Diba Mirza

Roles & Affiliations: Associate Teaching Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Computer Science at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB). Former Assistant Adjunct Professor at UC San Diego's CSE department. Holds B.E. from BITS Pilani, M.S. and Ph.D. from UC San Diego's Computer Engineering program.

Education Background: Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Engineering from UC San Diego, B.E. from BITS Pilani. Postdoctoral research at UCSD CSE, focusing on teaching methodologies.

Research Interests: Embedded systems applied to cyber-physical systems, underwater robotics (collaborations with Scripps Institution of Oceanography), and innovative computer science education. Develops hands-on curricula and programs for undergraduate engagement, including the Early Research Scholars Program and CS Undergraduate Learning Assistant Program.

Teaching Contributions: Taught courses at all undergraduate levels at UCSB and UCSD, including CMPSC 8/16/24, and specialized programs like SPIS and COSMOS for incoming students. Co-developed PyRTL as an educational tool for hardware design.

Awards: 2021 NCWIT Mentoring Award, 2020 Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award (UCSB), multiple Computer Science Outstanding Faculty Awards (UCSB), and recognition from Jacobs School of Engineering and Tau Beta Pi.

Advising & Grants: Director of UCSB's Early Research Scholars Program, co-director of CS Undergraduate Learning Assistant Program. Served as Undergraduate Affairs Committee Chair (2018-2020). Active in NSF-funded collaborative research on underwater robotic swarms.

Labs & Teams: Collaborates with Scripps Institution of Oceanography on oceanographic research projects. Involved in developing underwater robotic systems for environmental monitoring and swarm intelligence applications.