The UCLA Samueli School of Engineering has recently added six new faculty members to its Computer Science Department. Their collective expertise spans critical areas such as machine learning, robotics, quantum computing, and scalable software systems, enriching the department’s research and teaching capabilities.
Sandra Batista joined UCLA Samueli in July 2024 as an assistant teaching professor of computer science. A double Bruin alumna, Batista brings nearly a decade of university teaching experience, having previously held positions at Loyola Marymount, Cedars-Sinai, USC, and Princeton. Her research lies at the intersection of statistics, computer science, and computational biology, with a focus on developing statistical methods to improve large data sets in computational genetics. Batista’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is evident in her previous roles, including serving on USC’s inaugural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee for the Computer Science Department and mentoring students in various capacities.
Yuchen Cui also joined in July 2024 as an assistant professor of computer science. Her research focuses on the intersection of machine learning and human-robot interaction, particularly in home learning environments. Cui aims to develop robots that can quickly and safely adapt to diverse tasks under the guidance of non-expert human teachers. Before joining UCLA, Cui was a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, where she worked with the Intelligent and Interactive Autonomous Systems Group. She holds a doctorate in computer science from The University of Texas at Austin, where her dissertation explored efficient algorithms for human-robot interaction. Throughout her academic journey, Cui has been recognized with numerous awards, including the EECS Rising Stars Award from Georgia Tech and a Best Paper Finalist Award at the Robotics Science and Systems conference.
Konstantinos Kallas will join the department in October 2024 as an assistant professor of computer science. He is currently completing his doctorate in computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania. Kallas’s research interests lie at the intersection of computer systems, compilers, and programming languages, with a focus on building ultra-reliable, high-performance software systems. He has contributed to the development of notable systems such as PaSh, an optimization ecosystem for speeding up Unix shell commands, and Netherite, a serverless function execution engine used on Microsoft’s Azure platform. His work has earned him multiple awards, including a Best Paper Award at the EuroSys conference and a Best Presentation Award at the HotOS workshop.
Ying Sheng will join UCLA Samueli as an assistant professor of computer science in July 2026. She earned her Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University and specializes in large language models, machine learning systems, formal methods, and automated reasoning. Sheng has held research positions at UC Berkeley and Google, contributing to AI for code and smart contract verification. Her work has earned several accolades, including a16z’s Open Source AI Grant and MLCommons’ Rising Stars in Machine Learning and Systems. She has also developed high-performance tools for AI and code generation.
Hanrui Wang will join UCLA Samueli as an assistant professor of computer science in November 2025. Wang’s research centers on the intersection of machine learning, computer architecture, and quantum computing. He aims to enhance the synergy between AI and quantum computing by developing quantum computing applications and co-designs that improve the efficiency and speed of AI computations, as well as using AI techniques to optimize quantum-computing systems for greater reliability. Wang earned his doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, where he contributed to the Enabling Practical-scale Quantum Computing Expedition. He has received rising star awards from the International Solid-State Circuits Conference and MLCommons, along with best paper awards at various international conferences. Wang holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Fudan University in Shanghai.
Lianmin Zheng will join UCLA Samueli as an assistant professor of computer science in July 2026. Zheng’s research is centered on the optimization of large-scale machine learning systems, with a focus on improving their efficiency and scalability. His work has led to the development of new algorithms and systems that significantly enhance the performance of deep learning frameworks. Zheng earned his doctorate in computer science from UC Berkeley, where his research on distributed machine learning earned him several accolades, including the Best Paper Award at the Conference on Systems and Machine Learning (SysML).
Together, these new faculty members bring a wealth of knowledge and a deep commitment to fostering an inclusive and innovative environment at UCLA Computer Science, further strengthening the department’s reputation as a leader in cutting-edge research and education.