Scholar, Truman Scholar and College of Science Outstanding Senior. His success centers on his belief that a single person can take action and do something meaningful.

Ojas learned about the climate crisis in high school and did something many others don't do - he chose to do something about it. Ojas became active in the Arizona Youth Climate Coalition, serving as the Tucson Co-Lead. His work with AZ YCC, led to a commitment from Tucson Unified School District as part of a climate action resolution with enormous impact (see here: https://bit.ly/4vW6vX7).

Two of Ojas's pieces of advice to students: "trust your gut on what is a good use of your time....pursuing a unique path is really scary but also a really good feeling"

Ojas is using his passion for climate policy and computer science to pursue the MS in Technology and Policy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Check out the Student Spotlight interview (https://bit.ly/4vLiXsw) to learn more about Ojas's experiences at the University of Arizona, his work on climate action plans, shoutout to CS instructor Melanie Lotz, and advice on overcoming barriers (self-imposed and external).

🎓 🎓 🎓 Congrats class of 2026! 🎓 🎓 🎓 We are excited for you and feel very lucky to have been a small part of your time here. We will miss you, but know that you are going off to do amazing things! Welcome to the CS Alumni Community!

Alumni Spotlight!! Sam Liang() (MS '93) arrived in Tucson to pursue the MS in Computer Science in Fall 1991, after being on his first 🛬 plane ride and with only “a few hundred dollars” in his pocket.

He was ready to start his American experience and pursue the “American dream.” Sam learned from renowned/notable UA CS faculty - Ralph Griswold (department’s first department head), Udi Manber, and Gregg Andrews. After graduating in 1994, Sam went on to attend Stanford University in pursuit of a PhD in Electrical Engineering, Internet Distributed Systems. After spending some time in industry (including Cisco, Tropos Networks, Google, DFJ), Sam decided it was time to start his own company - Alohar Mobile Inc (Acquired by Alibaba). Fast forward to February 2016 - Sam co-founded and is CEO of Otter.ai, which pioneered the AI Meeting Assistant category, with over 35 million users world wide and over $100M in annual revenue.

Watch the interview (https://youtu.be/m0hUs8OKUZ0) as Sam reflects on his experience at UA, discusses Otter.ai, provides advice for students, and shares his story.

🙌 🙌 Super Sam! Sam Morrow, Sr. Academic Advisor, was recognized for Staff Shoutout by Professor John Kececioglu.

Prof. Kececioglu recognized her because "Sam has done an outstanding job as our staff member on the Department's Awards Committee. Sam has shown remarkable initiative in informing our students of the award application process, setting up forms for collecting nominee submissions, assisting in the awardee selection process within the Awards Committee, and demonstrating incredible follow-through in all these activities. She is a gem!"

Sam has been an CS academic advisor for 5 years. During that time, she has advised countless students on their journey through the undergraduate programs. Sam enjoys "seeing students find their passion" and strongly believes "the truth is that everyone is just a person. Faculty, staff, students, we are all just doing our best and have to eat, sleep, and survive just like everyone else. Be kind, be generous when you can, and don't let a title or degree intimidate you."

Sam's advice to students during their time at UA:
"New [student]: It's okay and good t[o] ask for help.
Middle [undergrad experience]: You're allowed to change your mind.
End [graduating student]: Enjoy this part - you'll miss it, and you've earned it."

Outside of work, Sam enjoys painting🎨 and other art📸 . She also has a large collection of rubber ducks 🦆 throughout her office - stop by and check it out!

Thank you Sam, for your dedication to helping our students and the department!

🥳🙌 Congratulations Ramya Ramachandran - Department of Computer Science Outstanding Service Awardee! Ramya was recognized by the department for her service and direct impact on the department's community. As President of the Department of Computer Science Graduate Student Council, Ramya led the group to host community building events such as board game nights, group hikes, faculty candidate meetings, and our inaugural Graduate Student Showcase and Photography contest. Her initiatives have led to an increase in the sense of belonging for our graduate students.

Ramya is graduating this May and will be joining another amazing group: CS Alumni! What did Ramya enjoy most about her time at U of A? "The opportunity to make mistakes...branch out to explore...professors who direct you and listen to you...the friends that I made here - people to look up to and have a lot of fun with."

Watch the Student Spotlight interview to learn more about Ramya, her experience at UA, and advice for her peers to make the most out of their time as graduate students: https://bit.ly/49hNYLM

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🎉 🎉 Congratulations Aunabil - TA of the Month! Aunabil was recognized by Professor John Kececioglu - "Aunabil has done an outstanding job as a TA for CSC 450, our undergraduate algorithms in bioinformatics course. The homework and exams in this course have quite challenging long-answer problems, and Aunabil has done an excellent job carefully understanding the students' submissions, and applying appropriate grading. He is also invariably timely in completing everything -- and with a much-appreciated cheerful demeanor as well!"

Aunabil came to the University of Arizona, from Bangladesh, because of the "Great CS department and research environment." He is working with Associate Professor Eduardo Blanco and Professor Mihai Surdeanu in the research area of Natural Language Processing.

Aunabil's advice to students in his course: "Answer concisely and precisely."

When Aunabil isn't in class, doing research, or TAing, he can be found playing soccer⚽ and going on hikes🥾 .

Thanks for being a great TA and role model! Your actions will have lasting impact!

Another amazing recognition for the University of Arizona Department of Computer Science Faculty! Congrats Assistant Professor Takanori Fujiwara for earning the IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium (PacificVis) Early Career Award!

Read about Dr. Fujiwara's award, research, and more here: https://bit.ly/4cXX7Ku

Hooray Dr. Fujiwara! Great work!

👀 Check this out! University of Arizona Department of Computer Science Professor Mihai Surdeanu was named a Fulbright U.S. Scholar. Read about Prof. Surdeanu, his research, this recognition and more here: https://bit.ly/4tDD2jO

🥳 🥳 Congrats Prof. Surdeanu! Well deserved!