Iftekhar Ahmed is an assistant professor in the Department of Informatics at UCI with a primary focus on software engineering and machine learning. His interest in engineering started when he first saw a computer in the eighth grade. Together, his fascination for the machine and his highly competitive educational environment in Bangladesh, motivated and shaped Iftekhar into the person he is today. His research focuses particularly on ensuring software quality with the use of machine learning. He specifically looks at software engineering tasks. For example, he would check how well the machine-learning tools work to identify bugs in a developer’s code. Iftekhar makes it a priority to place consumers’ interests first as these software are going to impact the lives of over a billion people. By ensuring the quality of these technologies, programs can provide easier access for people to fetch information on climate-related issues such as the pollution level of an area. Climate change is real and if it doesn’t affect our generation, it will affect the next generation and so on. Although the work he is doing now with UCI may not change the world right away, Iftekhar believes that all these small efforts will create a lasting effect to better our future. He would also like to work with PK-12 teachers in creating tools that can make a more inclusive syllabus. He urges PK-12 students to reach out to professors for opportunities. Iftekhar offers collaborations on current projects or internships that students can partake in to gain experience and explore future career paths.