Welcoming new faculty to the School of STEM
2025-2026 ACADEMIC YEAR
The University of Washington Bothell School of STEM is excited to welcome four new talented faculty members into the Department of Computing & Software Systems.
They join three other new faculty members at UW Bothell in the School of Business and School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences. Welcome to all the new faculty joining our community! We’re excited to have you here.
Murat Seçkin Ayhan
Assistant Teaching Professor
Department of Computing & Software Systems
Dr. Murat Seçkin Ayhan (he/him) has both a doctorate and master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and master’s and bachelor’s in Computer Engineering from Başkent University. He worked as an assistant professor at the Department of Computer Engineering at Isik University in Istanbul, Turkey and joined the University of Tübingen in Germany as a researcher, developing deep learning solutions within the context of ophthalmology. After five years, he moved to London and joined University College London and Moorfields Eye Hospital as a senior research fellow.
Contact: msayhan@uw.edu
Research focus: machine learning, medical image analysis, medical AI
Courses taught at UW Bothell:
- CSS 342 Data Structures, Algorithms, and Discrete Mathematics I
- CSS 343 Data Structures, Algorithms, and Discrete Mathematics II
Kaylea Champion
Assistant Professor
Department of Computing & Software Systems
Dr. Kaylea Champion (she/her) has a doctorate in Communication from the University of Washington, a master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Chicago, and a background in Information Technology. She is a postdoctoral scholar in the Community Data Science Collective, working at the intersection of human-computer interaction, empirical software engineering, cybersecurity, privacy, and organizational communication. Her research investigates how people cooperate to build and maintain public goods like software and knowledge.
Contact: kaylea@uw.edu
Research focus: computer-supported cooperative work, empirical software engineering, human-computer interaction, applied machine learning, cybersecurity
Courses taught at UW Bothell:
- CSS 350 Management Principles for Computing Professionals
- CSS 360 Software Engineering
Mia Champion
Assistant Teaching Professor
Department of Computing & Software Systems
Dr. Mia Champion (she/her) holds a Ph.D. in Genomics from the University of California, Davis, and a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Michigan. She has previously taught graduate-level classes at the University of Washington and worked at Amazon Web Services in leadership roles overseeing Health AI products like Amazon HealthLake, Amazon Genomics CLI, and AWS HealthOmics. Additionally, Dr. Champion conducted bioinformatics research at the Mayo Clinic, ASU, and the Broad Institute. She is also the founder of consulting firm Unalomia LLC where she supports innovation across industries.
Contact: miachamp@uw.edu
Research focus: cloud computing, deep learning, explainable AI, bioinformatics, product management
Courses taught at UW Bothell:
- CSS 142 Computer Programming I
- CSS 350 Management Principles for Computing Professionals
- CSS 581 Introduction to Machine Learning
- CSS 586 Deep Learning
- CSS532 Internet of Things
- CSS 382A Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
- CSS 566A Software Management
Zachery (Zak) Rubin
Assistant Teaching Professor
Department of Computing & Software Systems
Dr. Zachery (Zak) Rubin (they/them) has a doctorate in Computer Engineering from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. They are currently the director of the network engineering programs at Renton Technical College in Renton, Washington. Outside of academics, they have nearly 20 years of experience in the games and entertainment industry, working with major musicians including Beyoncé and Gogol Bordello, and AAA titles including World of Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo.
Contact: zarubin@uw.edu
Research focus: human computer interaction, assistive technology, signal processing, human factors
Courses taught at UW Bothell:
- CSS 301 Technical Writing
- CSS 350 Management Principles for Computing Professionals
Learn more about all of the 27+ faculty in the Department of Computing & Software Systems.