AI Steering Committee Members

Pradeep Khosla, Chancellor, UC San Diego

As UC San Diego’s chief executive officer, Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla has positioned the institution to define the future of the public research university by activating the institution’s first-ever strategic plan and launching the Campaign for UC San Diego, an ambitious 10-year endeavor aimed at transforming the university physically, intellectually and culturally. Under Khosla’s leadership, UC San Diego has expanded college access and affordability for underserved students, initiated campuswide interdisciplinary research initiatives to foster collaboration and solve societal challenges, and strengthened university and community partnerships to drive regional impact.

Ahmet Palazoglu, UC Academic Senate Chair, Distinguished Professor, UC Davis

Ahmet Palazoglu, Systemwide Academic Senate Chair for 2025-26, is a Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Davis. From 2011 to 2014, he was the chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.

Palazoglu received his BS in chemical engineering from the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Turkey and MS in chemical engineering from Bogazici University, also in Turkey. His PhD, in chemical engineering, is from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, NY.

His research involves the use of modeling, optimization, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to address practical problems in a broad range of systems.

Palazoglu published more than 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings and co-authored two books. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Van Williams, VP IT & CIO, UC

Van Williams is Vice President of Digital Information and Technology Services and Chief Information Officer (DigIT) for the University of California, a $40+ billion enterprise spanning ten campuses and six health systems. As UC CIO, Van serves as the system’s chief IT strategist, collaborating with campus and health CIOs and leaders across the UC system while overseeing IT-related strategic priorities for the UC Office of the President. Previously, Van was Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and Strategic Initiatives at UC Santa Cruz, where he led an $800M IT organization and served as the campus Cyber-Risk Responsible Executive. Before joining UC, he held senior leadership roles at New York University, including CIO of the Stern School of Business. He has an MBA in finance, entrepreneurship and marketing from Stern and a bachelor’s degree from NYU.

Errol Arkilic, Chief Innovation Officer, UC Irvine

Errol Arkilic is the Chief Innovation Officer of UC Irvine and Executive Director of Beall Applied Innovation. He leads campus‐wide commercialization activities, helping researchers turn knowledge into products and services that impact society. Prior to UC Irvine, he was founder and CEO of M34 Capital, a private investment company that focuses on seed and early‐stage projects being spun out of academic research labs. Previously, he was the founding and lead program director for the NSF I-Corps program, heading the effort from its inception in 2011 to 2013, and later becoming a senior advisor for the program. He has a Ph.D. in Aero/Astro Engineering from MIT.

Camille Crittenden, Executive Director, CITRIS

Camille Crittenden is executive director of CITRIS and the Banatao Institute and co-founder of the CITRIS Tech Policy initiative and EDGE (Expanding Diversity and Gender Equity) in Tech at UC. She chaired the California Blockchain Working Group in 2019–20, served on UC’s Presidential Working Group on Artificial Intelligence, and continues to serve on the UC AI Council. Prior to coming to CITRIS, she was executive director of Berkeley's Human Rights Center, where she helped develop its program in human rights, technology and digital media. She has written and spoken widely about AI governance and applications in higher education and technology applications for civic engagement, digital equity, and government transparency and accountability.

Nick Dugan, Vice Chancellor IT, UC Merced

Nick Dugan serves as the Vice Chancellor and Chief Information Officer at UC Merced. With more than 25 years of UC service across three campuses (Merced, Davis, and Santa Cruz), Nick has held a variety of IT leadership roles over areas including cybersecurity, research computing, and technology infrastructure. At UC Merced since 2010, he has worked to grow and expand UC’s presence and influence in his longtime home of the San Joaquin Valley. Nick also serves on the board of trustees for Community Health System in Fresno, the fifth largest healthcare system in the state and largest employer in the Central Valley. He holds a bachelor’s in computer science from UC Santa Cruz and a MS in Information Management from Arizona State.

Rajesh Gupta, Dean, School of Computing, Information, and Data Sciences, UC San Diego

Rajesh K. Gupta is Dean of the Halıcıoğlu School of Computing, Information and Data Science at UC San Diego. Professor Gupta's research focuses on embedded and cyber-physical systems, with a particular emphasis on sensor data organization and its applications in optimization and analytics. A distinguished alumnus of IIT Kanpur, Gupta received an MS from UC Berkeley and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. Prof. Gupta holds the Qualcomm Endowed Chair in Embedded Microsystems at UC San Diego and the INRIA International Chair at the French international research institute in Rennes, Bretagne Atlantique. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, the ACM, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Aric Hagberg, Computing and Artificial Intelligence Division Lead, Los Alamos National Lab

Dr. Aric Hagberg is a research scientist and Division Leader of the Computing and Artificial Intelligence Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory. An expert in network science, applied mathematics, and computational physics, he leads research applying advanced computing and AI to national security challenges. Dr. Hagberg earned a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Arizona and actively fosters collaborative research across government, academia, and industry while mentoring the next generation of computational scientists.

Cora Han, UC Chief Health Data Officer, UC Health

Cora Han, JD is Chief Health Data Officer for University of California Health, where she leads systemwide efforts in health data governance, enterprise analytics, and responsible AI. She heads the Center for Data-driven Insights and Innovation (CDI2), supporting analytics, research, and operational improvement across UC Health by leveraging data from UC’s six academic health centers. Cora’s prior experience as a senior attorney at the Federal Trade Commission informs her commitment to using health data responsibly to improve care, support research, and maintain public trust.

S. Jack Hu, Chancellor and Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UC Riverside

Dr. S. Jack Hu began his appointment as chancellor of UC Riverside in July 2025. Before UCR, he served as senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Georgia, where he led the definition and implementation of a 75-position faculty hiring initiative in data science and AI. From 2014 - 2019, he was vice president for research at the University of Michigan, where he oversaw a $1.5 billion research enterprise. An elected member of the National Academy of Engineering and fellow of four societies, he holds 10 patents and has published nearly 200 peer-reviewed journal articles. He received his PhD from the University of Michigan.

Ann Kirschner, Special Advisor to President Milliken, UC

Ann Kirschner, Ph.D., is an educator, author, and entrepreneur whose career spans technology, media, and higher education. She has led universities (interim President of Hunter College and Dean Emerita of Macaulay Honors College at CUNY) and built technology companies, including Fathom, a pioneering online learning venture, and NFL.com. As a University Professor at CUNY, she has taught graduate seminars on the Future of Work and Higher Education. She is Senior Advisor to the presidents of the University of California and Arizona State University and Executive Director of Meyer Family Philanthropies. She is the author of Sala's Gift and Lady at the OK Corral; her articles have appeared in the New York Times, Forbes, and the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Andrew Martin, Graduate Student, UC Merced

Andrew has spent over a decade in California’s public college system learning the importance of institutional navigation through the barriers and opportunities higher education produces. He is a sociology graduate student with a background in political economy, focusing on tech adoption and governance in higher education. His current research focuses on institutional debt, online education, and executive leadership across universities. He serves as UC Merced's GSA's External Vice President and is a member of the UC Graduate Professional Council.

Colin Milburn, Gary Snyder Chair in Science and the Humanities; Professor of Science and Technology Studies, English, and Cinema and Digital Media, UC Davis

Colin Milburn is Gary Snyder Chair in Science and the Humanities and Distinguished Professor of Science and Technology Studies, English, and Cinema and Digital Media at UC Davis. His research focuses on the intersections of science, literature, and media technologies. His books include Nanovision: Engineering the Future (2008), Mondo Nano: Fun and Games in the World of Digital Matter (2015), Respawn: Gamers, Hackers, and Technogenic Life (2018), and Experimenting with Shakespeare: Games and Play in the Laboratory (2024). At UC Davis, he directs the ModLab digital humanities laboratory and the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Experimental Futures.

Rolin Moe, Associate Vice Provost, UC Online

Rolin Moe is Associate Vice Provost for UC Online at the University of California Office of the President, where he leads systemwide strategy for online education in support of UC’s 2030 goals around degree completion and equity. He works across campuses, the Academic Senate, and external partners to advance online education policy, innovation, and student success initiatives. Rolin holds an Ed.D. in Learning Technologies from Pepperdine University and a Master’s in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas at Austin. His teaching and research examine technology, media, and instructional modalities.

Rob Neely, Associate Director, Weapon Simulation and Computing, Strategic Deterrence, Lawrence Livermore National Lab

J. Robert “Rob” Neely is the Associate Director for Weapon Simulation and Computing (WSC) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He has responsibility over the development and delivery of computing capabilities in support of national security at LLNL. This includes procuring, siting, and managing high-performance computing (HPC) and AI platforms at the Livermore Computing Center, including the current #1 fastest computer on the Top500, El Capitan. WSC also oversees the development of applications and software to model complex systems on those platforms, including the development and use of AI models for scientific discovery and optimization. He received his MS in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1994.

Safiya Umoja Noble, David O. Sears Presidential Endowed Chair of Social Sciences; Professor of Gender Studies, African American Studies, and Information Studies, UCLA

Safiya U. Noble is the David O. Sears Presidential Endowed Chair of Social Sciences at UCLA. She directs the Center on Resilience & Digital Justice and the Minderoo Initiative on Tech & Power, and authored the acclaimed book, Algorithms of Oppression (NYU Press). Safiya is a board member of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative and a charter member of the International Panel on the Information Environment at the Oxford Internet Institute. She holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Library & Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, M.A. in Sociology from San Jose State University, and B.A. in Sociology from California State University, Fresno. In 2021, she was recognized as a MacArthur Foundation Fellow.

Rita Raley, Professor of English, with Courtesy Appointments in Film and Media Studies, Comparative Literature, and Global Studies, UC Santa Barbara

Rita Raley is a Professor of English at UC Santa Barbara, where she also serves as Divisional Chair of the Academic Senate and co-director of the newly founded Center for Humanities and Machine Learning. Her research focuses on AI/machine learning through a humanities lens, with an emphasis on LLMs and GPT-2. She has recently completed articles on mechanistic interpretability and the culture of optimization and is currently writing about cross-lingual models. She regularly participates in conversations about AI in different institutional settings—e.g., systemwide, UCSB, and UCHRI working groups and a Modern Language Association research working group and team for the US AI Safety Institute.

Mark Rauschuber, CIO UCSF Health, UCSF

Mark Rauschuber is vice president and chief information officer (CIO) at UCSF Health. He is responsible for the design, development, release and maintenance of technology systems and services for the health care system. He also leads medical and nursing informatics services and oversees all aspects of UCSF Health's information systems strategy, optimization and management. Rauschuber is experienced in helping scale information technology (IT) systems to keep pace with medical system growth. Before joining UCSF Health, he was associate vice president and health system CIO at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Michael Tassio, Assistant Vice Provost for Educational Innovation, Division of Academic Affairs, UC Santa Cruz

Michael Tassio is the Assistant Vice Provost for Educational Innovation for the Division of Academic Affairs at the University of California Santa Cruz. In this role, he partners with educator leaders to support the strategic development of courses and programs, the ethical integration of educational technologies, and he contributes to the leadership team for the Teaching and Learning Center. Michael co-chairs the campus's Artificial Intelligence Council, the Technology-Enhanced Teaching and Learning advisory committee, and the Joint Senate-Administration Committee on Climate Teaching.

Giovanni Vigna, Distinguished Professor of Computer Science; Director, NSF AI Institute for Agent-Based Cyber Threat Intelligence and Operation (ACTION), UC Santa Barbara

Giovanni Vigna is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the director of the NSF AI Institute for Agent-based Cyber Threat Intelligence and Operation (ACTION) at UCSB. He was the CTO and co-founder of Lastline, Inc., a company that provides anti-malware solutions. After Lastline was acquired, Dr. Vigna led the Advanced Threat Prevention group at Broadcom. Giovanni Vigna is also the founder of the Shellphish hacking group, which has participated in both the DARPA CGC and AIxCC competitions, and more DEF CON CTFs than any other group in history.

Karina Zambani, Undergraduate Student, UC San Diego

Karina is an undergraduate student at the University of California, San Diego, studying both Data Science and Philosophy, with a particular interest in the theoretical, philosophical, and ethical questions surrounding AI. Her work has focused on responsible AI, language and bias, and the broader question of what kinds of human capacities we risk weakening, or expanding, through automation, especially in how it reshapes human judgment, interpretation, education, labor, and social institutions. She’s especially interested in how universities can approach AI as a force that changes how people think, learn, and understand the world.

Zac Zimmer, Professor of Literature, UCSC

Zac Zimmer is an interdisciplinary scholar of literature, culture, and technology in the hemispheric Americas. At UC Santa Cruz, he teaches classes on Latin American literature, science fiction, ethics, technology, and the poetics of California infrastructure. He is the author of First Contact: Speculative Visions of the Conquest of the Americas (Northwestern, 2025), and he co-facilitates the Ethics and Astrobiology reading group, part of UCSC’s Astrobiology Initiative. His current research examines the political economy of intellectual property and proposes a critical history of machine learning training data.