Posted on Frederic Sala joins the UW-Madison Computer Sciences Department from Stanford University where he was a postdoctoral scholar. He completed his PhD in electrical engineering at University of California-Los Angeles, where he studied machine learning, information theory, and data science and their intersection. His goal through his research here at UW is to help data-driven systems – such as using Siri and loan applications – be “reasonable, functional, and beneficial.” Sala returns to the Midwest after a decade in California and is looking forward to the four seasons: skiing, biking, and enjoying the lakes. Hometown: I mostly grew up in the Midwest, especially in Southeast Michigan.