CS&E Alumnus Jeff Dean Returns to Campus for Commencement

Department of Computer Science & Engineering alumnus Jeff Dean(CSci, ‘90) returned to the University of Minnesota this spring for a number of celebratory graduation events. Dean is Google’s Chief Scientist, focusing on AI advances for Google DeepMind and Google Research. His visit to campus included a special seminar for current CS&E students, a speech during the 50 year reunion luncheon, and the keynote address at the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) Undergraduate Commencement.
Every seat in the largest lecture theater in Keller Hall was filled for Dean’s special seminar, titled, “Modern Advances in Machine Learning and What Will They Enable?” He shared insights on the convergence of algorithmic research advances and large-scale computing systems that have enabled the rise of modern AI. Featuring work done throughout Google, Dean outlined domains poised for major transformation through AI. He also spoke about how collaboration between AI researchers and practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders can maximize the upsides of AI and minimize its downsides.
“Jeff’s journey from a student in Keller Hall to a global leader in artificial intelligence is a remarkable story that continues to inspire our students, faculty, and alumni alike,” said Vipin Kumar, Regents Professor and William Norris Chair. “Widely recognized as one of the most influential figures in computer science today, his pioneering contributions to AI are transforming virtually every aspect of modern life. It was truly special for our community to hear firsthand from someone whose impact on the field has been nothing short of transformative.”
Following the lecture (watch full lecture video) and a lively question and answer segment, Dean met with a number of CS&E faculty members to discuss their current research at the Graduate Hotel’s Beacon Public House. Later that afternoon, Dean gave a speech at Huntington Bank Stadium for UMN alumni celebrating their 50th reunion. His presentation featured a comparison of the capabilities of computers in 2015 versus today, which served as a powerful illustration of an ever-evolving industry.
“Neural networks are one of the key innovations that are powering today’s key learnings, and they are loosely modeled on how the human brain works,” Dean said. “I first learned about neural networks in Vipin’s (Kumar) class in 1990, and then I did my undergraduate honors thesis on parallel training of neural nets with him as my advisor. Some of those ideas actually helped me with my work at Google on large scale distributed deep networks in 2012, and have since evolved into what we work on today.”
Dean capped his return to campus by delivering the keynote address at CSE Undergraduate Commencement in 3M Arena at Mariucci, where he discussed his time at the University, including memories as Goldy Gopher and meeting his wife, Heidi Hopper, and key lessons he has learned throughout his academic and professional career.
“In 1999, I joined Google when we were about 20 people all wedged above what is now a T-Mobile store in downtown Palo Alto, California,” Dean said. “One of the beautiful things about software is that a small group of people can build things that have an enormous impact on the world. Technology can be a force for good in the world. It is important to recognize that not all uses of technology are beneficial, and it is important to be thoughtful about how we choose to use our time and what we work on … Work hard on things that matter to you, and you will have success.”
In addition to his special appearances throughout his visit, Dean also had the opportunity to meet with some of the students that have received his namesake scholarship. ”The Hopper-Dean Scholarship honoring Dr. Vipin Kumar” was established in 2014 to support CS&E students to find their own wonders in the paths of their undergraduate education and research. Learn more about the Hopper-Dean Scholarship on our undergraduate scholarships webpage.
Thank you to Jeff Dean and Heidi Hopper for their continued support of the CS&E Community and the University of Minnesota!
About Jeff Dean
Jeff Dean joined Google in 1999 where he now serves as Google’s Chief Scientist, focusing on AI advances for Google DeepMind and Google Research. He is a co-lead of the Gemini project, and his areas of focus include machine learning and AI, and applications of AI to problems that help billions of people in societally beneficial ways. His work has been integral to many generations of Google’s search engine, its initial ad serving system, distributed computing infrastructure such as BigTable and MapReduce, Google's TPU machine learning hardware, the Tensorflow open-source machine learning system, and Gemini multimodal models, among many other things.
Jeff received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Washington and a B.S. in Computer Science & Economics from the University of Minnesota, summa cum laude. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) , and a winner of the 2012 ACM Prize in Computing and the 2021 IEEE John von Neumann medal.