UW Electrical & Computer Engineering

UW ECE is proud to welcome alumnus Jared K. Jordan (BSEE '05) as the honored guest speaker for our Graduation Ceremony.

Jordan is a managing vice president at Capital One and leads Capital One Garage, the company's innovation accelerator. Over his career, he has held engineering leadership roles at Google, YouTube, Netflix, and Microsoft, helping shape products and technologies used by millions worldwide. He is also a passionate advocate for inclusive, high-impact engineering teams.

Hec Edmundson Pavilion
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
7–9 p.m.

We're excited for our graduates — and their families and supporters — to hear Jordan's reflections and advice as we celebrate the Class of 2026.

Learn more: www.ece.uw.edu/spotlight/2026-graduation-jared-k-jordan

Two UW ECE students selected as 2026 Graduation speakers!

We're proud to announce that Khushbu Patel (MSECE '26), pictured at left, and Kathryn Fehme (BSECE '26), at right, will represent their peers as student speakers at this year's UW ECE Graduation Ceremony.

Both students were chosen for their outstanding academic achievements, leadership, and dedication to mentoring others. Their experiences — from aerospace engineering to student leadership — reflect the incredible impact of our graduating class.

June 10 | Hec Ed Pavilion | 7–9 p.m.

Learn more: www.ece.uw.edu/spotlight/2026-graduation-student-speakers

Congratulations to UW ECE undergraduate Anders Pearson on being awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship!

Advised by UW ECE and Allen School Professor Joshua Smith, Pearson conducts research in Smith's Sensor Systems Laboratory, exploring the intersection of machine learning and wireless communication networks. Professor Smith leads several high-profile research initiatives at the University, including work on wireless power transfer systems for lunar environments, providing a strong foundation for this cutting-edge research.

This prestigious fellowship recognizes Pearson's accomplishments and will support his graduate studies at the UW. We're excited to see what comes next.

Read the full story: www.ece.uw.edu/spotlight/2026-nsf-grfp-anders-pearson

UW researchers have engineered a new type of optical chip!

A research team led by UW ECE and Physics Professor Arka Majumdar has developed a low-power, programmable optical microchip that could help advance artificial intelligence, sensing, imaging, and other high-performance technologies.

Unlike traditional optical circuits, this new chip can be electrically reconfigured and maintains its state without constant power—making it more energy efficient.

Read the full story: www.ece.uw.edu/spotlight/a-new-type-of-optical-chip

Project-based, flexible, relevant — 🚀 Rewrite your future with UW ECE’s Professional Master’s Program (PMP)!

Our flexible evening classes and industry-focused curriculum cover AI and machine learning, embedded systems, mobile applications, microelectronics, and more — taught by leading researchers and industry experts.

Earn your Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE) and prepare for exciting new opportunities!

📅Apply by May 15th, 2026
👉Learn more and apply: https://www.ece.uw.edu/academics/pmp/

A research team led by UW ECE professors Amy Orsborn and Sam Burden has applied game theory to develop a new computational framework for designing co-adaptive neural interfaces — systems that learn alongside and adapt to the user.

Their work opens up new possibilities for wearable and implantable neural devices while offering a new, principled approach to improving human-machine interaction.

"Before this study, we couldn't design co-adaptive neural interfaces from any sort of principled approach. It was always ad hoc," Orsborn said. "But now, if engineers are designing a system where they anticipate learning on the part of the user and in the neural interface, they will have a framework they can use to design that system."

Orsborn is a Cherng Jia and Elizabeth Yun Hwang Professor in UW ECE and the UW Department of Bioengineering. She is a well-known leader in the field of neural engineering, working at the intersection of engineering and neuroscience to develop therapeutic neural interfaces for restoration and rehabilitation of human sensorimotor capabilities.

Burden is a UW ECE associate professor known for his work discovering and formalizing principles of human sensorimotor control, focusing on applications in robotics, neural engineering, and human-AI interaction.

"We're doing human-centered engineering, as opposed to just making a device and then requiring the user to adapt to it," Burden said. "Here, we're making devices that adapt to you."

Pictured: A research participant uses their forearm muscle contractions, with help from a neural interface, to move a cursor (blue dot) toward a target (red dot) onscreen.

Learn more: www.ece.uw.edu/spotlight/game-theory-neural-interface-design

A new research platform developed by UW ECE and BioE Associate Professor Azadeh Yazdan is helping scientists control and monitor brain activity with light over long periods of time.

This innovative "toolbox" bridges the gap between laboratory research and life-saving medical applications. Its long-term stability makes it especially valuable for studying chronic conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, and mental health disorders.

Yazdan is the Washington Research Foundation Innovation Associate Professor of Neuroengineering in UW ECE and the UW Department of Bioengineering. She noted that her lab is already seeing promise in using electrical stimulation to accelerate recovery from stroke and pathologies associated with Alzheimer's disease.

By making this platform accessible to other labs, she and her team hope to accelerate the journey toward a future where the most complex diseases of the human brain can be successfully treated and cured.

Pictured next to Yazdan: An image of the optical window with optogenetic/electrophysiology integration engineered by Yazdan and her research team to view the brain over long periods of time.

Learn more: wanbrc.uw.edu/platform-bridges-gap-to-human-brain-therapies

Read about Yazdan’s research in these journals:

Nature Communications: www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-69448-3
Nature Microsystems & Nanoengineering: www.nature.com/articles/s41378-026-01166-8
Wiley Advanced Science: advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/advs.202514419

🚀 Voltair has launched!

Voltair — a Y Combinator startup co-founded by UW ECE alums Ronan Nopp (BSECE '25) and Hayden Gosch (BSECE '25) — officially launched on March 14. The company is building the world's first globally distributed network of autonomous drones for Earth observation, delivering on-demand insights for power utilities and enabling new applications in hyperlocal weather monitoring, forestry, construction, search and rescue, and insurance.

In 2025, Voltair won first prize at both the Environmental Innovation Challenge and the Dempsey Startup Competition at the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship in the Foster School of Business. The startup later went on to be accepted into the Buerk Accelerator Program, which accelerates the growth of early-stage, student-led companies, and Y Combinator, a premier Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator.

Learn more: www.ycombinator.com/launches/PhE-voltair-network-of-distributed-autonomous-drones-for-earth-observation