📝 CS Undergraduate Newsletter: September 2025

Dear Students, Welcome to another exciting semester at The University of Alabama! Below are some important opportunities, reminders, and resources to help you stay engaged and connected in the department.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Looking to get hands-on experience outside the classroom? Undergraduate research is a great way to work with faculty, explore your interests, and build skills for graduate school or industry. Opportunities are available across many areas of computing and interdisciplinary projects. Learn how to get involved and view current openings here.

Current Opportunities

Trustworthy AI Lab – Research Opportunities:

Are you interested in getting involved in AI/ML and security/privacy projects? The Trustworthy AI Lab, led by Dr. Sayanton Dibbo, is working on several cutting-edge projects such as:

Securing Chain-of-Thought LLMs Against Adversarial Attacks – studying vulnerabilities in reasoning with large language models and developing mitigation techniques
Adversarial Vulnerability of AI with Partial Knowledge – investigating binary classifiers and transferability under adversarial attacks
Privacy Through Forgetting – exploring machine unlearning in text, audio, and image AI, with a focus on multimodal vulnerabilities
Membership Inference Attacks in Audio RL Systems – analyzing and defending against privacy risks in reinforcement learning models

Students interested in joining these projects can reach out directly to Dr. Sayanton Dibbo at sdibbo@ua.edu. More information is available at: https://sayantondibbo.github.io/

Engineering Career Development Center

Make sure you are registered with the Engineering Career Development Center, your go-to resource for professional success. They offer resume preparation, mock interviews, and one-on-one advising to help you prepare for internships and full-time jobs.

Through their website https://career.sa.ua.edu, you can:

• Access the events calendar to stay updated on workshops and career events
• Search the Handshake Job Board for job and internship postings
• Explore Career Fair Plus to plan your visit to the Technical & Engineering Career Fair on September 18th

Take advantage of these services early so you’re fully prepared when opportunities arise!

Student Jobs: Undergraduate TAs

We’re currently hiring undergraduate Teaching Assistants (TAs) for several CS courses. These paid positions are an excellent way to deepen your knowledge, support your peers, and build professional skills. Keep an eye out for announcements, or ask your instructors about openings in their classes.

Freshman & Transfer Student Mentors

Incoming freshmen and transfer students will soon be matched with peer mentors. These mentors provide guidance, answer questions, and help you navigate your first year at UA. Watch your email for your mentor assignment in the coming weeks!

Student Groups

Getting involved in student organizations is one of the best ways to grow your skills, meet peers, and build a professional network.

• ACM Student Chapter

  • The UA ACM Student Chapter is your gateway to professional development, networking, and community in computer science. ACM hosts guest speakers, coding competitions, and social events throughout the year. To stay informed, join the ACM listserv by emailing acm-off@listserv.ua.edu

• WiCyS Student Chapter (Women in CyberSecurity)

  • The UA WiCyS chapter provides students with opportunities to explore and engage in the field of cybersecurity. They regularly conduct cybersecurity seminars for seniors, helping students prepare for industry careers and certifications. Other events include:
    • Workshops and training sessions on current cybersecurity tools and practices
    • Guest lectures from industry professionals and alumni
    • Networking events with cybersecurity companies and organizations
    • Competitions and Capture the Flag (CTF) challenges
    • Outreach activities to encourage younger students to explore cybersecurity
  • WiCyS is open to all students interested in cybersecurity—keep an eye on announcements to get involved!

Faculty & Graduate Student Office Hours

Faculty and graduate students are here to support your learning and growth. A full list of office hours is available here. Be sure to take advantage of these opportunities to ask questions, explore research interests, or simply connect with your instructors.

We’re excited for everything this semester will bring—stay engaged, get involved, and take full advantage of the many resources available to you.