Welcome to CSE 333!

  • The most important information throughout the quarter will be found on the Syllabus (course policies), the Course Schedule (course materials and assignment specs), and the Weekly Calendar (this week's course events).
  • All announcements for this class are made via the discussion board (NOT email), so make sure you are enrolled on Ed and checking regularly.
  • Use the menu bar at the top for navigating to other useful tools and references.

Weekly Calendar (Subscribe)

Asking Questions & Getting Help

It is very important to us that you succeed in CSE 333! Outside of lectures and sections, there are several ways to ask questions or discuss course issues:

  1. Find a partner! This quarter, the major assignments ("homework") can be completed and submitted in partnerships, allowing you to discuss material, code, and debug together.
  2. Visit office hours! See the Weekly Calendar for current availability, noting the modality (in-person, virtual, hybrid).
  3. Make a public post about course content on the discussion board, where they benefit the whole class. This also allows other students to answer your question so can receive a faster response. This is the best way of asking questions about class-related topics.
  4. Make a private post to just the course staff on the discussion board with any issues you would prefer to discuss privately or questions that involve solutions or partial solutions for ongoing assignments.
  5. Request a 1-on-1 using this Google form (UW login). If you feel like you need extra time, can't make it to office hours, or want to discuss something privately, please feel free to request a 1-on-1 from the staff!
  6. Send anonymous feedback to the course staff. The instructor will try to address the issue and share it with others only as appropriate, but will not have a way to reply to you without addressing the whole class.

Course Staff & Mini-Bios (click our faces)

Image of Justin Hsia
Staff Mini-Bio: Justin
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHAT WAS YOUR ACADEMIC PATH?
Until 2016, I lived my entire life in various parts of the Bay Area (California). I spent 12 years at UC Berkeley getting all my degrees (BS, MS, PhD). Now a CSE Associate Teaching Professor at UW! 😃

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES, TALENTS, AND SKILLS?
- ultimate frisbee, board games, hiking, camping, singing (a cappella)
- I am decently dexterous with my left hand.
- I can solve a few variants of the Rubik's Cube (I am NOT a speedcuber).

HAVE YOU DONE OR EXPERIENCED ANYTHING REMARKABLE OR MEMORABLE?
- So I have this story that involves kayaking, sea lions, a long night on a rock beach, a helicopter 🚁, and the coast guard...
- I once ran 🏃 a marathon. It was long.

WHAT COMMITMENTS WILL BE CONSUMING YOUR CYCLES THIS QUARTER?
- Co-teaching CSE333
- Taking care of my son 👶 and daughter 👧
- Presenting at SIGCSE TS 2026 in February

Justin Hsia

(he/him)
jhsia@cs
Lecture A/B
Image of Amber Hu
Staff Mini-Bio: Amber Hu
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHAT WAS YOUR ACADEMIC PATH?
- Kirkland, WA born and raised. The Costco my family shopped at is the original Costco!
- I graduated from UW in 2020 with a double degree: BA in Education, Communities, and Education, and a BS in Computer Science
- My PhD is in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology from Michigan State University, where I researched K-12 computer science education

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES, TALENTS, AND SKILLS? - I speak Japanese and Mandarin Chinese! My Japanese is pretty good (N2) and my Mandarin is conversational.

HAVE YOU DONE OR EXPERIENCED ANYTHING REMARKABLE OR MEMORABLE?
- I spent a week backpacking in rural Shikoku, Japan and visited 17 Buddhist temples on the Shikoku Pilgrimage

WHAT COMMITMENTS WILL BE CONSUMING YOUR CYCLES THIS QUARTER?
- I'm presenting at ACM SIGCSE conference in mid Feb
- Job interviews for academic positions happen this time of year!

Amber Hu

(they/them)
amberhu@cs
Lecture A/B
Image of Jen Xu [Head]
Staff Mini-Bio: Jen
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHAT WAS YOUR ACADEMIC PATH?
- I grew up in the Seattle area and am currently a BSMS student at the Allen School! My first exposure to CS was junior year in highschool through AP CS A.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES, TALENTS, AND SKILLS?
- I like board games, perusing Trader Joe's and crocheting 🧶

HAVE YOU DONE OR EXPERIENCED ANYTHING REMARKABLE OR MEMORABLE?
- Seen algae that glows in the dark when moved!

WHAT COMMITMENTS WILL BE CONSUMING YOUR CYCLES THIS QUARTER?
- Taking 3 classes, TA-ing this course, and taking care of my cat, Bean 🫘

Jen Xu [Head]

(she/her)
jennifrx@uw
Section AE
Image of Ally Tribble
Staff Mini-Bio: Ally
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHAT WAS YOUR ACADEMIC PATH?

I grew up in Renton, WA, and lived here for a majority of my life. I was originally at Case Western double majoring in CS and classical voice, but I transferred after a year, did a year of community college at Bellevue College, and then transferred into this program! It's now my second year at UW.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES, TALENTS, AND SKILLS?

I enjoy singing, painting, and puzzles like sudoku and crosswords! I also am a big music theory nerd and I love watching video essays analyzing music, especially video game soundtracks.

HAVE YOU DONE OR EXPERIENCED ANYTHING REMARKABLE OR MEMORABLE?

I've performed on some big stages (sang with my choir at Carnegie Hall in NYC, sang the national anthem for my graduation in T-Mobile park, danced in a Disney parade), all of which were very memorable.

WHAT COMMITMENTS WILL BE CONSUMING YOUR CYCLES THIS QUARTER?

This quarter is my first quarter TA'ing, as well as my first quarter participating in research, so most of my time is going to be spent on those!

Ally Tribble

(she/her)
atribb@uw
Section AE
Image of Blake Diaz
Staff Mini-Bio: Blake
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHAT WAS YOUR ACADEMIC PATH?
- I grew up in Bothell, I got my associate's at LWTech through Running Start, and I'm currently in my second year at UW.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES, TALENTS, AND SKILLS?
- I love hiking, reading, and any kind of racket sport (though tennis will always be my favorite)!

HAVE YOU DONE OR EXPERIENCED ANYTHING REMARKABLE OR MEMORABLE?
- A couple of years ago, I spent the summer teaching English remotely to two girls in Afghanistan.

WHAT COMMITMENTS WILL BE CONSUMING YOUR CYCLES THIS QUARTER?
- Classes, TA'ing, job hunting, and volunteering.

Blake Diaz

(he/him/his)
bdiaz2@cs
Section BB
Image of Connor Olson
Staff Mini-Bio: Connor
I enjoy learning, most recently about large computer systems and small math problems. I am a BS/MS student in CS, and also majoring in Applied Math and Philosophy. I'm happy to share my experiences with TAing, research, internships in big tech or start-ups, and hiking trails in Washington if you ever want to discuss these things.

Connor Olson

(he/him)
cdolson@uw
Section AD, BB
Image of Grace Zhou
Staff Mini-Bio: Grace
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHAT WAS YOUR ACADEMIC PATH?
- I grew up in Eagan, MN & moved to WA in 2018. I took my first CS class in high school and have been studying CompE since the end of my sophomore year at UW!

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES, TALENTS, AND SKILLS?
- I like going to the gym, reading new books (on a big fantasy kick rn), and solving the NYT Spelling Bee! My biggest flex is having once finished the NYT mini crossword in 12 seconds.

HAVE YOU DONE OR EXPERIENCED ANYTHING REMARKABLE OR MEMORABLE?
- Regularly gotten 8+ hours of sleep a night as a college student.

WHAT COMMITMENTS WILL BE CONSUMING YOUR CYCLES THIS QUARTER?
- I'm TA-ing 333 and only taking 12 credits of classes (finally, thank god). I fear the leetcode grind never stops...

Grace Zhou

(they/them)
gszhou@uw
Section BD
Image of Jackson Kent
Staff Mini-Bio: Jackson
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHAT WAS YOUR ACADEMIC PATH?
I'm from Littleton, Colorado, so just a little bit south of Denver. I went to high school there but moved out to Seattle for college. I got my associate's degree from Cascadia College (same campus as UW Bothell), and transferred to UW for CS in Fall of 2024.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES, TALENTS, AND SKILLS?
I ski a lot! More specifically, I spend most of my time in the terrain park at Snoqualmie. I'm there 3-4 days a week during winter quarter, so if you find yourself there you can probably find me!

HAVE YOU DONE OR EXPERIENCED ANYTHING REMARKABLE OR MEMORABLE?
I've been to the tops of a few mountains back home, and it's hard to forget how crisp the air feels when you're up there!

WHAT COMMITMENTS WILL BE CONSUMING YOUR CYCLES THIS QUARTER?
More skiing! I'm an instructor with the Husky Winter Sports club on campus and we teach every weekend.

Jackson Kent

(he/him)
jtkent@cs
Section BD
Image of Janani Raghavan
Staff Mini-Bio: Janani
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHAT WAS YOUR ACADEMIC PATH?
- I grew up in Bellevue, WA and did the IB Diploma Program in high school.
- Came to the Allen School as a Direct Admit, currently doing BS/MS

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES, TALENTS, AND SKILLS?
- I write poetry and I love to read! I am also a singer songwriter.

HAVE YOU DONE OR EXPERIENCED ANYTHING REMARKABLE OR MEMORABLE?
- I accidentally started the Cutler Name Board while giving my friend a language lesson and now it's been a fixture in the Gates Undergrad Lab for 2 years!

WHAT COMMITMENTS WILL BE CONSUMING YOUR CYCLES THIS QUARTER?
-Taking Networks and Embedded systems, and TAing this class.

Janani Raghavan

(she/her)
jananir@uw
Section AC
Image of Jessie Sun
Staff Mini-Bio: Jessie Sun
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHAT WAS YOUR ACADEMIC PATH?
- I grew up in Shanghai, China, then moved to the states at the age of twelve. I attended middle and high school at San Diego, CA.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES, TALENTS, AND SKILLS?
- I'm bilingual (Chinese and English, could read and speak some Spanish as well). I've recently started exploring archery.

HAVE YOU DONE OR EXPERIENCED ANYTHING REMARKABLE OR MEMORABLE?
- I've had the chance to live in four different cities, all coincidentally starting with S: Shanghai, Scottsdale, San Diego, and Seattle.

WHAT COMMITMENTS WILL BE CONSUMING YOUR CYCLES THIS QUARTER?
- Taking Networks, NLP, Spanish 407, and Foundamentals of Global CyberSecurity.

Jessie Sun

(she/her)
jsun16@cs
Section AD
Image of Jonathan Nister
Staff Mini-Bio: Jonathan
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHAT WAS YOUR ACADEMIC PATH?
- I moved to Bellevue when I was four and grew up in the Seattle area. I became interested in CS after taking some fun coding summer camps in middle school.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES, TALENTS, AND SKILLS?
- I enjoy a variety of video games: Civilization, Hollow Knight, The Witcher, and Uncharted are some of my favorites! I play League of Legends competitively and I'm on the UW team. I'm also a board game fan; Settlers of Catan and Dominion are some of my favorites recently. I speak three languages: English, Estonian, and Swedish!

HAVE YOU DONE OR EXPERIENCED ANYTHING REMARKABLE OR MEMORABLE?
- Over the last few years, I went to a lot of concerts which I really enjoyed. These included Travis Scott, Future, Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar, Seventeen, and Le Sserafim.

WHAT COMMITMENTS WILL BE CONSUMING YOUR CYCLES THIS QUARTER?
- Taking classes, being a (first time!) TA for this course, and doing research (also for the first time!)

Jonathan Nister

(he/him)
jnister@uw
Section BC
Image of Mendel Carroll
Staff Mini-Bio: Mendel
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHAT WAS YOUR ACADEMIC PATH?
I grew up in an Orthodox Jewish community (Chabad) in Miami, FL. I attended a Yeshiva-based school system until age 15, then transferred to an online high school to complete my diploma. After high school, I spent several years serving in the army, working in e-commerce, and running my own business. I began community college at 26 and transferred to UW in Autumn 2024.


WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES, TALENTS, AND SKILLS?
I completed a half-Ironman this past summer and plan to complete a full Ironman in summer 2026. I completed the Seattle Marathon in December. I am a strong runner, a competent cyclist, and an improving swimmer. I also enjoy hiking and camping when time allows.

If you are a visual person, here is my current endurance training progress:

Running Biking Swimming


HAVE YOU DONE OR EXPERIENCED ANYTHING REMARKABLE OR MEMORABLE?
I served in the army for three years as a combat medic. During that time, I participated in multiple medical rescue missions during the Syrian civil war. I was released with the rank of first sergeant in 2018.


WHAT COMMITMENTS WILL BE CONSUMING YOUR CYCLES THIS QUARTER?
  • TA — CSE 333 (Systems Programming)
  • Classes: Deep Learning (CSE 493), Digital Accessibility (CSE 443), ASL (LING 403)
  • Work: Backend Engineer @ Digital Aid Seattle
  • Special projects: Community Homes technology development, Accessibility R&D

ASK ME ABOUT
  • Systems programming in C/C++
  • Accessibility-driven system design
  • Non-traditional paths into computer science
  • Endurance training

Mendel Carroll

(he/him)
mcarro5@cs
Section AB, BA
Image of Rose Maresh
Staff Mini-Bio: Rose
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHAT WAS YOUR ACADEMIC PATH?
I was born in Seattle and grew up in the area. I attended Liberty High School. I am now a senior here at UW studying Computer Engineering.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES, TALENTS, AND SKILLS?
I love crossword puzzles, cooking, and going to the gym.

HAVE YOU DONE OR EXPERIENCED ANYTHING REMARKABLE OR MEMORABLE?
Last year, I went on exchange in Stockholm, Sweden. Feel free to ask me about UW CSE Exchanges or study abroad!

WHAT COMMITMENTS WILL BE CONSUMING YOUR CYCLES THIS QUARTER?
In addition to TAing, I'm taking a few courses and applying for jobs and masters programs.

Rose Maresh

(she/her)
rmaresh@uw
Section BA
Image of Violet Monserate
Staff Mini-Bio: Violet Monserate
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHAT WAS YOUR ACADEMIC PATH?
- Born and raised in Renton, WA, but left the district for Raisbeck Aviation High School. Have been doing robotics since 6th grade, including FRC from 9th-12th grade (GO Team 1983, Skunks!). Currently a third year CE and Philosophy(!) student

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES, TALENTS, AND SKILLS?
- Ride a 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R (yes, even in the winter)
- Might catch me skiing in Steven's Pass on the weekends...


HAVE YOU DONE OR EXPERIENCED ANYTHING REMARKABLE OR MEMORABLE?
- Chopped off and donated 14 inches of my hair
- Got to meet Woodie Flowers + Karlie Kloss (seperately)

WHAT COMMITMENTS WILL BE CONSUMING YOUR CYCLES THIS QUARTER?
- Continuing that internship grindset 💪 Solving 5 LeetCode medium problems before breakfast❗❗🗣️🗣️
- - ...and obviously, being an awesome TA and helping y'all through the course!

Violet Monserate

(she/they)
vimons@cs
Section AB, BC

Acknowledgements

Many of the materials posted here were shared and refined by many staff members in previous offerings of CSE 333. This version of the course was significantly influenced by Steve Gribble, Hal Perkins, Justin Hsia, Hannah Tang, and Travis McGaha.

This website is derived from simple-courseweb-template, maintained by the CSE Lab and originally written by Xi Wang. The calendaring code was originally written by Adam Blank in 2017 for their common-course project and updated by Aaron Johnston in 19su.

Though we cannot list them all, we are also extremely grateful for the contributions of countless TAs and students who have given feedback and improved CSE 333 from quarter to quarter.