Staff

For logistics, administrative, and DSP-related questions, please email cs170@, a private email that is only seen by the head TAs and professors.
Append berkeley.edu to all emails.

Instructors

Christian Borgs (He/Him)

Instructor • borgs@ • website

Office Hours: TBD

Prasad Raghavendra (He/Him)

Instructor • raghavendra@ • website

Office Hours: Wed 1:30-2:30, Soda 623

Student Instructors

Jonny Pei (He/Him)

Head TA • jonnypei@ • website

Hi! I’m a junior studying EECS + Statistics from the Bay Area. Here are some of my interests: algorithms, machine learning, random processes, astrophysics, anime, kdramas, league, water polo, weight lifting, hiking, and food. I can’t wait to meet you this semester, and feel free to reach out whenever!

Lance Mathias (He/Him)

Head TA • lmathias@berkeley.edu

Hey! I’m a junior studying CS + Applied Math. In my free time, I like cooking, spending time outdoors, and going unnecessarily deep down Wikipedia rabbit holes. Come talk to me about anything relating to CS theory, ML, or teaching!

Ajit Kadaveru (He/Him)

TA • ajit.kadaveru@berkeley.edu

Hi everyone! I am a senior from Northern Virginia studying Computer Science. Some of my interests/hobbies include Algorithms (of course), Lifting, Dance, Basketball, and Vlogging. Can’t wait to meet you all, and hopefully you are as excited as I am for this semester!! We are in this journey together!!

Andrew Huang (He/Him)

TA • andrewhuang56@berkeley.edu

Hi! I’m a junior from New England majoring in CS. During my free time, I enjoy playing tennis, grabbing boba, and listening to stand-up comedy. I really enjoyed CS 170 when I took it, and I hope you will too! I’m excited to meet you all!

Anirban Sarkar (He/Him)

TA • sarkar@berkeley.edu

WOOHOO ALGORITHMS

Gabe Classon (He/Him)

TA • classon@berkeley.edu • website

Hi, I’m Gabe, a junior majoring in CS and math. I’m a midwestern boy, hailing from Palatine, Illinois. I enjoy journalism, politics, puzzle games, free culture, and cats. This will be my first time teaching CS 170, and I’m super pumped!

Jackie Lian (She/her)

TA • jlian@berkeley.edu

Hi everyone! I’m Jackie, currently a third-year CS student. This is my second time being on 170 course staff and I’m very excited to meet y’all! I love reading mystery novels and watching thriller movies. Feel free to reach out to me for any questions :)

James DeLoye (He/Him)

TA • jdeloye@berkeley.edu

Hi all! I’m James, a 4th year CS major, and this is my third time teaching CS 170. Currently I do research in applied algorithmic optimization for ML systems. In my free time, I love weightlifting, cooking and baking, going to concerts, car spotting, and practicing Korean. Feel free to ask me about 170, research, teaching, study abroad, or anything else any time. This is the best class I’ve taken at Berkeley, and I hope to help you all enjoy it as much as I do!

Jessica Lin (She/Her)

TA • jessica.jx.lin@berkeley.edu

Hi! I’m a 3rd year EECS + BioE student from San Diego, CA. In my free time, I enjoy listening to music, completing crosswords, napping, and reading. I’m looking forward to meeting you all this semester!

Matthew Lee (He/Him)

TA • matthewlee3@berkeley.edu • website

hello! i’m a junior studying cs + ds from the sgv in socal. some things i find fun: maps, astronomy, chess, basketball. my favorite restaurants are niku steakhouse, borneo eatery, and mensho ramen.

Parth Asawa (He/Him)

TA • pgasawa@berkeley.edu

Hi! I’m a third year majoring in EECS and Business Administration from the Bay Area. I love playing ultimate frisbee, basketball, social deduction board games, chess, and old .io games. Hope y’all enjoy the material and CS 170 as much as I did!

Ricardo Sandoval (He/Him)

TA • rjsandoval@berkeley.edu

Hi all! I’m a second year EECS PhD student. Research-wise, I’m interested in algorithmic decision making under uncertain and dynamic environments. Outside of research, I enjoy discovering new music, hiking, and photography.

Vaibhav Agrawal (He/Him)

TA • vaibhav2001@berkeley.edu

Hi! I am a Senior in my last semester. I am super excited to be a TA for 170 this semester. I love reading, hiking, watching critically acclaimed movies, and meeting new people. So, if you ever want to talk about anything, feel free to reach out.

Viraj Ramakrishnan (He/Him)

TA • virajramakrishnan@berkeley.edu

Hi, I’m Viraj! I l’m a Senior, I love math(s), optimization, ML, languages, playing and listening to music, singing, running and playing tennis and badminton! You can catch me on campus running because I’m late to class, sitting in V&A, or going around Berkeley trying to find the best Thai restaurant. Hope to see you in section!

Wilson Wu (He/Him)

TA • nosliw@berkeley.edu • website

Knock knock. Who’s there? Wilson. Wilson Who? No, I’m Wilson Wu not Wilson Who. Anyway, this is my fifth, albeit nonconsecutive semester on CS170 course staff. I really enjoyed this class when I took it and I hope you will too! :D

Zeeshan Patel (He/Him)

TA • zeeshanp@berkeley.edu • website

Hi, I’m Zeeshan and I’m a junior studying CS. I enjoy hiking, swimming, traveling to new countries, and playing strategy games. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to talk about algorithms, ML research, or anything about life :)

Zenan Han (He/Him)

TA • zenan.han@berkeley.edu • website

Hi! I’m Zenan, a third-year CS major. I like music, films, and going to different places.

Aaron Hao (He/Him)

Tutor • aaronhao@berkeley.edu

Hi! I’m a current Junior studying EECS and EMS. Visit my office hours if you’re interested in knowing more.

Albert Ye (He/Him)

Tutor • aye@berkeley.edu

Hi! I’m Albert, a sophomore studying CS and math. In my spare time, I enjoy exploring cities, driving to new places, and playing rhythm games. I listen to every genre of music. Hope y’all have a great semester!

Bill Shao (He/Him)

Tutor • billshao@berkeley.edu

Hi all! I’m a third year majoring in CS and Linguistics. CS170 was one of my favorite courses, and I’m looking forward to another semester of it with y’all. My personal goal this semester is to climb v8, and I also really enjoy hotpot.

Colin Cai (He/Him)

Tutor • cai9@berkeley.edu

Hi! My name is Colin, and I’m a third year studying EECS. In my free time, I like playing video games, watching anime, and traveling. CS170 is one of my favorite class here at Cal! Hope you will have a great time with this class!

Ernest Lu (He/Him)

Tutor • ernest@berkeley.edu

Hi! I’m Ernest, a third-year CS major. I like the gym and coding. Feel free to reach out and I’m looking forward to a great semester!

Jonah Tharakan (He/Him)

Tutor • jonahmt@berkeley.edu • website

Hey everyone, I’m Jonah, a Junior in EECS. This is my third semester on course staff and I’m so excited to be back! In my free time I like going to the gym, hanging out with friends, and playing cool board games. Feel free to reach out with any questions!

Jonathan Yue (He/Him)

Tutor • yuezy2015@berkeley.edu

Hi! I am a third year CS major from the Bay Area. In my free time, I enjoy playing bridge, running, and of course, everything algorithm! Feel free to reach out and I’m looking forward to a great semester!

Rachel Xin (She/Her)

Tutor • rachelxin@berkeley.edu

Hi! I’m Rachel - a junior studying EECS from Orange County! I love playing tennis, traveling, and cafe-hopping! Super excited to meet everyone! :D

Ryan Whitty (He/Him)

Tutor • rwhitty@berkeley.edu

Hey everyone! I’m a junior from SoCal studying CS with a minor in music. This is my second semester on 170 staff and it’s my favorite class I’ve taken at Berkeley :) in my free time I like to play piano, play chess, and eat Italian food. Looking forward to meeting all of you!

Stefan Pham (He/Him)

Tutor • stefanpham17@berkeley.edu

Hi. I like people, places, and things! And algorithms are my favorite things in the world!

Teja Kanthamneni (He/Him)

Tutor • tk164@berkeley.edu

Hey, I’m Teja! I’m a junior CS major from Pennsylvania. Some of my hobbies include playing basketball, hiking, watching anime, and playing video games. This will be my first semester on 170 course staff and I’m really excited! Looking forward to meeting everyone!

Vedant Kumud (He/Him)

Tutor • vkumud@berkeley.edu

hey! i’m vedant, a junior from the bay area. some of my academic interests include algorithms, nlp, and ml from an alignment perspective. i also enjoy playing various card games, climbing, and binging shows (currently on succession). feel free to reach out if you want to chat!

Xavier Plourde (He/Him)

Tutor • plourde27@berkeley.edu • website

Hi! I’m a junior studying CS from upstate New York, and this is my third semester on CS170 course staff. My first exposure to algorithms came from competitive programming, which I’ve been doing for several years, and I placed third in ICPC Regionals in both 2022 and 2023. Outside of school, I enjoy long-distance cycling, bouldering, skiing, and playing the piano and saxophone.

Readers

Agam Gupta (He/Him)

Reader • agam_1501@berkeley.edu

Hi everyone! I am a junior from North Carolina studying EECS and data science. Some of my interests/hobbies include Algorithms, Lifting, Soccer, Music, and Spikeball. Can’t wait to meet you all and hope you guys have a fun semester!!

Ajay Bhargava (He/Him)

Reader • ajaybhargava@berkeley.edu

Hey, I’m Ajay - a third year studying linguistics and computer science. Here at Berkeley you’ll probably find me either dancing, writing a crossword, or watching Pelicans basketball games.

Arjun Banerjee (He/Him)

Reader • abaner@berkeley.edu

searching for the slow Fourier transform and an algorithm that runs in O(1/n)

Cecilia Aiko (She/Her/Hers)

Reader • ckaiko@berkeley.edu

hello, world! I’m Aiko and I am from Indonesia. I am currently a senior majoring in Computer Science and this is my first time being a reader in CS170. When I’m not crying over bugs–in my code and irl :’)–, I’m either binge-watching, sleeping, or out trying new cafes and restaurants with friends! I look forward to working with everyone this semester!

Elden Yap (He/Him)

Reader • eldenyap@berkeley.edu

Hi, I’m Elden, a second-year majoring in Computer Science and Economics. I mainly enjoy exploring the field of cybersecurity and building exploits. As for my hobbies, I love any adventure sports like rock climbing, skydiving, scuba diving, and more!

Ethan Kuo (He/Him/His)

Reader • ek0335@berkeley.edu

Sup everyone! My name is Ethan, and I’m a third year CS student. Right now, I’m super into basketball and recently started playing electric guitar. Say hi if you see me around!!

Evan Chang (He/Him)

Reader • echang09@berkeley.edu

Hi! I’m Evan, a third-year EECS major and this is my first semester on course staff. In my free time I like to mess with Rubik’s cubes, watch basketball and football, and listen to way too much kpop. Excited to meet you all!

Geoffrey Xiang (He/Him)

Reader • geoffreyxiang@berkeley.edu

Hi! I’m Geoffrey (pronounced the same as Jeffery), a third-year CS major from the Bay Area. I grew up playing soccer, but I also like to play basketball and card games. I really enjoyed taking CS170, and I hope you all will too!

George Rickus (He/Him/His)

Reader • grickus@berkeley.edu

Hi! I am a junior studying computer science from Indiana. I love to play soccer, snowboard, and solve logic/math/coding puzzles in my spare time! If you ever want to talk about algorithms or have an interesting puzzle to share, please feel free to reach out!

Johan Ko (He/Him/His)

Reader • drjoyo@berkeley.edu

Hi, I’m a sophomore from the Bay Area studying CS/DS. In my spare time, I enjoy playing poker and programming simple games. This was one of my favorite classes at Berkeley, and I hope you’ll say the same!

Jonathan Chen (He/Him/His)

Reader • jonchen25@berkeley.edu

Hi, I’m Jon and I’m a junior studying cs & stats. Outside of class, I enjoy watching anime and solving jigsaw puzzles. Algorithms are super cool so I hope you enjoy the class.

Sejin An (He/Him)

Reader • sejinan@berkeley.edu

Hi! I’m Sejin, a third-year CS major. Excited to join you all this semester!

Thomas Lu

Reader • thomaslu@berkeley.edu

Hi! I’m Thomas, a second-year studying CS and Physics. My current research is in generative speech models, but I’m also interested in quantum algorithms and ML more generally. In my free time I like playing tennis, running, and watching classic films! I’m also part of the team that builds Glitch, a 250lb combat robot that competes on the BattleBots TV show!

Yuhan Chen (He/Him/His)

Reader • yuhanchen0711@berkeley.edu

Hi everyone! I am a senior studying Computer Science. I am interested in algorithms and machine learning. I like to play rubik’s cubes, play chess, and make music in my free time. For each of the CS170 students reading this bio, you are awesome!