Illinois Professors Honored wiht Google’s ML and Systems Junior Faculty Award
Three esteemed computer science professors from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Grainger College of Engineering have been recognized by Google for their groundbreaking work in machine learning and systems. Daniel Kang, charith Mendis, and Minjia Zhang are among the over 50 faculty members from 27 U.S. universities to receive Google’s inaugural ML and systems Junior Faculty Award.
This prestigious, nomination-based award celebrates the meaningful contributions and future potential of early-career faculty in advancing computing systems. Google’s selection committee, comprised of google engineers and researchers, identified professors whose research spans algorithms, software, and hardware, driving the development of efficient, scalable, secure, and trustworthy computing systems essential for large-scale machine learning and cloud computing.
Daniel Kang was acknowledged for his impactful research in ML and Data. Charith Mendis received recognition for his work in ML Compiler Optimization, and Minjia Zhang was honored for his contributions to Highly Efficient ML Systems. Each awardee receives $100,000 in unrestricted funding to support their ongoing research and an invitation to a symposium with fellow recipients.
“A welcome surprise in these uncertain times,” Kang shared on X, hinting at forthcoming developments from his lab. Zhang expressed his thrill and honor, stating, “It is a recognition of our work by leaders in both ML and system research at Google. I’m also excited about the potential collaboration this opens up.” He further elaborated that the award will bolster his lab’s efforts in creating highly efficient ML systems for both data centers and scientific supercomputers.
Mendis echoed this enthusiasm, noting, “I am thrilled to receive this award, and it showcases the importance of thinking foundationally about ML compilers. I am excited about future collaborations with the XLA compiler team.This award will support my research on building both correct and performant compilers for Machine Learning workloads.”
Amin Vahdat, Google VP/GM, ML, Systems & Cloud AI, expressed his anticipation for the future breakthroughs these faculty members will deliver, stating, “We certainly know they will help invent the future and mentor the next generation of talented students.”
The recipients are all integral members of the Illinois Grainger Engineering faculty. Daniel Kang is a professor of computer science with an affiliation in electrical and computer engineering, while Charith Mendis and Minjia Zhang are professors of computer science.
