The Baskin School of Engineering welcomes three new faculty members for the 2025-26 academic year.
With experience across academia and industry, the new faculty bring expertise in artificial intelligence, machine learning, security, computational biology, and more. They are committed to inclusive teaching and will mentor the next generation of engineers while advancing forward-thinking solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.
“Our new faculty are equipped to expand new frontiers in cutting-edge fields, pushing the boundaries of innovation at our school,” said Alexander Wolf, dean of Baskin Engineering. “I look forward to their enriching contributions to research, teaching, and service to the community.”
Applied Mathematics
“I look forward to collaborating with colleagues in Baskin Engineering and the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute to understand the molecular mechanisms of health and disease.”
Nilah Ioannidis, assistant professor
Academic interests: Machine learning, computational biology, genomics
Nilah Ioannidis joins Baskin Engineering from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences and the Center for Computational Biology at UC Berkeley. She is also a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator. Her research group develops machine learning and artificial intelligence methods to interpret individual genomes and model variation in gene expression and other molecular and cellular phenotypes. Ioannidis received her Ph.D. in biophysics from Harvard University, where she modeled intracellular particle dynamics. She completed postdoctoral work at Stanford University, developing variant pathogenicity predictors for rare disease and clinical genomics applications.
Computer Science and Engineering
“I love that my research lets me explore the power of language while addressing real-world challenges. By developing advanced techniques, I am building systems that can understand, generate, and critique language in meaningful ways. It’s rewarding to see these models evolve and to work with students as they think critically and creatively about AI’s role in language, society, and human well-being.”
Chenguang Wang, assistant professor
Academic interests: Natural language processing, machine learning, security
Chenguang Wang specializes in trustworthy large language models and agents. He earned a Ph.D. from Peking University and was a visiting doctoral student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He later worked as a postdoctoral researcher in computer science at University of California, Berkeley. Wang has developed impactful open-source systems, including GluonNLP, AutoGluon and rLLM. He received a 2024 Google Research Scholar Award and has been featured in outlets including MIT Technology Review.
Technology and Information Management
“I’m excited to be back at Baskin Engineering and working with students. Generative AI and other technologies are rapidly changing the workplace and creating a new set of opportunities and challenges. I look forward to helping students navigate this transition and preparing them for successful careers.”
Tyler Munger, acting associate teaching professor
Academic interests: Machine learning, artificial intelligence, product design and development, data management and engineering
Tyler Munger received his Ph.D. in technology and information management from UC Santa Cruz. His research focuses on how companies can leverage large amounts of data to design more customer-centric products and services. Munger has presented his research at Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers conferences and has published this work in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Journal of Computing and Information Sciences. Munger has spent the past 10 years working in industry, where he built multiple data science and analytics teams across different companies. Most recently, he was vice president of data and analytics at Rimini Street, where he led teams supporting global operations as a provider of technical support for enterprise software applications.
