Allen School Faculty

Our researchers are driving innovation across the entire hardware, software and network stack to make computer systems more reliable, efficient and secure.

From internet-scale networks, to next-generation chip designs, to deep learning frameworks and more, we build and refine the devices and applications that individuals, industries and, indeed, entire economies depend upon every day.

Allen School Faculty

Areas of Expertise

Societal Impact

Results will appear in alphabetical order.

Groups & Labs »

Centers & Initiatives »

Naomi Alterman

Assistant Teaching Professor

Professor

Professor & Director

Associate Professor

Assistant Professor

Professor

Assistant Professor

Professor

Assistant Teaching Professor

Dan Grossman

Professor & Vice Director

Professor

Associate Professor

Assistant Professor

Associate Professor

Associate Professor

Assistant Professor

Professor

Professor

Associate Professor

Assistant Professor

Professor

Associate Professor

Professor

Professor

Professor

Professor

Michael Bedford Taylor

Professor

Professor

Assistant Professor

Assistant Professor

Assistant Teaching Professor

Highlights

Allen School News

Professor Chinmay Nirkhe receives STOC 2026 Best Paper Award

In the award-winning paper, Nirkhe and his collaborators resolved a longstanding problem in quantum complexity theory by proving that quantum proofs are computationally more powerful than classical proofs.

KUOW Soundside

Celebrating America’s 250th with an archiving technology as old as life itself

Researcher Chris Takahashi describes how the Molecular Information Systems Lab encoded historical documents from the Library of Congress in synthetic DNA for a time capsule marking America’s 250th anniversary.

UW News

Some agentic AI browsers come with major cybersecurity risks, UW study finds

Professors David Kohlbrenner and Franziska Roesner (Ph.D., ‘14) of the Allen School’s Privacy & Security Research Lab found that browser agents are susceptible to cyberattacks by violating the same-origin policy, a cornerstone of modern web security that has safeguarded users for 30 years.

Our study of the theoretical foundations of computing spans algorithm design and analysis, complexity, optimization, cryptography, quantum and more.

We seek to answer fundamental and long-standing questions about the capabilities and limitations of our field, which has practical implications in economics, logistics, social welfare, transportation and many other real-world domains.

Allen School Faculty

Areas of Expertise

Societal Impact

Results will appear in alphabetical order.

Groups & Labs »

Centers & Initiatives »

Assistant Professor

Professor

Associate Professor

Associate Professor

Professor

Associate Professor

Professor

Professor

Professor

Assistant Teaching Professor

Highlights

Quanta Magazine

Professor Shayan Oveis Gharan wins IMU Abacus Medal

Oveis Gharan, a member of the Allen School’s Theory of Computation Group, was honored by the International Mathematical Union for his landmark contributions to the theory of algorithms.

Allen School News

Professor Chinmay Nirkhe receives STOC 2026 Best Paper Award

Institute for Foundations of Data Science

Professor Kevin Jamieson receives AISTATS Test of Time Award

The International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics (AISTATS) recognized Jamieson for his 2016 paper underpinning an approach to hyperparameter optimization that has been widely adopted within the machine learning community.

Advances in low- and no-power sensing, communication and interaction technologies offer new possibilities for blending digital innovation with our physical environment.

From gesture recognition that allows people to interact with objects in new ways, to low-power sensors that collect and transmit data about temperature, air quality, urban accessibility and more, our researchers are tapping into the potential of computation to transform how we experience the world around us.

Allen School Faculty

Areas of Expertise

Societal Impact

Results will appear in alphabetical order.

Groups & Labs »

Centers & Initiatives »

Byron Boots

Professor

Lauren Bricker

Associate Teaching Professor

Professor

Professor

Professor

Professor

Professor

Professor

Assistant Professor

Ira Kemelmacher-Shlizerman

Professor

Professor

Teaching Professor

Professor

Professor

Siddhartha (Sidd) Srinivasa

Professor

Highlights

Fast Company

How digital sleuths are using AI to fix America’s crumbling sidewalks

Allen School professor Jon Froehlich talks about how Project Sidewalk empowers communities by crowdsourcing data on pedestrian infrastructure, from curb ramps to broken pavement, to improve accessibility.

UW News

AI agents that quickly estimate electronic devices’ carbon footprints

A team led by Allen School professor Vikram Iyer and Ph.D. student Zhihan Zhang published a paper in Nature Electronics describing a system that can assemble life cycle assessments, or LCAs, for electronic devices in about a minute with the help of AI agents.

Allen School News

Balazinska, Patel elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Professor Magda Balazinska was honored for her influential contributions in data management and data science, while Professor Shwetak Patel was recognized for his groundbreaking work applying computing to health and sustainability.

Our work in human-centered computing explores and enhances the ways in which people and communities engage with and experience technology.

Our research considers the personal, educational, cultural, and ethical implications of innovation. Drawing upon techniques from human-computer interaction, learning sciences, sensing and more, we aim to maximize the potential benefits of technology while minimizing potential harms to individuals, groups and society.

Allen School Faculty

Areas of Expertise

Societal Impact

Results will appear in alphabetical order.

Groups & Labs »

Centers & Initiatives »

Tim Althoff

Associate Professor

Matthew Golub

Assistant Professor

Justin Hsia

Associate Teaching Professor

Kevin Lin

Associate Teaching Professor

Zoran Popović

Professor

Katharina Reinecke

Professor

Adrian Salguero

Assistant Teaching Professor

Associate Professor

Professor

Associate Professor

Assistant Teaching Professor

James Weichert

Assistant Teaching Professor

Amy Zhang

Associate Professor

Highlights

Fast Company

How digital sleuths are using AI to fix America’s crumbling sidewalks

UW News

Some agentic AI browsers come with major cybersecurity risks, UW study finds

Allen School News

Balazinska, Patel elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences

When imagining the future of technology, sometimes all we need to do is look out the window — or into a microscope.

Our researchers take inspiration from nature to redefine what a computer can be, from data storage using synthetic DNA, to sensors modeled on insects and leaves. We also advance technologies to help solve biology’s biggest mysteries, such as computational approaches for understanding the mechanisms of disease and brain-computer interfaces that can restore or augment physical function and mobility.

Allen School Faculty

Areas of Expertise

Societal Impact

Results will appear in alphabetical order.

Groups & Labs »

Centers & Initiatives »

Professor

Associate Professor

Assistant Professor

Professor

Professor

Professor

Assistant Professor

Assistant Professor

Highlights

MIT Technology Review Korea

The era where AI discovers and humans prove

Allen School professor Su-In Lee discusses the role of artificial intelligence in science and medicine and explains why the process the model follows to arrive at an answer is as important as the answer itself.

KUOW Soundside

Celebrating America’s 250th with an archiving technology as old as life itself

Allen School News

Balazinska, Patel elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Meet our World-Class Faculty

The Allen School’s tenure-track and teaching faculty members are at the forefront of innovation — both in the lab and in the classroom.

Our faculty, which is approaching 100 members strong, has been widely recognized for their contributions advancing the field of computing while preparing students to be the leaders and innovators of tomorrow. Among them are 27 Sloan Research Fellows, 52 recipients of National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER or Presidential/NSF Young Investigator awards, three Presidential Early Career (PECASE) Award honorees, eight TR35 Award winners, and multiple individuals honored for advancing specific areas of the field. We also have 14 Fellows of the ACM, 9 Fellows of the IEEE, and two members of the National Academies, signifying our faculty’s career-spanning leadership and service to the scientific and engineering communities.

While they are lauded for their research contributions, our faculty members are first and foremost educators. Five professors have received the University of Washington Distinguished Teaching Award, and we were the first unit on campus to earn the UW’s Brotman Award for Instructional Excellence.