Ph.D. Dissertation Defense Talk: Accelerating Collective Communication for Distributed Machine Learning
Speaker: Liangyu Zhao, Advisors: Arvind Krishnamurthy, Ratul Mahajan, Supervisory Committee: Arvind Krishnamurthy (Chair), Akshay Gadre (GSR, Electrical and Computer Engineering), Baris Kasikci, Ratul Mahajan, Abstract: Originally developed in the context of high-performance computing, collective communication has long been a cornerstone of parallel computing, enabling efficient coordination and data exchange among distributed processing units. With the rapid advancement of machine learning, particularly the rise of large language models, deep neural networks have grown dramatically in both parameter scale and data consumption. To mitigate accelerator memory pressure and speedup computation, collective communication has become a critical component in distributed DNN training and inference, facilitating the exchange of model states--such as parameters, activations, and gradients--across tens of thousands of accelerators or more.
In this talk, I will present our techniques for optimizing collective…
Friday, March 6, 2026, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Ph.D. Dissertation Defense Talk: Closing the Gap Between Seeing and Speakingin Vision-Language Models
Speaker: Jieyu Zhang, Advisors: Ranjay Krishna, Alexander J. Ratner, Supervisory Committee: Ranjay Krishna (Chair), Alexander J. Ratner (Chair), Zaid Harchaoui (GSR, Statistics), Ali Farhadi, Luke Zettlemoyer, Abstract: In recent years, large vision-language models (VLMs) have made striking progress in multimodal understanding. Yet despite their scale, these systems often fail in a characteristic way: their answers sound plausible but are not grounded in what was actually seen. This disconnect arises from two reinforcing gaps- models that lack mechanisms to reference visual evidence, and datasets that lack exhaustive supervision over the objects, attributes, and relations present in each image. As a result, current models often produce unfaithful predictions.
In this talk, I will present a paired data-and-model strategy for closing this gap between seeing and speaking. On the data side, I introduce a unified, scalable pipeline that uses scene graphs as a common representation between pixels and language,…
Monday, March 9, 2026, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
Colloquium: Physics-Grounded World Models
World models that recreate and simulate the physical world hold transformative potential across robotics, entertainment, and engineering analysis. Achieving this vision requires both generating 3D environments from limited observations and predicting how they evolve under physical actions. Pure physical modeling provides guaranteed consistency and action control but demands complete state specification rarely available in practice; pure generative learning handles incomplete information to produce realistic content but lacks the structured representations needed for physical interaction and reasoning. This talk presents physics-grounded world models, integrating these approaches to leverage their complementary strengths: physical representations provide the structured interface for actions and guaranteed consistency, while generative models supply visual realism and compensate for incomplete observations. I will demonstrate this framework across two core capabilities---generating 3D worlds from single images…
Monday, March 9, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Gates Center - Zillow Commons East.
For more info visit www.cs.washington.edu. Colloquium: Bridging the Gap: Aligning Computing Education with Modern Software Development
The academia-industry gap in software engineering describes the misalignment between the skills students learn in universities and the expectations placed upon early-career software developers. This gap is already present: while software developers work on large, existing code bases, university coursework typically requires students to create projects from scratch. Unfortunately, this gap is growing: as developers increasingly rely on GenAI tools, CS programs must consider how to prepare students to use these tools while still promoting student learning.
Computing education research tends to study the final code artifacts that students produce (i.e. assignment submissions). In contrast, my work aims to understand the *processes* that students use to create those final code artifacts. In this talk, I’ll share my work to understand and improve three programming processes: 1) incremental development, 2) program comprehension in large code bases, and 3) student-AI collaboration for programming. I’ll…
Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Gates Center (CSE2), G20 | Amazon Auditorium.
For more info visit www.cs.washington.edu. Instruction Ends - Winter 2026
Dates of Instruction
Instruction ends.
Event interval: Single day event. Year: 2026. Quarter: Winter. Event Types: Academics.
Friday, March 13, 2026.
For more info visit www.washington.edu. Final Examinations - Winter 2026
Dates of Instruction
Week of final examinations for winter quarter.
Event interval: Ongoing event. Year: 2026. Quarter: Winter. Event Types: Academics.
Saturday, March 14, 2026 – Friday, March 20, 2026.
For more info visit www.washington.edu. Ph.D. Dissertation Defense Talk: Data as Foundation: Designing Systematic Curation for an Evolving Foundation Model Landscape
Speaker: Thao Nguyen, Advisors: Sewoong Oh, Ludwig Schmidt, Supervisory Committee: Sewoong Oh (Chair), Ludwig Schmidt (Chair), Aylin Caliskan (GSR, Information School), Luke Zettlemoyer, Abstract TBA.
Monday, March 16, 2026, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM.
Information Session: Graduate Certificate in Modern AI Methods
The graduate certificate in Modern Artificial Methods is a new program offered by the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington. The work-compatible, one-year program is designed to support recent graduates and industry professionals in using, implementing, and understanding in-depth artificial intelligence and machine learning tools and applying them in the workplace. The certificate is designed for those with STEM or business backgrounds, with courses in prominent areas of AI, including computer vision and natural language processing. Classes meet in-person on the University of Washington campus in Seattle.
Modern AI Methods program highlights: Build knowledge and skills in core and emerging areas AI and ML for a rapidly-evolving workplace , Become more than a consumer of these technologies: understand how they work, their advantages, and their limitations , Connect with a cohort of local professionals in STEM while developing marketable skills , Learn from…
Event interval: Single day event. Online Meeting Link: https://www.cs.washington.edu/academics/graduate/certificate-modern-ai/program-overview/information-sessions/. Accessibility Contact: Taylor Kessler Faulkner, cert-modern-ai@cs.washington.edu. Event Types: Academics. Information Sessions.
Monday, March 16, 2026, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM.
Zoom.
For more info visit www.cs.washington.edu. Information session: Professional Master's Program
Click here to register for an upcoming information session.
The Allen School’s Professional Master’s Program (PMP) is a part-time program designed for software professionals in the Puget Sound region interested in acquiring critical skills to move into positions and projects of greater responsibility and impact. Courses meet one weekday evening per week and are taught in-person on the UW Seattle campus.
Online information sessions are a low-barrier opportunity for prospective students to learn more about the PMP and ask questions directly to program staff. We will share information about PMP courses and learning outcomes and an overview of the application process, including tips for preparing your materials. We hope you will join us!
Event interval: Single day event. Online Meeting Link: https://washington.zoom.us/meeting/register/s-JzzqWOTAyCx4f1Huaepg. Accessibility Contact: masters@cs.washington.edu. Event Types: Academics. Information Sessions.
Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Zoom.
For more info visit www.cs.washington.edu. Ph.D. Dissertation Defense Talk: Optimization in the Era of Large Language Models: Theory and Applications
Speaker: Xinzhi Zhang, Advisors: Anna Karlin, Yin Tat Lee, Supervisory Committee: Anna Karlin (Chair), Yin Tat Lee (Chair), Maryam Fazel (GSR, Electrical and Computer Engineering), Ishai Menache (Microsoft Research), Abstract: Optimization serves as the unifying language for intelligent decision-making, driving both classical algorithmic solvers and modern machine learning systems. We explores the intersection of optimization theory and large language models (LLMs), focusing on two distinct projects that span the theoretical foundations and practical applications of the field.
First, on the theoretical side, we investigate the smoothed complexity of the shadow-vertex simplex method. While the simplex algorithm is famously efficient in practice, it is known to have exponential worst-case complexity. By analyzing the algorithm under random input perturbations that model realistic noise, we derive tighter upper bounds on the expected number of pivot steps and establish the first non-trivial lower bounds…
Friday, March 20, 2026, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM.
Quarter Break - Spring 2026
Dates of Instruction
Break between winter and spring quarters.
Event interval: Ongoing event. Year: 2026. Quarter: Spring. Event Types: Academics.
Saturday, March 21, 2026 – Sunday, March 29, 2026.
For more info visit www.washington.edu. Instruction Begins - Spring 2026
Dates of Instruction
Instruction begins.
Event interval: Single day event. Year: 2026. Quarter: Spring. Event Types: Academics.
Monday, March 30, 2026.
For more info visit www.washington.edu. Ph.D. Dissertation Defense Talk: Human-Centered Mobile Health in Resource-Constrained Settings
Speaker: Lisa Orii, Advisor: Richard J Anderson, Supervisory Committee: Richard J Anderson (Chair), Sean A Munson (GSR, Human Centered Design and Engineering), James Fogarty, Elizabeth Harrington, Kurtis L. Heimerl, Abstract TBA.
Monday, April 6, 2026, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM.
Ph.D. Dissertation Defense Talk: computing is for everybody: Pedagogy for Joyful Secondary Computing
Speaker: Jayne Everson, Advisor: Amy Ko, Supervisory Committee: Amy J. Ko (Chair, Information School), Daniela K Rosner (GSR, Human Centered Design and Engineering), Maya Cakmak, Nassim Parvin (Information School), Ben Shapiro, Abstract TBA.
Monday, April 6, 2026, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Distinguished Lecture Series: Mike Dodds - What Happens to Software When Proof is Cheap?
Abstract
In July 2025, three AI systems independently achieved gold-medal standard at the International Math Olympiad. One of them, Harmonic's Aristotle, did it by constructing formal proofs in the Lean proof assistant. Six months later, several AIs working together used Lean to solve an open problem posed by Paul Erdős. We may soon live in a strange world where AI is better at math than any human expert.
Lean and tools like it bridge two worlds: mathematicians use them to formalise theorems, but engineers use them to prove that code behaves correctly. This second use, formal verification, has a long history and a few notable successes in cryptography, operating systems, and parser security. But these successes have always been limited by the sheer difficulty of the mathematical reasoning they require.
Now, AI may be changing this picture. If mathematical reasoning is cheap, we could eliminate entire classes of bugs from systems at scale, guarantee that safety-critical code behaves as intended, or verify au…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus room: Gates Center (CSE2), G20 | Amazon Auditorium. Accessibility Contact: dso@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Thursday, April 16, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Gates Center (CSE2), G20 | Amazon Auditorium.
For more info visit www.cs.washington.edu. Information session: Professional Master's Program
Click here to register for an upcoming information session.
The Allen School’s Professional Master’s Program (PMP) is a part-time program designed for software professionals in the Puget Sound region interested in acquiring critical skills to move into positions and projects of greater responsibility and impact. Courses meet one weekday evening per week and are taught in-person on the UW Seattle campus.
Online information sessions are a low-barrier opportunity for prospective students to learn more about the PMP and ask questions directly to program staff. We will share information about PMP courses and learning outcomes and an overview of the application process, including tips for preparing your materials. We hope you will join us!
Event interval: Single day event. Online Meeting Link: https://washington.zoom.us/meeting/register/s-JzzqWOTAyCx4f1Huaepg. Accessibility Contact: masters@cs.washington.edu. Event Types: Academics. Information Sessions.
Thursday, April 16, 2026, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM.
Zoom.
For more info visit www.cs.washington.edu. Information Session: Graduate Certificate in Modern AI Methods
The graduate certificate in Modern Artificial Methods is a new program offered by the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington. The work-compatible, one-year program is designed to support recent graduates and industry professionals in using, implementing, and understanding in-depth artificial intelligence and machine learning tools and applying them in the workplace. The certificate is designed for those with STEM or business backgrounds, with courses in prominent areas of AI, including computer vision and natural language processing. Classes meet in-person on the University of Washington campus in Seattle.
Modern AI Methods program highlights: Build knowledge and skills in core and emerging areas AI and ML for a rapidly-evolving workplace , Become more than a consumer of these technologies: understand how they work, their advantages, and their limitations , Connect with a cohort of local professionals in STEM while developing marketable skills , Learn from…
Event interval: Single day event. Online Meeting Link: https://www.cs.washington.edu/academics/graduate/certificate-modern-ai/program-overview/information-sessions/. Accessibility Contact: Taylor Kessler Faulkner, cert-modern-ai@cs.washington.edu. Event Types: Academics. Information Sessions.
Monday, April 20, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Zoom.
For more info visit www.cs.washington.edu. Information Session: Graduate Certificate in Modern AI Methods
The graduate certificate in Modern Artificial Methods is a new program offered by the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington. The work-compatible, one-year program is designed to support recent graduates and industry professionals in using, implementing, and understanding in-depth artificial intelligence and machine learning tools and applying them in the workplace. The certificate is designed for those with STEM or business backgrounds, with courses in prominent areas of AI, including computer vision and natural language processing. Classes meet in-person on the University of Washington campus in Seattle.
Modern AI Methods program highlights: Build knowledge and skills in core and emerging areas AI and ML for a rapidly-evolving workplace , Become more than a consumer of these technologies: understand how they work, their advantages, and their limitations , Connect with a cohort of local professionals in STEM while developing marketable skills , Learn from…
Event interval: Single day event. Online Meeting Link: https://www.cs.washington.edu/academics/graduate/certificate-modern-ai/program-overview/information-sessions/. Accessibility Contact: Taylor Kessler Faulkner, cert-modern-ai@cs.washington.edu. Event Types: Academics. Information Sessions.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Zoom.
For more info visit www.cs.washington.edu. Information session: Professional Master's Program
Click here to register for an upcoming information session.
The Allen School’s Professional Master’s Program (PMP) is a part-time program designed for software professionals in the Puget Sound region interested in acquiring critical skills to move into positions and projects of greater responsibility and impact. Courses meet one weekday evening per week and are taught in-person on the UW Seattle campus.
Online information sessions are a low-barrier opportunity for prospective students to learn more about the PMP and ask questions directly to program staff. We will share information about PMP courses and learning outcomes and an overview of the application process, including tips for preparing your materials. We hope you will join us!
Event interval: Single day event. Online Meeting Link: https://washington.zoom.us/meeting/register/s-JzzqWOTAyCx4f1Huaepg. Accessibility Contact: masters@cs.washington.edu. Event Types: Academics. Information Sessions.
Tuesday, May 5, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Zoom.
For more info visit www.cs.washington.edu. Distinguished Lecture Series: Kevin Weil - Accelerating Science with AI
Abstract is forthcoming. BIO:
Kevin Weil is VP of OpenAI for Science, focused on building the next great scientific instrument: an AI-powered platform that accelerates scientific discovery. Previously, Kevin served as the Chief Product Officer at OpenAI, where he led the teams turning frontier models into products like ChatGPT, Codex, and the OpenAI API.
Before joining OpenAI, Kevin was the President, Product and Business at Planet Labs. He was previously the co-founder of the Libra cryptocurrency and VP of Product for Novi at Facebook, VP of Product at Instagram and SVP of Product at Twitter. Earlier in his career, Kevin held software engineering and data science roles at Cooliris, Tropos Networks, Microsoft Research and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.
Kevin graduated summa cum laude in physics and mathematics from Harvard University and has an M.S. in physics from Stanford University. He is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and serves on the boards of Cisco and The Nature Co…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus room: Gates Center (CSE2), G20 | Amazon Auditorium. Accessibility Contact: dso@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Thursday, May 7, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Gates Center (CSE2), G20 | Amazon Auditorium.
For more info visit www.cs.washington.edu. Open Source Assistive Technology Hackathon
GitHub will celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) by hosting the Open Source Assistive Technology Hackathon focused on empowering participants to build skills and make real contributions to the assistive technology tools people rely on every day. Free to participate , Sign up, Who Should Attend People with lived experience who want to innovate on assistive technology , Developers with disabilities , Developers with a desire to help improve and customize assistive technologies , Professionals working in the field of special education, rehabilitation engineering, biomedical engineering, and other fields that can benefit from free open source assistive technology , Open source AT maintainers, New to open source? No problem!
We’ll walk through core GitHub contribution workflows (including NVDA and keyboard-only navigation), so you can practice navigating repositories, issues, pull requests, and code reviews with confidence. Whether you’re new to contributing or ready to level up, you’ll leave with…
Event interval: Ongoing event. Accessibility Contact: mlama007@github.com. Event Types: Diversity Equity Inclusion. Meetings. Special Events. Workshops. Target Audience: Innovators in assistive tech, developers w/ disabilities, pros in special ed, rehab, biomed, ...
Thursday, May 21, 2026 – Friday, May 22, 2026.
GitHub headquarters, 88 Colin P Kelly Jr St, San Francisco, CA 94107.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Memorial Day
Holidays
No classes. Most University offices and buildings are closed. Check with specific offices to confirm.
Event interval: Single day event. Year: 2026. Quarter: Spring. Event Types: Academics.
Monday, May 25, 2026.
For more info visit www.washington.edu. CREATE Community Day
CREATE Community Day is an annual half-day forum for discussing the concerns about and approaches to sustainable accessibility research and a showcase of research led by CREATE and HuskyADAPT. Student researchers highlight their work and showcase a variety of individual and team projects.
We are currently making plans for Community Day 2026. Details available in spring.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering (CSE2). Campus room: Zillow Commons. Accessibility Contact: oliviapb@uw.edu. Event Types: Academics. Diversity Equity Inclusion. Exhibits. Information Sessions. Meetings. Special Events. Target Audience: Anyone interested in research on accessible technology & making the world accessible through tech.
Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit create.uw.edu. Ph.D. Dissertation Defense Talk: Designing LLM Interfaces for Reflection: A Case of Brainstorming Societal Impacts of Digital Technology
Speaker: Rock Pang, Advisor: Katharina Reinecke, Supervisory Committee: Katharina Reinecke (Chair), Benjamin Mako Hill (GSR, Communication - Department of), Jeffrey Heer, Jaime Teevan (Information School), Amy Xian Zhang, Abstract TBA.
Friday, May 29, 2026, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM.
Instruction Ends - Spring 2026
Dates of Instruction
Instruction ends.
Event interval: Single day event. Year: 2026. Quarter: Spring. Event Types: Academics.
Friday, June 5, 2026.
For more info visit www.washington.edu.