Department of Computer Science Recognizes 2024–25 Teaching Award Recipients

The University of Maryland’s Department of Computer Science has announced the recipients of its 2024–25 teaching awards, honoring excellence across tenure-track, professional track and instructional assistant roles. This year’s awardees include Assistant Professor Laxman Dhulipala, Principal Lecturer Justin Olav Wyss-Gallifent, graduate teaching assistant Shaobo Cui, and undergraduate teaching assistants Christina Xu and Christian Nygard.

The department presents these awards annually to recognize instructors, teaching assistants and STIC facilitators who make consistent contributions to undergraduate computer science education. Students in the department are invited to submit nominations in the spring, and the final selection is made toward the end of the academic year.

“The individuals selected for this year’s awards represent the department’s wide spectrum of teaching efforts—from faculty leading lectures and designing curriculum to students supporting peers through TA work,” said Department Chair Matthias Zwicker, who holds the Elizabeth Iribe Chair for Innovation and the Phillip H. and Catherine C. Horvitz Professorship. “Their instructional work plays a vital role in sustaining the quality of education we aim to deliver at every level. We couldn't be more proud of our awardees' contribution to teaching excellence in our department.”

About the Award Recipients

Laxman Dhulipala, an assistant professor with a joint appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), received recognition in the faculty category. His research focuses on efficient parallel algorithms for large-scale data analysis, with applications including clustering, graph processing and nearest-neighbor search.

In response to receiving the award, Dhulipala acknowledged the influence of educators in his family and the value of storytelling in education.

“I am incredibly lucky to have been surrounded by many wonderful teachers in my family—from my parents to my grandfather, an English professor, and my great-grandfather, a schoolteacher in India,” Dhulipala said. “They taught me three invaluable lessons: that mastery of a subject is something that everyone is capable of with enough curiosity and effort; that we learn best ourselves when we teach; and that effective storytelling can inspire students and make knowledge more relatable and memorable.”

Principal Lecturer Justin Olav Wyss-Gallifent was also recognized in the faculty category. Wyss-Gallifent received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland more than three decades ago and has been teaching at the university since, first in the Department of Mathematics and more recently in the Department of Computer Science. He has taught nearly 40 courses and instructed tens of thousands of students during his time at UMD.

He expressed appreciation for the recognition and reflected on the importance of institutional support for teaching.

“I am honored to receive this teaching award,” Wyss-Gallifent said. “It is wonderful to know that my teaching is valued by not just the students but also by the department, college and institution as a whole. I will endeavor to live up to this recognition now and in the future.”

Christina Xu (B.S. ’25, computer science; B.S. ’25, mathematics) received the award in the teaching assistant category. She recently graduated from UMD and will begin a master’s program in computer science and engineering at the University of California, San Diego. Xu’s academic interests include human-AI interaction and designing accessible interfaces.

In addition to her academic work and student leadership, Xu served as a teaching assistant for three semesters and helped organize Technica, a student-run hackathon for underrepresented genders.

“I'm deeply grateful to be recognized as an educator—it’s been a true joy teaching my CMSC132 students,” Xu said. “I've loved every part of the role, from crafting lesson plans and debugging tricky projects to engaging in thoughtful discussions with curious minds. Nothing is more rewarding than witnessing those ‘Aha!’ moments when a concept clicks on a deeper level.”

Xu noted that her experience as a TA contributed to her personal development and improved her ability to communicate complex technical concepts.

“My experience as a teaching assistant has also taught me a great deal: how to effectively communicate technical ideas, appreciate different ways of thinking and even overcome my fear of public speaking,” she said. “This award means a lot to me, and I'm excited to see where my students go next.”

Christian Nygard was recognized in the teaching assistant category. A senior majoring in computer science, Nygard has served as a TA for CMSC216, a systems programming course, for three semesters and will be one of the two head TAs for the upcoming academic year. His academic interests include operating systems, cybersecurity and high-resolution imaging techniques.

Nygard is a member of Assistant Professor Chris Metzler’s Intelligent Sensing Laboratory and is currently interning as a software developer at Itasca Consulting Group.

“I'm grateful to be recognized for the passion that I put into teaching every day,” Nygard said. “I feel a deep personal connection to the concepts we teach, and being a TA provides a means for me to share with students the topics that I care about and, hopefully, inspire that same passion in some of them.”

He also emphasized the importance of collaboration in successful instruction.

“I try to create a light-hearted and fun environment that makes learning happen naturally,” he said. “But nothing that I do for CMSC216 would be successful without the incredible community that we have built, the support and passion shown by Senior Lecturer Christopher Kauffman and my fellow TAs, and the desire to learn shown by our students.”

—Story by Samuel Malede Zewdu, CS Communications