Hadar Ziv

Inspiration Across Disciplines

“There is something special about the informatics department at UC Irvine,” says Hadar Ziv. “In a typical computer science department, faculty members would have backgrounds in computer science, software engineering and maybe math or physics. Here, at least half the faculty are experts in anthropology, psychology and all kinds of disciplines.” The benefits, he says, are undeniable: “This is a place where, as a student and as a faculty member, you are absolutely enriched every day.”

Training that Makes a Difference

Ziv finds enrichment – and reward – in teaching a variety of challenging courses, including undergraduate capstone project courses that empower students to tackle real-world design challenges. Building campus connections with corporations and community organizations, the courses give students hands-on experience developing mobile apps and other software that have a critical impact on audiences across Orange County and beyond. “Such a direct connection to industry is a beautiful thing,” he says. “Very often, students’ apps get deployed through the Google or Apple app stores or are put to actual use in the organizations that sponsor the projects, giving the students an incredible advantage going out into the job market.”

A Place to Call Home

Prior to his tenure as an informatics researcher and lecturer, Ziv obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. in computer science at UC Irvine. His dissertation on the uncertainty principle in software engineering influenced the formative years of SCRUM and Agile methods and was later dubbed “Ziv’s Law.” What he found when he arrived at UC Irvine 30 years ago was a learning environment and community he is still proud to call home: “I have been here for three decades,” he reflects, “and I am just as excited walking onto campus now as I have ever been.” Also, through the project courses, Ziv says he “engages with the ‘real world’ daily, serving as a proud ambassador of UCI.”