February 6 seminar: Marios Pattichis

February 6, 2026

How can we prepare the next generation of ECE students for the AI revolution?

Marios S. Pattichis, University of New Mexico

3:00 pm, UNM Centennial Engineering Center, Room 1026
Online Guests: Contact Prof. Santhanam <bsanthan@unm.edu> for a Zoom link

Abstract: Unemployment rates of recent graduates of Computer Engineering and Computer Science programs have risen to unprecedented levels. This is often attributed to the increased use of AI tools to generate code that would otherwise be performed by recent university graduates in entry-level positions. At the same time, there is a rising demand for graduates who can critically analyze and verify the output of AI-generated code, a skill increasingly seen as essential for securing entry-level positions.

In this talk, I want to discuss ECE curriculum efforts to respond to these challenges. At the undergraduate level, starting in the Fall of 2026, ECE will offer ECE 120L, titled An Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering Using Image Processing and Machine Learning. At the graduate level, in the late Fall of 2025, ECE introduced a new online M.Sc. degree in Computer Engineering with a concentration in Applied Machine Learning and AI Systems Engineering. I will detail how these efforts aim to provide universal access to ECE’s undergraduate and graduate programs while preparing for the jobs of the future.

Bio: Prof. Marios Pattichis received a B.Sc. degree (High Hons. and Special Hons.) in computer sciences, a B.A. degree (High Hons.) in mathematics, an M.S. degree in electrical engineering, and a Ph.D. degree in computer engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, in 1991, 1991, 1993, and 1998, respectively.

He is currently a Professor and Director of online programs in ECE at UNM. He is also the Director of the Image and Video Processing and Communications Lab (ivPCL). He is the chair of the IEEE Signal Processing Society's K-12 subcommittee on Education. He has served as Associate Editor to several journals and as Senior Area Editor for IEEE Transactions on Image Processing and IEEE Signal Processing Letters. He is a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors and an elected Fellow of the European Alliance of Medical and Biological Engineering and Science (EAMBES) for his contributions to biomedical image analysis.