We are excited to welcome four new PhD students to the Makeability Lab: Katherine Juarez, Lisa Orii, Daniel Campos Zamora, and Xia Su.

Congratulations to Dhruv Jain who was selected for the prestigious Microsoft Research Dissertation Grant for his work on “Sound Sensing and Feedback Techniques for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Users.” The MSR Dissertationg Grant aims to "increase the pipeline of diverse talent receiving advanced degrees in computing-related fields by providing a research funding opportunity for doctoral students who are underrepresented in the field of computing." Read more on the Allen School news page.    

Congratulations to Dhruv Jain who was selected for the Google-CMD-IT LEAP Alliance Fellowship. CMD-IT stands for the Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in IT and is dedicated to "promoting innovation that enriches, enhances, and enables our target communities, such that more equitable and sustainable contributions are possible by all communities."

Congratulations to Liang He for receiving the Bob Bandes Memorial Teaching Award (Honorable Mention). The award page provides excerpts from my nomination letter (repeated below): I strongly recommend Liang He for the Bob Bandes Memorial Teaching Award. He has TA'd for me twice during the pandemic — both for studio-based courses that traditionally require specialized hardware and equipment. These are not typical CSE courses and are extraordinarily difficult to teach and TA for. Liang has worked tirelessly to adapt our physically-oriented lectures and coursework to online. He helped solder, prepare, and package over 50 hardware kits and worked with CSE staff to deliver them to students. This is a HUGE atypical effort for a CSE TA, especially given the short turnaround time of the quarters. Liang maintains a spirit of positivity and creative encouragement for the students and graciously shares his expertise and time.