Computing Milestones

Welcoming New Leadership & Faculty to the School of Computing

The School of Computing begins the academic year with an exciting lineup of new leadership and faculty. We welcome Junhua Ding, inaugural Dean of the School of Computing; Andrew Kirby, promoted to tenure-track faculty; Haoming Ma, Assistant Professor with a joint position in SoC and Energy & Petroleum Engineering; Cristina Santos Dias Palma, Assistant Professor; and Ted Langhorst, Assistant Professor in Applied AI/ML and GeoAI, jointly appointed with Geology & Geophysics.

 

Interdisciplinary expertise is one of SoC’s greatest strengths. Our faculty pair deep knowledge in their disciplines with expertise in applied computing, creating exceptional resources, collaborators, and mentors for UW students.

 

Through joint appointments and partnerships across academic units, the School of Computing helps strengthen UW’s competitive advantage. By connecting computation, data science, and AI with disciplines across the University, SoC serves an important enabling role—helping students, researchers, and faculty apply powerful computing approaches to challenges throughout Wyoming and beyond.

 

AI4WY Ribbon Cutting Celebrates a Major Computing Milestone

The University of Wyoming celebrated an exciting new chapter in AI-enabled research with the ribbon cutting for the AI4WY computing cluster. This powerful new resource connects researchers, students and partners with advanced computing capabilities to accelerate discovery across Wyoming, Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region.

 

Led by principal investigator Andrew Kirby of the School of Computing, AI4WY represents an extraordinary collaborative effort. Co-principal investigators Gabrielle Allen, Suresh Muknahallipatna, Michael Killean and Michael Kirby brought together expertise from UW, Advanced Research Computing Center (ARCC) and Colorado State University. The initiative also engages researchers across numerous disciplines—from engineering and atmospheric science to anthropology and history.

 

More than a technology investment, AI4WY is an investment in people, partnerships and possibilities. The ribbon cutting celebrates the vision and teamwork behind this transformative resource—and the discoveries, student experiences and collaborations still to come.

 

Stefan Rahimi Represents UW in National Genesis Mission

Congratulations to School of Computing faculty member Stefan Rahimi for representing the University of Wyoming and our state in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission, a national initiative bringing together select teams from government, industry and academia to accelerate scientific discovery using AI and advanced computing.

 

Rahimi and UW are part of the DL4MCS project with Planette AI and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, working to improve forecasts of dangerous storm systems that can produce intense rainfall, hail, damaging winds and tornadoes. The team will combine physics-based forecasting with advanced AI to improve predictions from seven days to six weeks—an especially difficult forecasting challenge.

 

Participation in the Genesis Mission’s first cohort is a significant opportunity to contribute UW expertise on a national stage. We are incredibly proud and grateful to have Stefan representing UW, the School of Computing and Wyoming in this important work.

 

 

Congratulations to Our 2026–27 Faculty Fellows!

The School of Computing is pleased to celebrate Kip Coddington of the College of Law and Khaled Elokely of the School of Pharmacy as our 2026–27 Faculty Fellows.

Coddington’s AI Law Lab will explore the rapidly evolving intersection of artificial intelligence and law, while Elokely’s Quantifying Procedure-Induced Differences in Comparisons of Protein Contact Networks brings computational approaches to complex questions in pharmaceutical and biomedical research.

Together, these projects demonstrate exactly what the Faculty Fellows Program—and SoC’s commitment to Computing for All—is about: bringing computing, data and AI into disciplines across the university to create new research, learning and collaboration opportunities.

 

This year, SoC selected one STEM and one non-STEM Faculty Fellow, highlighting the extraordinary range of ways computing can advance discovery and scholarship. We congratulate Kip and Khaled and look forward to seeing where their interdisciplinary work leads!

 

Celebrating Our 2026–27 Graduate Computing Scholars

Congratulations to the 2026–27 School of Computing Graduate Computing Scholars: Nabaraj Subedi, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Calvin Fertig III, Mathematics and Statistics; Merina Giri, Civil and Architectural Engineering; Aubrey Edwards, English/Public Humanities; Adnan Aliyu, Chemical Engineering; Sam Barber, Physics; Rachel Fanelli, Zoology and Physiology; Jana Nelson, Education; and Attie Giles, Economics.

 

The Graduate Computing Scholars Program supports outstanding UW graduate students who are incorporating computing, artificial intelligence, data science, digital humanities, modeling, simulation and other computational approaches into their work.

 

This year’s scholars represent an extraordinary range of STEM and non-STEM disciplines, demonstrating that computing is not confined to any single field. Each scholar receives $5,000 to advance research, professional development and computing skills.

 

We are proud to support these nine scholars as they apply computing in new ways, strengthen interdisciplinary connections and expand what’s possible across the University of Wyoming.

 

Celebrating Our 2026–27 Data Science Award Recipients

Congratulations to the University of Wyoming’s 2026–27 Data Science Center Faculty Fellows and Curriculum Development Award recipients!

 

Irene Checa-Garcia, Associate Professor of Spanish Linguistics, and Pei Li, Assistant Professor of Civil & Architectural Engineering and Construction Management, have been selected as Data Science Faculty Fellows. The fellowship supports faculty from across UW in advancing data science research, collaboration and engagement.

 

Tyler Kjorstad, Director of Undergraduate Studies and Assistant Lecturer in Economics, and Kenneth McClure, Assistant Professor of Statistics, received Data Science Curriculum Development Awards, supporting meaningful integration of data science tools, methods and content into UW courses.

 

Together, these recipients demonstrate the remarkable reach of data science across disciplines—and its growing importance to research and education at UW.

These opportunities are made possible through the generous Trent and Mary McDonald Data Science Center Excellence Fund, supporting faculty, students and the future of applied data science at Wyoming.

 

 

Congratulations to Jake Hawes and Chen Xu!

The School of Computing is proud to celebrate Jake Hawes and Chen Xu, named 2026–27 Jay Kemmerer WORTH Institute Faculty Fellows!

 

Jake, an assistant professor in the School of Computing and Haub School, will model wildfire adaptation in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, helping communities and stakeholders better understand and respond to wildfire risk. Chen, an associate professor with WyGISC and the School of Computing, will lead a pilot study using AI-assisted analysis of visitor mobility in Wyoming tourism hot spots.

 

The competitive fellowship supports applied research, workforce development and statewide engagement that strengthen Wyoming’s outdoor recreation, tourism and hospitality economy. Fellows are selected for the quality of their scholarship, potential impact and ability to build lasting partnerships.

 

Congratulations, Jake and Chen! We’re proud to see SoC expertise putting computing to work on real challenges and opportunities important to Wyoming.