Gil Zussman

Kenneth Brayer Professor of Electrical Engineering

CUbiC Annual Review 2026 Highlights

A conference presenter in a black shirt holds a microphone and remote, speaking to an audience.
Alex Meng, CUbiC’s technical director and associate professor of professional practice in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Columbia Engineering
Shih-Fu Chang holds a microphone and rolled notes while addressing the room.
Shih-Fu Chang, Dean of Columbia Engineering, welcomes participants.
A student presenter gestures toward a research poster while explaining it to attendees gathered nearby.
Songli Wang, a PhD student at Columbia Electrical Engineering, presents his research.
A researcher stands beside a CUbiC poster, talking with two attendees in a bright atrium-like space.
Chandler Stevenson, a PhD student at Princeton, presents his research.
A presenter in a light polo shirt smiles while holding a microphone in a lecture room.
Tanvir Ahmed Khan, an assistant professor of Electrical Engineering at Columbia Engineering, addresses attendees.
Naresh Shanbhag stands near a lectern, hands clasped, as if pausing between points during a talk.
Naresh Shanbhag, Jack S. Kilby Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UIUC, addresses attendees.
Zoran Zvonar holds a microphone and raises a finger while making a point; other panelists sit beside him.
Zoran Zvonar from ADI participates in panel discussion.
Cooper Levy smiles while holding a microphone during a discussion.
Cooper Levy from Intel participates in panel discussion.
Wide shot of a Brett George at a podium speaking to an audience seated in a lecture hall; a CUbiC slide is projected.
Brett George, a PhD student in Columbia's Electrical Engineering Department, presents testbed research.
In a lab filled with equipment and cables, Matt Weingarten explains something at a workstation to two visitors.
Matt Weingarten, a PhD student in Columbia's Electrical Engineering Department, demonstrates CUbiC technology.
In a research lab, three conference attendees talk beside a piece of electronic test equipment while a monitor displays a CUbiC technical slide.
Alfred Davidson, a PhD student in Columbia's Electrical Engineering Department, demonstrates CUbiC technology.
Five CUbiC participants pose for a photo in a lecture room; two hold CUbiC certificates.
CUbiC leadership presents student awards.
Ffve participants smiling in a lecture hall; two hold CUbiC certificates.
CUbiC leadership presents student awards.
Keren Bergman holds a microphone and waves to the audience in front of a projected slide.
CUbiC director Keren Bergman, the Charles Batchelor Professor of Electrical Engineering, addresses attendees.
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Student achievements 

The annual review also commemorated the student research being done across the three themes of CUbiC. Theme 1 is research that takes a systems-level approach to improving bandwidth and connectivity. 

The first award went to Michael Cullen, a fifth-year PhD student at Columbia. He’s been working with CUbiC since the start of the center on the incorporation of photonics to improve bandwidth for AI training systems. His project tested photonic and electronic architectures to test how the two could work together in a simulated environment. 

“We can leverage the best of our photonic design and marry it with the best of other circuit designs and achieve really nice results in hybridized communications,” said Cullen. 

Anriban Banik, a third-year PhD student from UC Santa Barbara, took home the next award for Theme 1. Banik worked on a framework to improve millimeter-wave radar networks, a system that uses electromagnetic waves to map spaces.

“We wanted to utilize multiple views and introduce multiple radars so we can scale up to a huge network,” he said. Banik’s research leveraged techniques including real-time processing and one-shot fusion to improve calibration of the radar networks. 

CUbiC’s second theme is improving bandwidth by developing more efficient electric and photonic links. The first award went to Yunping Wang, a PhD student from UC Berkeley. His project tested a new photonic chiplet for high-bandwidth connectivity with a host system. 

Omar Bekdache, a third-year PhD student from the University of Illinois, also won the award for Theme 2. He tested a new framework for compute connectivity. “My biggest takeaway was the set of new insights that emerged from our COCO working group discussions and experiments, such as modeling the COCO fabric and recognizing that compute energy often dominates connectivity energy,” Bekdache said.

The third theme for CUbiC research is improving wireless connectivity, including developing the technology that could lead to next-generation wireless networks. 

Jurui Qi, a PhD student from UC San Diego, won an award for Theme 3. He presented a hybrid reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS). Qi describes his hybrid RIS as a “hardware platform for future communications.” This technology could be used in future 6G networks, and Qi reported promising results indicating that his hybrid RIS could enable real-time device localization. 

The second award for Theme 3 went to Nagesh Patle, a fifth-year PhD student at UC Berkeley. His project was tackling limits in power delivery for eventual use in data centers.

 “We can shrink the inductors, make our transients really fast, and increase our efficiency,” he said. “The trade-off, of course, is higher cost and more complexity.” Patle proposed a hybrid switch capacitor that could deliver high voltage in a design only a few millimeters tall. 

The CUbiC annual review concluded after the awards ceremony. In the next year, the team of researchers, students, and industry partners will continue to develop the connectivity solutions. At the conclusion of her opening remarks, Bergman summed up the last year of CUbiC. “We’ve delivered,” she said. “We've delivered these immensely energy-efficient, bandwidth-dense connectivity solutions at the system level. We have this new technology now.”

Highlights: Designing for Impact

Here’s a look at some of the capstone projects on display at Senior Design Expo 2026. Credit: Timothy Lee

Large group photo of students on a stage in front of a screen reading “Senior Design Expo ’26, Columbia Engineering.”
Biomedical Engineering students pose with Lecturer Lauren Heckleman (center).
A team in “Senior Design Expo ’26” shirts stands behind a table display for “DesiCool: Humidity-First Air Conditioning,” with prototypes and a monitor.
DesiCool (Mechanical Engineering) is a product that aims to mitigate the effects of humidity, enabling more energy-efficient dehumidification.
Four students pose beside a research poster
The Industrial Engineering and Operations Research team Advisor Assistant created an AI-enabled email advising system that can generate and draft email responses.
A student in a “Senior Design Expo ’26” shirt explains a safety harness worn on a mannequin to an older attendee.
Mechanical Engineering’s LumenFlex is a science-backed wearable device that limits harmful spinal motion contributing to multiple forms of back pain.
A presenter gestures toward a poster titled “TurmerID Wipe” while two attendees listen at a project display.
TumerRID Wipe (Chemical Engineering) is a specialized stain remover that uses an optimized solvent system to remove hard-to-clean stains.
Close-up of hands demonstrating a device with tubing connected to a mannequin head on a tabletop.
Biomedical Engineering’s O2-Matic is an automated, low-cost respiratory ventilation system that reduces the inconsistency of manual ventilators and improves patient outcomes.
A team presents medical-device prototypes and a project poster to an attendee at a crowded expo table.
GJ-Stay (Biomedical Engineering) aims to prevent Gastrojejunostomy tube flipping by providing a new design that anchors the tube in the small intestine.
Five students stand behind a table display for “NiNa,” showing prototypes, a laptop, and a monitor with the tagline “Secure, noninvasive comfort for all.”
NiNa, The Night-Time Nanny (Biomedical Engineering) is a real-time baby monitoring system that checks vital signs and sleep duration of newborn infants.
Two students sit at a table looking at a laptop, with a football in the foreground.
Electrical Engineering’s Smart Football provides measurements on the acceleration, spin RPM, and spirality for immediate feedback for quarterbacks to refine their throws.
Two presenters stand at a “PaceMate” display about wearable EMI awareness for pacemaker safety, speaking with an attendee across the table.
PaceMate (Biomedical Engineering) sought to create a more reliable and convenient way to alert patients with pacemakers on the presence of high Electromagnetic Interference.
A student wearing a “Senior Design Expo ’26” sweatshirt stands next to a poster about a phone-screen crack-filling resin.
Chemical Engineering’s Samir Farraj created ScreenSavior - a solvent that can heal cracks on a phone or tablet screen.
Two students examine and adjust a clear scale model of a suspension bridge on a table at an indoor exhibit.
Civil Engineering’s Baltimore Blueway Bridge aims to redesign and construct the Francis Scott Key Bridge, a truss bridge that collapsed after a cargo ship collided with one of its piers.
A speaker at a podium addresses the crowd onstage, with a large screen behind reading “Senior Design Expo ’26, Columbia Engineering.”
Dean Shih-Fu Chang addresses attendees of the Senior Design Expo.
Five students in “Senior Design Expo ’26” shirts pose behind a table of laptops and electronics, with one holding up a sensor device on a cable.sor device on a cable.
The Electrical Engineering team at CLACS shows off their clip-on live-annotation system, which uses AI to recognize letters as they're written and transcribe them to a companion app.
Four students pose in front of project posters at the expo; one holds a wearable device strapped to their leg.
Mechanical Engineering’s GoPower created a wearable, energy-harvesting device that converts the motion of walking into usable mechanical energy, for long-distance hiking and off-grid travel.
At a demo table, a presenter points to a screen showing circuit-board designs while another student watches and an attendee leans in to look.
Anura (Mechanical Engineering) created noise-canceling headphones with live translation capabilities.
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Many of the projects in this year’s expo integrated AI with custom hardware. The Clinical Handwashing Coach, which tracks handwashing sessions, is being tested at a hospital in Pasadena, California. The team of electrical engineering students designed an AI system to ensure that medical professionals comply with handwashing protocols. Other teams from the department used AI to create noise-canceling headphones with real-time language detection and translation (team ANURA) and a wearable device that inexpensively creates digital transcriptions (CLACS).

A couple of projects tackled wheelchair comfort and mobility autonomy. The Mechanical Engineering team STAR (Self-Transfer with Automated Reversing) Lift made moving in and out of a wheelchair easier for wheelchair users with upper-body mobility, allowing them to transfer themselves to a bed without assistance. Team Wheel-E created a specialized seat cushion for wheelchair users that helps alleviate the painful symptoms of prolonged sitting. 

Urban green infrastructure was the main theme for many projects in the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. The Morningside Park Rehabilitation Project reimagined the local neighborhood park by proposing two new community centers for public use and an upgraded drainage system that can handle heavier rainfall runoff. 

From AI devices to reimagining a neighborhood park, the Class of 2026 proved that the best engineering goes beyond the classroom and makes an impact in the world.

Reunion Weekend 2026

A man in a suit speaks at a podium, gesturing with one hand, against a purple-lit backdrop during the 2026 Columbia Engineering alumni reunion.
Michael Pupin Medal recipient Martin Chalfie addresses alumni at the Dean’s Welcome Dinner. Credit: David Dini
A crowded indoor reception during the Columbia Engineering alumni reunion, with attendees mingling and talking beneath a large sculpture on a pedestal in a wood-paneled room.
Credit: David Dini
A large group of people pose on a stage in formal attire in front of tall gold curtains.
Credit: David Dini
Four people pose onstage at the Columbia Engineering 2026 alumni reunion while one holds an open presentation box with an award medal; framed citations are displayed behind them.
Raymond Daddazio is awarded the Thomas Egleston Medal For Distinguished Engineering Achievement. (L to Right: Dean Shih-Fu Chang, Egleston Committee Chair Ana Rodriguez BS’86, Raymond Daddazio, and CEAA President Reid Ellison BS’08) Credit: David Dini
A speaker at a Columbia University lectern addresses a seated audience onstage, with three panelists and framed award displays behind them.
Thomas Egleston Medal recipient Raymond Daddazio addresses alumni at the Dean’s Welcome Dinner. Credit: David Dini
Four men pose onstage at the Columbia Engineering alumni reunion; one holds an open award case with a medal while others stand beside him smiling.
Azmi T. Mikati BS'94 is awarded the Samuel Johnson Medal For Distinguished Achievement Beyond Engineering and Applied Science (L to Right: Dean Shih-Fu Chang, Johnson Committee chair, Rohit Sharma, Azmi T. Mikati BS'94, and Ellison). Credit: David Dini
Wide view of a formal dinner in a grand hall lit in purple and gold, with Columbia crown projections on the walls and a stage program at the far end.
Samuel Johnson Medal recipient Azmi T. Mikati addresses alumni at the Dean’s Welcome Dinner. Credit: David Dini
Two Columbia Engineering alumni sit close together at a cocktail table, smiling at the camera, with wine glasses and candles on the table and a bar set up behind them.
Credit: David Dini
Group photo of Columbia Engineering alumni and Dean Shih-Fu Chang in front of a “Columbia Engineering” step-and-repeat backdrop, holding reunion-themed props including “Columbia Reunion” and “I ♥ CU” signs.
MS & PhD Reception. Credit: Michael DiVito
Four people pose in front of a small stage between tall lion banners, with two holding lion-shaped awards at a Columbia Engineering reunion event.
Harry West (center right) receives the Great Teacher Award alongside Caterina Pizzigoni (center left) at the Great Teacher Award Reception (L to Right: Dean Josef Sorett, Pizzigoni, and Dean Chang). Credit: Brandon Vallejo
Harry West stands behind a podium in a bright room with large windows, speaking between two tall banners featuring carved lion figures during a Columbia Engineering alumni reunion program.
Harry West addresses attendees at the Great Teacher Award Reception. Credit: Brandon Vallejo
Four Columbia Engineering alums pose outdoors in front of large silver “REUNION” balloon letters on Columbia’s campus, framed by blue-and-white balloons.
Reunion Lawn Party. Credit: Sirin Samman
Five alumni smile for a group photo under an event tent, seated and standing close together at a gathering for 2026 Columbia Engineering reunion.
Credit: Sirin Samman
A guide points to a large piece of scientific equipment during a lab tour while several alumni watch in the background.
Reunion tour of the Plasma Physics Lab. Credit: Sirin Samman
In a workshop lab, a seated student gestures while explaining a 3D model on a computer monitor to an alumnus standing beside them.
Reunion tour of the Plasma Physics Lab. Credit: Sirin Samman
Alumni sit at round tables listening to a speaker at a podium during a reunion luncheon; a presentation slide is projected at the front of the room.
Dean’s Welcome Breakfast. Credit: Brandon Vallejo
A man in a suit speaks into a handheld microphone and gestures with his free hand during an indoor reunion event.
Alumni Neil Daswani BS’96 poses a question for Dean Chang. Credit: Brandon Vallejo
Close-up of an attendee holding a small vintage photo over a café-style table with sunglasses and a phone nearby.
An alum shows an old photo of campus. Credit: Sirin Samman
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Dean Shih-Fu Chang recognized Raymond P. Daddazio BS'75, MS'76, EngScD'82 with the Thomas Egleston Medal for Distinguished Engineering Achievement. Daddazio is chairman of the Thornton Tomasetti Foundation and former president of Thornton Tomasetti. Dean Chang also recognized Azmi T. Mikati BS'94, the CEO of M1 Group, with the Samuel Johnson Medal for Distinguished Achievement Beyond Engineering and Applied Science.

Over the weekend, alumni and guests attended lectures from Columbia Engineering faculty, including a talk on AI and neural intelligence with Richard Zemel, Trianthe Dakolias Professor of Engineering and Applied Science and professor of computer science; as well as a presentation on energy, transition, and mining with Dan Steingart, Stanley-Thompson Professor of Chemical Metallurgy, professor of chemical engineering, and chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering. 

On Friday, attendees toured the Plasma Physics Lab and the Robotics and Rehabilitation (RoAR) Lab. They also mingled at a general All Class Reception and recognized classes celebrating their 50- and 25-year anniversaries. Members of the Class of 1976 received Golden Lions pins, while the Class of 2001 members received Silver Lions pins to commemorate the milestone and their entry into the Golden and Silver Lions Societies. The day ended with a Reunion Lawn Party for alumni of Columbia Engineering, Columbia College, and the School of General Studies. 

Harry West stands behind a podium in a bright room with large windows, speaking between two tall banners featuring carved lion figures during a Columbia Engineering alumni reunion program.
Professor Harry West was recognized with the Great Teacher Award by the Society of Columbia Graduates. Credit: Brandon Vallejo

Dean Chang gave attendees an overview of Columbia Engineering news highlights and research updates on Saturday at the Dean’s Breakfast. The Engineering School also hosted a special reception for alumni of its master’s and doctoral programs. The Society of Columbia Graduates sponsored the Great Teacher Awards reception to recognize the 2026 honorees. Harry West, professor of professional practice in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, received the Great Teacher Award for the Engineering School. Caterina Pizzigoni, associate professor of history, was the Columbia College recipient. The day closed with receptions and dinners for the classes and a Starlight Celebration on Low Plaza featuring a live band, dessert, and champagne.

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