UCI Celebration of Teaching: ICS Honorees
On September 19, 2024, UC Irvine held its 32nd Annual Celebration of Teaching, recognizing excellence in undergraduate teaching. Three faculty members from the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS) were among those honored:
- Stacy Branham received the Learning Experience and Online Teaching Award,
- Daniel Epstein was a Dean’s Honoree for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, and
- Sergio Gago-Masague received an honorable mention for the Dr. De Gallow Professor of the Year Award.
Nominated by peers, students and staff, award winners exemplify exceptional teaching at UCI.

Learning Experience & Online Teaching
“This past Spring, my heart was warmed by the comments of a former student, who anonymously nominated me for UCI’s Learning Experience Design & Online Teaching Award,” says Branham, an associate professor in the Department of Informatics.
“Dr. Stacy Branham is one of the most caring professors when it comes to accommodations in regard to accessibility for those with disabilities or unforeseen circumstances,” wrote the student. “Whether this be through Zoom lectures, recorded lectures, or the set of rules she holds to ensure her class is as accessible as possible, she always puts her students first. She also has a minute dedicated to every lecture where she shares her ‘Accessibility Minute of the Day,’ showcasing an innovation or story regarding accessibility and its importance in the new digital era.”
Dean’s Honoree

Epstein, also an associate professor in the Department of Informatics, was selected to receive the Dean’s Honoree award “for the outstanding quality of his undergraduate teaching as well as for his efforts to improve the human-computer interaction courses and the overall Informatics major,” says ICS Dean Marios Papaefthymiou. “One is hard-pressed to find any negative student comments on the courses he has taught. He has been a leader in revising the Informatics major… introducing several key changes that benefit our students with a more modern curriculum.”
Honorable Mention

The Dr. De Gallow Professor of the Year Award recognizes a faculty member who excels in teaching, using methods that positively impact diverse student populations. Gago-Masague, an assistant professor of teaching in the Department of Computer Science, received an honorable mention for this prestigious award. As principal investigator on a $500,000 NSF grant focused on increasing computer science undergraduate retention, he is working with ICS colleagues to leverage predictive modeling and early, personalized academic interventions to better support students. “We are working to close the diversity gap in computer science education by offering early, targeted support,” says Gago-Masague.
— Shani Murray