Sesh Venugopal


Sesh Venugopal I am a Teaching Professor and Director of Undergraduate Introductory Instruction in the Computer Science department.

I am the Founding Director of the Computer Science Industrial Affiates Program (IAP), and am the principal liaison for industry relationships. Rutgers program brings computer science students closer to employers

In 2013, I founded Flipd, a video platform for the flipped classroom.

In 2010, I was recognized with a School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) Award for Distinguished Contributions to Undergraduate Education.

I hold a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Rutgers. My research was in Supercomputing: developing scalable algorithms for sparse matrix computations. Before emigrating to the US, I studied at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (Mumbai), from where I got a Bachelor of Technology degree in Computer Science and Engineering.

You can reach me by email at venugopa at cs dot rutgers dot edu


I have written a textbook, published in November 2006, for teaching Data Structures (CS2), available at amazon.com.

Data Structures Outside In With Java Data Structures Outside In With Java

The textbook uses generic types for all container structures, and includes a 90-page introduction to object-oriented programming in Java. The stand-out feature of the book is an outside-in approach that shows how to choose and how to use a data structure (outside) before building it (inside).

Take-away nugget? Every data structures comes with a "price tag", integrated right into each structure's interface. Read the book, and see how.


I have made several YouTube videos for Data Structures, listed here from latest to earliest. As of Jan 2021, these videos have gathered over 1.5 million views.
  1. Quicksort Part 2 - Implementation
  2. Quicksort Part 1 - Algorithm
  3. Dijkstra's Shortest Paths Algorithm
  4. Graph Topological Sort Using Depth-First Search
  5. Breadth-first Search (BFS) on Graphs Part 2 - Implementation
  6. Breadth-first Search (BFS) on Graphs Part 1 - Algorithm
  7. Depth-first Search (DFS) on Graphs Part 2 - Implementation
  8. Depth-first Search (DFS) on Graphs Part 1 - Algorithm
  9. Graphs - Adjacency Linked Lists Storage
  10. Graphs - Types and Representation
  11. Implementing a Heap in Java - Part 2
  12. Implementing a Heap in Java - Part 1
  13. Binary Search Tree Part 3 - Delete
  14. Binary Search Tree Part 2 - Insert
  15. Binary Search Tree Part 1 - Structure and Search
  16. Binary Search Analysis using Comparison Tree - Part 3
  17. Binary Search Analysis using Comparison Tree - Part 2
  18. Binary Search Analysis using Comparison Tree - Part 1
  19. Java No-Object Linked List - Part 2
  20. Java No-Object Linked List - Part 1
  21. How to Build a Single-Node Linked List in Java
  22. Imagining a Linked List of Strings
  23. Imagining a Linked List

In Fall 2023, I am teaching two courses: CS 213 - Software Methodology, and CS 495 - Honors Capstone 1, which is the first part of the senior capstone sequence, a course that I developed and started teaching in Fall 2022.

Prior to these, I developed and taught a new course, Data Science for Data Management (CS 210), in Spring 2021 (pilot) and Fall 2021/Spring 2022. This followed my teaching of Data Structures in an uninterrupted run for many years.

At various times in the past I have also taught Introduction to Computer Science (CS 111), and Principles of Information and Data Management (CS 336).

In Fall 2011 and Fall 2012, I taught a freshman Byrne seminar, Back to the Future: The Evolution of Modern Computing.

In the summer of 2012, three students from my Fall 2011 Byrne seminar researched the current state of practice in parallel computing, with funding from the Byrne program.


Published a novel (first fiction work) in September 2012. Now available as a Kindle book at Amazon. The Blind Spot


I love to travel. See my blog of a 9-day road trip through Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic.

sesh at barca