Brown CS PhD Alums Alexandra Papoutsaki And Daphne Yao Become CS Department Chair And Department Head
- Posted by Ellie Chang
- on Oct. 7, 2026
It’s been a meteoric rise through CS academia for two Brown CS PhD alums this summer. Alexandra Papoutsaki has just become department chair at Pomona College’s computer science department and Danfeng (Daphne) Yao was appointed the computer science department head at NC State. Alexandra studied under the guidance of Jeff Huang and received a position at Pomona directly after graduation. Meanwhile, Daphne, advised by Roberto Tamassia, served as Interim Head of the Computer Science (CS) Department at Virginia Tech prior to her NC State move.
“I am excited to step into this new role and help build a strong community that supports my students and colleagues alike. At the same time, I am grateful to be part of a small department where I can lean on my colleagues and staff for help and advice as I learn my new responsibilities,” Alexandra says.
Alexandra’s research focuses on human-computer interaction, especially with regard to the development and deployment of personal informatics and eye tracking. Her care for the relationship between humans and technology proliferates into her teaching as well, where she has been awarded the Pomona College Wig Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2020 and 2026. Additionally, a few of her recent awards include an Honorable Mention Award at the 2025 ACM CHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) and a 2020-2024 National Science Foundation CRII Grant for her project “Gaze Sharing to Support Remote Collaboration.”
Similar to Alexandra, Daphne grounds herself in her community: “I am still adjusting to the fast-paced nature of my new role, but every day, I find excitement in my work. Last week, at the Computer Science Club Day, I had fun conversations with many student leaders…I [also] got to meet with some amazing NC State alumni who are eager to give back and contribute to our education mission in various capacities.”
Daphne works primarily with cybersecurity but focuses on the accuracy and deployment of CS technologies across a wide range of topics. Her patents on anomaly detection have been cited by companies like FireEye, Boeing, and Palo Alto Networks. As a result of her work, she has been named an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow and an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow. She has also received a NSF CAREER Award and ARO Young Investigator Award, among many other honors. Furthermore, she extends her leadership beyond her university as Chair of the ACM Special Interest Group on Security, Audit, and Control (SIGSAC).
Notably, both Alexandra and Daphne have AI at the forefront of their minds as they take on the mantle of greater responsibility and stewardship.
“Like many other Computer Science Departments across the nation, ours is grappling with questions about constant changes in enrollments and concerns about the impact of AI on education and our graduates' job prospects. Pomona's liberal arts mission, though, makes me optimistic that I am surrounded by people who remain committed to growing through a well-rounded education and that this ethos will help us adapt and thrive despite a shifting landscape,” Alexandra says.
“Standardizing AI infrastructure requires community building, consensus building, and leadership across academia and industry,” Daphne says. “We (faculty) are learning together with our students.”
The views and opinions expressed above are those of individuals and do not necessarily state or reflect those of Brown CS or Brown University, nor does their publication here constitute an endorsement of them.
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