Madeline Miller became interested in technology after seeing how many different ways it impacts our world. At UC Santa Cruz, she served as vice president of Girls Who Code, mentored students as a tutor, and graduated Summa Cum Laude with Highest Honors in Computer Science, ranking in the top 2% of the Class of 2025. Miller now works as a software engineer at Argonne National Laboratory.
Kate Compton (Ph.D. ’19, computer science) came to UC Santa Cruz to explore how to build better tools for human creativity.
Keerthi Koneru is a UC Santa Cruz class of 2024 computer science Ph.D. graduate. Drawn to UCSC’s Computer Science and Engineering Department for its focus on combining conceptual learning with practical application, her research focused on securing electrical substations against cyber threats by analyzing real-world vulnerabilities and developing tools to study malware interactions.
Baskin Engineering alumnus Alonzo Lee (B.S., Bioengineering, ‘16) was co-captain of the 2015 UC Santa Cruz Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) team, called Cellulose to Butanol.
Baskin Engineering alumna Claire Bispo (B.S., Biomolecular Engineering, ‘19) was a part of 2018 UC Santa Cruz International Genetic Engineering Machine (iGEM) team, called Poppy.
As a Baskin Engineering student, Nina Sardesh (B.S., Bioengineering, ‘16) was one of two team leads for the 2016 UC Santa Cruz International Genetic Engineering Machine (iGEM) team, called Sugar Slugs.
Baskin Engineering alumnus Aren Pageler (B.S., Biomolecular Engineering and Bioinformatics, ‘19) played a key role on the 2019 UC Santa Cruz International Genetically Engineering Machine (iGEM) team, called Vitrium.
Baskin Engineering alumna Emily Mount (B.S. Biomolecular Engineering, ‘19) was captain of the 2018 UC Santa Cruz International Genetic Engineering Machine (iGEM) team, called Poppy.
Baskin Engineering alumna Melody Azimi (B.S., Biomolecular Engineering and Bioinformatics, ‘21) was a co-captain of the 2020 UC Santa Cruz International Genetic Engineering Machine (iGEM) team, called Komaplastics.
Double Baskin Engineering alumnus Stephen Hwang (B.S., Biomolecular Engineering, ‘21; M.S., Biomolecular Engineering, ‘22) was co-captain of the 2021 UC Santa Cruz Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) team, called Progenie.
Degree Program: Computer Science and Engineering, Ph.D.
Department: Computer Science and Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Southern University of Science and Technology, China, Communications Engineering, B.S.
Advisor: Chen Qian
“The most important thing is to have confidence in yourself. Although you will encounter many challenges and become frustrated at times during your program, you need to remain confident in your capabilities as an engineer.”
Vahid Ganjalizadeh received the Darrell and Elaine Long Prize in Experimental Engineering for his research on developing new data analysis tools and techniques to improve optofluidic biosensing technology.