CSC News

Congratulations to the Spring 2025 Carla Savage Award Winners

Congratulations to Yuchen Liu, assistant professor; Sandeep Kaur Kuttal, associate professor; and Shandler Mason, Ph.D. student, on being named the Spring 2025 winners of the Carla Savage Awards.

Named after department icon and professor emeritus Carla Savage, the Carla Savage Awards are an intra-departmental initiative that recognizes outstanding achievement within the department.

Yuchen Liu leads the Networking and Intelligence (NICE) Lab. His research interests lie in the areas of networking, machine learning, wireless systems, mobile sensing and computing, digital twins and security. He received his Ph.D. degree from Georgia Tech in 2022. His recent work explores innovations in digital twins, foundation models and explainable artificial intelligence, and how these advancements are revolutionizing next-generation networks and autonomous systems. The long-term goal is to advance user-centric applications through ubiquitous networking and intelligence in diverse areas. He has organized multiple workshop series at Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Communications Society conferences (International Conference on Computer Communications [INFOCOM], Global Communications Conference [GLOBECOM], International Conference on Communications [ICC] and more) and serves as an Associate Editor for four high-impact journals.

Liu’s nominators write that he is an outstanding educator and researcher; he consistently earns top student evaluations, including a perfect 5.0 in one course. Liu successfully manages large classes, with 94 students enrolled in his Fall 2024 Computer Networking course. Of the many papers he published in 2024, nine were in top IEEE Journals and 16 were featured in IEEE/Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) conferences, with two papers earning Best Paper Runner-Up awards. Since joining the department in 2022, Liu has published over 40 top-tier papers, most co-authored with students. He fosters a collaborative, supportive environment where student well-being is a priority. Liu mentors with optimism, encourages work-life balance and builds strong relationships, making him an exceptional advisor and leader.

Sandeep Kaur Kuttal directs the Human Factors + Experience Engineering Lab (Discovering and Inventing for Human-Centered SE and AI). Kuttal is also a member of the College of Engineering’s AI Advisory Team. Her research integrates human-computer interaction, software engineering (SE) and AI. Kuttal is the recipient of two prestigious awards: an National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award and an Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Young Investor Program (YIP) award. She also received a letter of commendation from the U.S. Senator James M. Inhofe for the YIP award. Her research excellence was recognized with Best Paper and Honorable Mention Awards at the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) and a Best Paper Award at the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Global Software Engineering (ICGSE). Kuttal serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Computer Languages (COLA) and the Human-AI committee of the International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCII). She’s held key roles at major research conferences, including: the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), the International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE), the International Conference on the Foundations of Software Engineering (FSE), the International Conference on Automated Software Engineering (ASE) and the Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC).

Kuttal’s nominators write that she is a leading researcher in software engineering and human-computer interaction, publishing in top venues like ICSE, CHI and ACM’s Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology (TOSEM). As an exceptional Ph.D. advisor, Kuttal provides expert guidance, ensuring students publish regularly while supporting their professional growth. She fosters a collaborative and innovative research environment, where students are engaged in high-impact projects. Kuttal is organizing IEEE VL/HCC 2025 at NC State and actively shares research through keynote speeches. Her leadership, mentorship and research excellence make her a key figure in the field.

Shandler A. Mason is a Ph.D. candidate advised by Sandeep Kuttal in the Human Factors + Experience Engineering Lab. Her research focuses on discovering societal and technological barriers for software users and programmers and inventing methodologies to support software practitioners. Shandler received her M.S. in computer science from NC State and her B.S. in computer science with a minor in applied mathematics from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University.

Mason’s nominators write that in just 2 ½ years, she has built an impressive research record, publishing in top venues such as TOSEM, ICSE and VL/HCC. Her body of work includes one journal paper, four full research papers, a short paper and a poster presentation. An independent and visionary researcher, Shandler is making a transformative impact on SE and human-computer interaction. Her research focuses on identifying inclusivity barriers in collaborative software tools and developing frameworks to address them. By exploring how demographic diversity – such as race, gender, disability and age – affects collaboration, she is driving meaningful change in technology. Her academic excellence, creativity and commitment to inclusivity make her a rising leader in the field.

Mason is expected to become Dr. Mason in 2026. Currently, she is exploring opportunities to pursue a research career in academia or industry.

For the full list of past winners, click here.

~brown~