Northwestern CS Welcomes New Faculty Members

Northwestern Engineering’s Department of Computer Science is excited to welcome new faculty to its ranks. Sidhanth Mohanty and Ruohan Zhang will join as core tenure-track faculty members, Lydia Tse will join as a part-time clinical professor, and Shaddin Dughmi will serve as a visiting professor.

"I am delighted that we were able to recruit some of the top computer scientists to join Northwestern Computer Science,” said Samir Khuller, Peter and Adrienne Barris Chair of Computer Science. “Both Sid Mohanty and Ruohan Zhang are top postdocs from MIT and Stanford, respectively, and will join us over the next year. In addition, we are thrilled to welcome Lydia Tse as the Pioneer Clinical Assistant Professor funded by a gift from an anonymous donor, as well as Shaddin Dughmi as the Tania and Carter Neild Visiting Professor from USC. Both will add tremendous excitement to our research and teaching portfolio.”

Sidhanth Mohanty

Mohanty will join as a tenure track assistant professor on September 1. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher advised by Sam Hopkins in the Theory of Computation group at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Mohanty is a computer scientist and mathematician who is broadly interested in algorithms, complexity, and probability theory. He investigates mixing times of Markov chains, random matrix theory, high-dimensional expansion, and error-correcting codes. Mohanty earned a PhD in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley in 2023 and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University in 2018.

“I am excited by the prospect of being part of a very vibrant, supportive, and collegial community of theoretical computer scientists and probabilists at Northwestern University, as well as the broader Chicago area,” Mohanty said.

Ruohan Zhang

Zhang will join as a tenure-track assistant professor in fall 2026. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher advised by Fei-Fei Li and Jiajun Wu at the Stanford Vision and Learning Lab, Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, and Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance. Zhang’s research focuses on AI, including embodied AI, human-robot interaction, brain-computer interfaces, cognitive science, societal impact of AI and automation, and AI for art and design. His goal is to develop human-centered, human-inspired, and human-compatible AI and robotics.

Zhang has received several paper awards from top-tier conferences and workshops, including the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, Conference on Robot Learning, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, and Robotics: Science and Systems. He earned a PhD in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin, advised by Dana Ballard and Mary Hayhoe.

“I am genuinely excited about the opportunity to collaborate with the Northwestern research community,” Zhang said. “During my visit, I was deeply impressed by the department’s supportive, friendly, and intellectually vibrant atmosphere – exactly the kind of environment I am seeking. Moreover, Northwestern’s strengths in computer science, cognitive science, and robotics create exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.”

Lydia Tse

Tse, who has worked with the department since January 2024 as an adjunct lecturer, will begin a three-year term this fall as the Pioneer Assistant Clinical Professor of Computer Science. This new position, supported by the generosity of an anonymous donor, is designed to equip students with industry-relevant practical and transferable skills. Prior to joining Google as a software engineer in 2022, Tse was a visualization engineer and lead solutions engineer at Nike. She earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees in computer science at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Shaddin Dughmi

While on sabbatical from the University of Southern California (USC), Dughmi will join the department for one academic year beginning in August as the Tania and Carter Neild Visiting Professor. Dughmi is an associate professor of computer science in the Theory Group at USC. He develops new algorithmic techniques and examines the power and limitations of algorithms in domains including game theory, mechanism design, multi-agent systems, persuasion and information design, delegation and contract theory, decision-making subject to online or stochastic uncertainty, and the theory of machine learning. Dughmi earned a PhD in computer science from Stanford University in 2011 and a bachelor’s degree in computer science in 2004 from Cornell University.

“There is a wealth of talent at Northwestern at the intersection of computer science, economics, and data,” Dughmi said. “I'm excited to spend a year learning from and collaborating with leading scholars in those areas.”

Supported by electrical and computer engineering alumna Tania Neild ’99 PhD (’25 P) and Carter Neild (’25 P), the Neild Visiting Professorship is a new position for a visiting faculty member which aims to expand the teaching excellence of the department and bring in new perspectives to educate students. Tania Neild, the founder and CTO of Infograte Inc., is a member of the McCormick Advisory Council, which plays a critical role in helping to shape strategy to ensure that Northwestern Engineering continues to excel in all areas of engineering research, education, and practice.

“We're proud to support the visiting professor, because we believe a top university must not only produce world-class research, but also cultivate the next generation of brilliant thinkers,” Tania Neild said. “In a time when universities face extraordinary pressures, it's crucial that students aren't caught in the crossfire—but are instead empowered by educators who can teach critical thinking and help them harness the rapid advances in technology.”