CSE recognizes outstanding Graduate Student Instructors and Instructional Aides of 2022/23

Chen Liang

EECS 498/598: Special Topics in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Winter 2023

“Chen was instrumental in redesigning two major assignments leveraging Amazon Mechanical Turk and AI for data labeling, and helped make sure the course ran smoothly overall, even during a semester where the instructor had a newborn mid semester. He also delivered two lectures, one focusing on how Computer Vision is used in Human-AI systems, and another on a discussion topic.” – Prof. Anhong Guo

Ziqiao (Martin) Ma

EECS 595: Natural Language Processing

Fall 2022

“Martin stepped in as a GSI last minute because of the hard time filling this position. He did a fantastic job in restructuring and creating new assignments, holding office hours, and providing feedback on students’ final projects.”  – Prof. Joyce Chai

Mason Nelson

EECS 370: Introduction to Computer Organization

Fall 2022 & Winter 2023

“Mason took on a significant leadership role in nearly all areas of the class. While 370 traditionally has office hours dominated by project questions, he did group office hours on class topics that were quite well attended while also taking on the large admin responsibilities. He spoke ‘truth to power’ about where the faculty might be making mistakes and has been heavily involved in planning for the upcoming Spring and Winter offerings of the class as we switch over to labs from discussions. We’ve met very few student staff who are strong at admin responsibilities (minutia), working with students (office hours), and big-picture vision issues. He’s got all three down.” – Dr. Jonathan Beaumont, Dr. Mark Brehob, and Prof. Ron Dreslinski

Elizabeth Olson

EECS 467: Autonomous Robotics Design Experience

Winter 2023

“Liz did a great job in transitioning the lab materials into using Raspberry Pi Pico boards from Beaglebone Blue used in previous semesters. She was responsible and made sure all the robot kits were properly distributed at the beginning of the semester and collected and returned at the end of the semester. She was responsive to students and helped with lab sessions and office hours. She also did a great job helping setting up and making sure the final project demo sessions ran smoothly.” – Dr. Xiaoxiao Du

Shivangi Thavarool Puthiyedath

EECS 498/598: Special Topics in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Fall 2022 & Winter 2023

“Shivangi did a good job supporting the students as they researched and wrote term papers on AI ethics.” – Prof. Benjamin Kuipers

Jacob Hoke Sansom

EECS 487: Introduction to Natural Language Processing

Winter 2023

“Jake has been really helpful in designing assignments, guiding students in learning difficult subjects and finishing assignments, and answering questions on Piazza timely. He voluntarily extended and added office hours when there are deliverables due. He also spent time reaching out to struggling students and made efforts to support their studies in the course.” – Prof. Lu Wang

Shane Robert Storks

EECS 595: Natural Language Processing

Fall 2022 

“Shane did a great job hosting office hours, helping students with programming issues, and addressing students’ questions in reproducing published findings. He has also been instrumental in identifying key challenges faced by our students (i.e., NLP beginners) in reproducing published work. He led the effort and put together a paper on this very issue (IRB approved) which was accepted by ACL 2023.” – Prof. Joyce Chai

Anuj Tambwekar

EECS 492: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

Fall 2022

“Anuj was an incredible GSI. He was incredibly devoted to the students’ understanding of the material. He took a leadership role in designing homework problems. He was someone that the instructors knew that they could turn to. He was also my GSI for 448 (Winter 23). Again he distinguished himself with his commitment to student understanding and advocacy for the student. I give him my highest recommendation for this award.” – Prof. Emily Mower Provost

Kevin Yan

EECS 485: Web Systems

Fall 2022 & Winter 2023

“Kevin supported other staff by maintaining the lab curriculum, and helped students form productive project teams.” – Dr. John Kloosterman

Maya Simren Baveja

EECS 485: Web Systems

Fall 2022 & Winter 2023

“Maya repeatedly stepped up when there was a job to be done—helping with exam reviews, spec release parties, staff interviews, and projects—on top of her excellent teaching!” – Dr. John Kloosterman

Emma Ashley Cherrin

EECS 183: Elementary Programming Concepts

Fall 2022 & Winter 2023

“Emma’s positive attitude and excitement to teach are easy for everyone to see. Her interactions with students at office hours and on Piazza are always supportive, helpful, and above all encouraging. She is highly supportive of her peer student instructors, volunteering for almost every task and stepping in to help her peers with office hours and other needs repeatedly. Emma is an outstanding IA in all areas—labs, office hours, Piazza, and supporting her peers—but is truly exceptional in being inspirational.” – Dr. Bill Arthur

Alexander Ryan Daines

EECS 183: Elementary Programming Concepts

Winter 2023

“It is not surprising that students would rate Alex very highly. Alex has been exceptional in the thought and effort he has put into pedagogy and in improving as a teacher.” – Dr. Bill Arthur

Zoe Isabelle Drasner

EECS 481: Software Engineering

Fall 2022

“Zoe has been helping with 481 for two semesters (Winter 2023 and Fall 2022) as an IA. She not only helped with office hours (both online and in person), answering numerous Piazza questions, and grading exams and homework, but also contributed a lot of hours responding to student emails. She went above and beyond. Without her, we would not be able to run 481 this smoothly.” – Prof. Xinyu Wang

Zachary Goldston

EECS 490: Programming Languages

Winter 2023

“Zachary was an exceptional IA. In particular, I want to highlight him taking on discussion preparation voluntarily each week, even though we initially had a rotation amongst the course staff. He put a lot of energy into updating the slides, adding explanatory notes and additional ‘practical’ examples, and really thinking through the background of our students and how to best explain novel technical concepts in terms of knowledge that our students would have from the prerequisites. He was enthusiastic about this task and treated it like a creative project. I was also very impressed with his ability to explain ideas clearly and with examples on Piazza. In all his other roles, he also performed exceptionally well—he was prompt, communicative, and detail-oriented.” – Prof. Cyrus Omar

Zhicheng Huang

EECS 481: Software Engineering

Fall 2022 & Winter 2023

 “Zhicheng was an excellent IA over the past two semesters (Winter 2023 and Fall 2022). In addition to the normal work such as holding office hours and grading exams/homework, Zhicheng also helped improve our course website based on student feedback.” – Prof. Xinyu Wang

Adris Jautakas

EECS 494: Computer Game Design and Development

Winter 2023

“An impactful member of the EECS 494 course staff, Adris quickly developed a reputation for his empathetic manner of feedback—a boon for students entering the final, often-stressful, months of their college careers.” – Course Instructor Austin Yarger

Santiago Medina Rolong

EECS 485: Web Systems

Fall 2022

“Among many other things, I’d like to call out Santiago’s work on the final exam.” – Dr. John Kloosterman

Victoria Ashley Shipman

EECS 183: Elementary Programming Concepts

Winter 2023

“Victoria helped teach the Comprehensive Studies Program (CSP) section of EECS 183 and created a wonderful atmosphere in her classroom.” – Dr. John Kloosterman

Jennifer Sophia Williams

EECS 370: Introduction to Computer Organization 

Fall 2022

“Jennifer provided excellent support in managing student accommodations.” – Prof. Satish Narayanasamy

Maxwell Philip Zuber

EECS 494: Computer Game Design and Development

Fall 2022

“Beyond high-quality grading and plentiful office hours, Maxwell has always gone above-and-beyond to help with EECS 494’s (often logistically intimidating) course events, including our end-of-semester showcase. With Maxwell on hand, these events have become significantly less stressful for us and far more impactful and memorable for our graduating seniors.” – Course Instructor Austin Yarger