As he finished a mastering session for rap supergroup Public Enemy’s “Apocalypse 91 … The Enemy Strikes Back” album, Young turned the studio into a classroom, seamlessly explaining the how and why of what he was doing.

More than three decades later, Young is still offering music production lessons. He just finished his first semester as a full-time faculty member in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences’ music department, teaching two sections of MUSC 156: Beat Making Lab as well as MUSC 212, a one-credit-hour class for students participating in the UNC Hip-Hop Ensemble.

Both courses are natural fits for Young. He said his students’ enthusiasm is what stands out the most from the semester. “They’re excited about making beats,” Young said, “and they rise to the occasion and get it done.”

The same can be said about Young in a career characterized by longevity and variety.

Born and raised in Queens, New York, he was a saxophonist in his youth and began DJing in the late 1980s, working at a popular Long Island nightclub as a teenager. Around the same time, Young started hanging out in the studio with Public Enemy and by the summer of 1989 was producing for the Bomb Squad, the group’s in-house production team.

His beats are on multiple Public Enemy projects, and he also produced solo projects by group members Chuck D (a childhood neighbor), Professor Griff and Flavor Flav. Young has worked with legendary acts like Ice Cube, Busta Rhymes, Eric B. & Rakim and Mobb Deep among others. Several movies, including “Sister Act 2 (Back in the Habit)” and Spike Lee’s “He Got Game,” feature his beats, too.

“I worked with everybody,” Young said.

Displeased with the commercialization of rap and changes in lyrical content, Young decided to focus more on music composition in 1994 after working as a composer on the first season of the TV series “New York Undercover.”

“I didn’t get into it for the money. I just love making music,” he said. “Once I started composing, I was like, ‘Man, I want to do more of this.’”

That desire led Young to the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music composition. He’s composed several orchestral works and created the world’s first hip-hop concerto, “The Five Elements,” in 2024.

Young also serves as a hip-hop ambassador for Next Level, a U.S. Department of State program run in association with the UNC-Chapel Hill music department that took him to Egypt in 2017 and will send him to Italy next year.

Young directs the UNC Hip-Hop Ensemble Fall Concert at Hill Hall on Nov. 11, 2025. (Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)

Inside the classroom

Young teaches students the fundamentals and history of the craft and encourages them to really listen to songs. “Isolate what’s going on, and figure out what sounds are being used,” he said. “Is there a hi-hat? Or what’s keeping the pulse?”

He also challenges students with in-class beat assignments on computer software Ableton. Their creations range from hip-hop and R&B to techno and house music.

Web Allen, a junior business administration major, enjoys the “hands-on” nature of the course. Allen, who sings and beatboxes in a cappella group Psalm 100, also appreciated that Young came to hear his group perform.

“I was like, ‘Heck yeah, thank you!’” Allen said. “It was fun having him.”

Young had a great semester, but he said teaching — like beat making — is trial and error.

“You have to see what sticks and what works,” he said.

“They’re excited about making beats,” Young said about his students, “and they rise to the occasion and get it done.” (Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)

The exchange program was funded by the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki’s public affairs grant program and organized by UNC Global Affairs.

“Carolina was the perfect fit for this exchange program,” said Timothy Rose, Carolina’s associate director for exchange and sponsored programs. “UNC and our partner, the University of Helsinki, have both the expertise in various issues pertaining to global security and the ability to provide transformative, experiential opportunities for students. This expertise fit in well with the type of programs the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki was looking to support.”

(Submitted photo)

In North Carolina, participants learned from Carolina faculty in PWAD, political science and geography; toured and met with state security experts at the North Carolina National Guard Joint Force Headquarters and State Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh; visited Fort Bragg to learn about special operations, information warfare and women in the U.S. military and conducted discussions, simulations and activities.

“During the simulation, we reflected on when we first heard of Russia’s attack on Ukraine,” Kate Klinger ’26 said. “In that moment, I realized how much closer the conflict feels when Russia is your neighbor. Americans must remember our trans-Atlantic partners and the personal stories of those whom this war affects daily.”

Program events were open to the greater Carolina community and dozens of students were able to explore global security issues with their Finnish counterparts.

In May, Carolina participants visited Finland’s Ministry of Defense, Institute of International Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Helsinki, as well as the International Center for Defense and Security and NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, Estonia.

The April timing of the Chapel Hill visit was intentional. Finland joined NATO on April 4, 2023, after 74 years of an official foreign policy position of neutrality. Understanding NATO — including Finland’s recent accession and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — is central to the program’s learning objectives.

During the April exchange, UNC Global Affairs and the Center for European Studies hosted a Diplomatic Discussion with Finnish Consul General Jarmo Sareva in the Nelson Mandela Auditorium.

In her remarks at the Diplomatic Discussion, Barbara Stephenson, vice provost for global affairs and chief global officer, spoke about NATO and the role the alliance has played in promoting democracy and security around the world. She emphasized the importance of the exchange program in helping tomorrow’s leaders pursue solutions to shared global challenges.

“Finland is our friend. Finland is a close partner, and as of April 4, 2023, Finland is a crucial NATO ally,” Stephenson said. “These students are discovering the importance of this bilateral relationship through a transformative experience.”

The Master of Science in data science and the doctorate in data science were approved at the Nov. 20 UNC Board of Governors meeting, and applications for both programs open in early December. These new degrees are an addition to the school’s Bachelor of Science in data science and online Master of Applied Data Science programs.

Students will have core coursework in mathematical and statistical foundations, computational thinking, machine learning, artificial intelligence and data engineering. All degree programs at SDSS require coursework in both communications and ethics.

“We’re grateful to the Board of Governors for approving these two new graduate degrees which will create an additional pipeline of data scientists for our state and our world,” Dean Stan Ahalt said. “These graduate students will not only accelerate our faculty’s research, but make discoveries of their own, using the most cutting-edge tools and models. We’re excited to welcome our first cohort of residential graduate students.”

For both graduate programs, students will select one of four specialization tracks for their studies:

• Advanced data science foundations and AI (available fall 2026)
• Applications in physical, biological and health sciences (available fall 2026)
• Applications in social sciences and humanities (available fall 2027)
• Data engineering (available fall 2027)

Applications for the M.S. in data science and doctorate in data science programs open in early December with a Jan. 15 priority deadline and a Feb. 10 final deadline. For more information, visit datascience.unc.edu.

UNC-Chapel Hill also ranked No. 1 in North Carolina for study abroad participation and placed among the national leaders for program length, coming in at No. 11 for short-term programs (eight weeks or less) and No. 12 for mid-length programs (one semester). This year, the state of North Carolina ranks No. 7 in the nation for study abroad participation.

The report was released Nov. 17 by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State and the Institute of International Education, and it summarizes international exchange across U.S. colleges and universities, including study abroad participation for credit and international student enrollment.

“Year after year, the Open Doors Report affirms our deep commitment to providing the richest menu possible of global experiences to every Tar Heel,” said Barbara Stephenson, vice provost for global affairs and chief global officer at UNC-Chapel Hill. “When nearly half of our undergraduate students study abroad, it speaks volumes about the culture of curiosity — and the strength of the Global Guarantee — that define the Carolina experience.”

Carolina’s 2025 Study Abroad Impact Report, released alongside the national rankings, highlights the University’s continued progress in expanding access to international education. The report includes participation trends, student stories, campus benchmarks, and scholarship achievements, underscoring Carolina’s mission to prepare students to lead and collaborate across cultures.

“Our goal has always been to make a global education part of every student’s Carolina journey,” said Jason Kinnear, associate dean for study abroad and exchanges in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences. “We’re proud that students from all majors and backgrounds are finding ways to engage with the world, whether through short-term faculty-led programs, semester opportunities, internships or research abroad.”

According to the 2025 Open Doors report, Carolina’s international student enrollment grew by 6.7% in fall 2024 over the previous year. The top countries of origin for international students are China, India and South Korea.

The Open Doors Report is published annually during International Education Week, Nov. 17-21. Fall 2025 international student enrollment data will be published next year in the 2026 Open Doors Report.

There are many ways for Tar Heels to experience the Global Guarantee. UNC Global Affairs and the Study Abroad Office are available to help students find the right opportunities for their time at Carolina.

Google PhD Fellowships directly support graduate students as they pursue a doctorate in computer science or a related field. The fellowship lasts up to two years, providing each fellow up to $85,000 per year toward education costs, living expenses, travel and personal equipment, and connecting each of them to a Google research mentor.

This year, Google provided 255 fellowships across 35 countries and 12 research domains, recognizing “researchers who understand that accelerating scientific discovery is vital to solving the world’s toughest challenges.”

Vivi Ito

Ito is also a graduate research assistant in the Center for Information, Technology and Public Life. Her adviser is Francesca Tripodi, associate professor at UNC SILS and principal investigator with CITAP.

Ito’s research takes an innovative, human-centered approach to understanding how artificial intelligence systems shape trust, learning and decision-making in seeking health information. Her project explores how AI-driven search tools, such as AI Overviews and ChatGPT, affect user trust and learning outcomes compared to traditional search engines.

For Ito, who came to academia after a decade-long career in digital marketing, this recognition represents both professional validation and personal fulfillment. “I come from the industry, and I wasn’t very happy,” Ito said. “Being recognized with this fellowship feels like a symbol that my transition has been successful and that I’m doing something I really like — with purpose.”

Her research journey began during her master’s studies, when she investigated how people with chronic or underdiagnosed conditions, such as endometriosis and heart failure, use digital platforms to find information and build communities. Those early projects revealed how challenging it can be to access trustworthy health information.

Vaidehi Patil

Patil’s research seeks to make deep learning models safer and more responsible for real-world applications. Her work combines aspects of safety, privacy, security for large language models, multimodal models and multiagent systems. Her doctoral work is advised by Mohit Bansal, the John R. and Louise S. Parker Distinguished Professor in computer science. She is part of the Multimodal Understanding, Reasoning and Generation for Language Lab and the broader UNC-AI group.

“I’m honored to receive the Google PhD Fellowship and grateful for the recognition of my research on machine unlearning, defenses against adversarial attacks and multiagent privacy. This support motivates me to explore further how large models can reason about privacy and collaborate responsibly, especially in real-world, multiagent settings,” Patil said. “I’m especially grateful to my adviser, professor Mohit Bansal, and my mentors and collaborators for their invaluable support and encouragement.”

Before pursuing a doctorate at Carolina, Patil earned a Bachelor of Technology in electrical engineering, with a minor in computer science and engineering, and a Master of Technology in AI and data science from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. She has interned for top tech companies, including Google DeepMind, Apple, Adobe Research and Amazon AGI Labs.

See the full list of 2025 Google PhD Fellowship recipients on the Google Research website.

“They’re going to be more effective advocates for their current clients. And they’re going to be better North Carolinians because they’re going out to do pro bono work and help veterans,” said John Brooker ’03 (JD), Wade Edwards Term Professor of Law and director of the Military and Veterans Law Clinic. “Many students have family members or friends in the military. What these folks are doing is learning in the clinic about veterans affairs by taking it out of the book and putting it into real-life practice, which makes them more effective advocates and North Carolinians.”

Students worked with the Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry, which runs the Veterans Restoration Quarters, a shelter where veterans can live rent-free for two years. The facility offers life skills and job training, three meals a day, counseling appointments, veterans affairs benefits and drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

About eight Carolina students joined Wake Forest School of Law students on the visit.

“Having a job and being fed three meals a day is what most people need to get back on their feet,” said Mya Fernandez, a third-year Carolina law student who went on the trip. “Giving people a sense of purpose and a place to stay helps the most.”

(Submitted photo)

Students also met with officials from the Buncombe County Veterans Treatment court and watched proceedings in the Buncombe County Adult Drug Treatment Court to learn how to be more effective client advocates.

“They’re going to learn from real judges, court administrators, prosecutors and defense counsel in the courtroom while meeting everyone involved in the process,” said Brooker. “This helps them understand on a deeper, granular level how the process works versus just reading a conviction on paper and making a judgment based on that.”

Students then toured the veterans affairs hospital in Asheville, learning about the physical and mental health challenges veterans face.

Brooker was an attorney in the U.S. Army, defending soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction. As a disabled veteran with PTSD, he now advocates for veterans facing these challenges.

“Our clients have mental health struggles, so our students are going to talk with actual providers who treat them every day and share their experiences,” Brooker said. “This helps them learn from those providers about what are the biggest challenges they face, what they’re going to learn from them, what’s the thing we can do to help the most. They build networks and relationships and learn firsthand by doing versus by reading.”

(Submitted photo)

At the end of their trip, students met with law school alumni in the Asheville area and reflected on what they had learned.

“It really was an amazing opportunity to get to see the resources and people willing to help,” Fernandez said. “I had never had any experience working with veterans prior to coming to the MVLC clinic, but I’ve been able to put myself in my client’s shoes through this opportunity. If you are willing to help in any small way, I would get involved, as veterans greatly appreciate the help.”

Brooker agreed. “They can better understand what resources are out there, what their clients are going through and learn more about the intersection of addiction and criminal law. We’re getting students out of the four walls of our classrooms in Chapel Hill and seeing this happen in real life.”

“We are delighted to welcome Magnus Egerstedt to our Carolina community, and I look forward to working alongside him,” said Chancellor Lee H. Roberts. “With a distinguished record of leadership and deep expertise in higher education, he is exceptionally well-suited for this role. His scholarship reflects an innovative spirit and a commitment to improving the well-being of others, central tenets in our mission to be the leading public university. I am excited to see how he will help us move Carolina forward.”

Egerstedt’s research centers on the control and coordination of large-scale robotic networks, with transformative applications in environmental monitoring, disaster response and sustainable infrastructure. He is the architect of the Robotarium at Georgia Tech, a first-of-its-kind remotely accessible swarm robotics laboratory that has empowered over 7,000 users worldwide to conduct real-time experiments with hundreds of autonomous robots. At UC Irvine, he directs the Robot Ecology Lab, an air-ground swarm robotics facility pioneering algorithms for deploying heterogeneous robot teams in dynamic natural environments, including wildfire zones and marine ecosystems.

“Carolina is a remarkable university that has managed to stay true to its identity as the first public university in the nation yet being a forward-looking and innovative institution. I have been highly impressed with the energy and ambition I have experienced around campus, and I am honored to have been entrusted with this opportunity by Chancellor Roberts,” said Egerstedt. “I am looking forward to working with Carolina’s outstanding faculty, students and staff on the next chapter in this storied university’s history, with AI, engineering and enrollment growth now at the forefront.”

Prior to joining UC Irvine, Egerstedt was the Julian T. Hightower Chair at Georgia Tech, where he co-founded the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines. He received a master’s in engineering physics and a doctorate in applied mathematics from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden, a bachelor’s in philosophy from Stockholm University, and was a Postdoctoral Scholar at Harvard University.

A fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, International Federation of Automatic Control and multiple other professional engineering societies, and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, Egerstedt has garnered numerous accolades, including the Alumni of the Year Award from KTH and prestigious teaching and research honors from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Defense.

“I’m thrilled with the selection of Dr. Egerstedt as Carolina’s next provost. Our faculty were adamant in their desire for a provost with a strong academic background, which he most certainly has,” said Beth Moracco, chair of the faculty and a member of the provost search committee. “I was impressed by his understanding of the breadth of what we as faculty at Carolina do, inside and outside of the classroom, and by his commitment to public higher education, academic freedom, and authentic shared governance. I look forward to working with him as our next chief academic officer.”

The search committee was co-chaired by Stan Ahalt, dean of the UNC School of Data Science and Society, and Nancy Messonnier, dean of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and Bryson Distinguished Professor in Public Health. The University also thanked interim Provost Dean for the exceptional leadership he has provided to advance Carolina’s commitment to academic excellence.

Tell me about your area of research and what drew you to do this at Carolina? 

Much of my research has focused on the role of third parties in international conflict. This work looks both at how third parties become actively involved in conflicts through military intervention, as well as how they can help manage and resolve conflicts. More recently, my research has expanded to the realm of political economy. I wrote a book called “Market Power Politics” with my colleague, Mark Crescenzi, that investigates how competition over natural resource markets drives the expansionist behavior of countries like Russia and China. We are working on a sequel to this book that examines the market power politics of critical minerals and green energy.

UNC has one of the best political science departments in the country, and I feel fortunate to have been able to spend the past two decades here.

What makes your department special/unique?  

No other university in the country provides an interdisciplinary program quite like it. With our academic faculty, students learn how to study questions of peace and conflict through a variety of social science, historical and humanistic lenses. At the same time, our professors of the practice bring their professional experience in public service, the military and diplomacy into the classroom. This provides UNC-Chapel Hill PWAD students with a special academic experience that they couldn’t find anywhere else.

What’s coming up for PWAD this year that you are excited about? 

We are having Ambassador Jennifer Davis and Admiral Dennis Blair on campus as our Knott Distinguished Visiting Professors this year. It’s particularly exciting to have Ambassador Davis teach a class for PWAD for the first time. She is a “double” Carolina alumna with over two decades of experience as a diplomat in the State Department. I am thrilled that UNC-Chapel Hill students will have the opportunity to engage with these accomplished foreign policy practitioners both inside and outside the classroom.

If you had to choose just one, what’s been the favorite class you’ve taught? What made it special?  

A few years ago, Mark Crescenzi and I co-taught a course-based undergraduate research experience class that we created called “Peace Science Research.” Students came into the class with little or no social science research experience. But over the course of the semester, they worked in small groups to develop their own research project complete with original data analysis that they then presented at a University-wide poster session. It was a rewarding experience to see the students get so excited about doing research. On top of that, it was also a chance to collaborate with a colleague in the classroom, which is not something we often get to do.

Who in your life has inspired you?  

My parents. They encouraged and fostered my lifelong love of learning from an early age, and they instilled in me the importance of education and service. I definitely would not be where I am now without them.

Where is your favorite place on campus?  

Probably Meantime Coffee and the Anne Queen Lounge in the Campus Y. You can’t beat a nice cup of coffee and a chance to do a little work in a space away from “beautiful” Hamilton Hall.

It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon. Where would we find you?  

I’d probably be in a movie theater. I’m a pretty big film buff.

Learn more about Gent’s research. 

Sawyer is a leading creativity and learning researcher and the Morgan Distinguished Professor in Educational Innovations at the UNC School of Education. He saw tabletop games as an ideal way to cultivate what he calls “the maker mindset” — a hands-on, design-driven approach to learning. The assignment immersed students in campus makerspaces, where they could experiment with tools like 3D printers and laser cutters as part of their creative process.

“They would be learning about design principles, maker competencies and creativity skills, while at the same time learning how to use these makerspaces,” Sawyer explained.

Each game had to include a theme, story structure and catchy name and be designed for two to four people to play in under 20 minutes. Students had to 3D print custom pieces, create 2D components using laser and vinyl cutters and design printed boards or cards.

Anna Engelke (M.A. ’17) is the education program manager at BeAM, after being part of the inaugural MEITE cohort. (UNC-Chapel Hill)

“Professor Sawyer was able to give us restrictions but still allow creativity,” said Luke Wilkinson, a student in the class, who found that “some restrictions and navigational boundaries help you find creativity and that perfect reflection of who you are.”

From hand-sculpted clay figurines to sleek laser-cut boards, each game reflected its creator’s personality through a unique blend of storytelling, strategy and visual design.

Inspired by shuffleboard and Skee-Ball, Andrew Bartlett, a business administration and exercise and sport science double major, designed Push and Score. Meagan Leung, a computer science and information science double major, created Recipe Rush, in which players race to collect ingredient cards and complete recipes.

From MEITE student to BeAM mentor

A member of the inaugural cohort of the Master of Arts in educational innovation, technology and entrepreneurship program helped shape the learning environment for creating these games. Anna Engelke ’17 (MA) is the education program manager at BeAM, working closely with faculty from more than 30 academic departments to integrate design and making into their courses.

Engelke credits the interdisciplinary nature of the MEITE program with preparing her to lead cross-campus collaborations like this one.

“The [MEITE] program helped me develop a sense for how different disciplines can work together to be able to create things,” Engelke said. “That’s definitely something I’ve carried through into my current role.”

For this class, Sawyer and Engelke designed a syllabus combining technology workshops on tools like Adobe Illustrator and 3D modeling with foundational education principles. Future assignments will explore robotics and educational research-driven design.

Anna Engelke (M.A. ’17) is the education program manager at BeAM, after being part of the inaugural MEITE cohort. (UNC-Chapel Hill)

Cultivating the maker mindset

Senior Sarah Gonzalez admitted she hadn’t realized campus makerspaces were even available before the course.

“We’ve spent the whole semester so far making these games and learning how to use the BeAM makerspaces,” said Gonzalez. “Seeing it all come together has been really cool.”

The project gave students a hands-on way to turn abstract ideas into tangible experiences. Sawyer hopes the skills they’ve gained — creative problem-solving, iterative design and the ability to work within constraints — will extend far beyond the classroom. Whether they go on to teach in K–12 settings, present ideas in corporate boardrooms or collaborate across disciplines, the experience of making something with their hands will shape how they approach learning in any field.

“I told the students, ‘I’m not teaching you how to be game designers. What I’m teaching you is the ability to think like a maker,’” Sawyer said.

Read more about the maker movement class. 

Thanks to support from Carolina’s AI acceleration program, Jordan distributed OpenAI application programming interface keys to all 200 students in his spring 2025 course, giving them direct access to cutting-edge language models like OpenAI’s GPT-4.

An API enables students’ programs to integrate directly with state-of-the-art AI models via a request and response protocol called an API call. The API key unlocked and securely authenticated each student’s access to the API.

“This was the first time most students had ever made third-party API calls, let alone integrated with a large language model,” Jordan said. “It opened up a whole world of possibilities.”

Building with AI

Students didn’t just learn how to use AI — they learned how to build with it. Every team in the course was required to incorporate Azure’s OpenAI services into their final project. Results ranged from a virtual academic adviser that could recommend courses based on student goals to a weekly office hours summarizer that helped instructors identify common student challenges.

One team built a job prep assistant that simulated technical interviews and evaluated responses, while another created a chatbot to help students find campus clubs that matched their interests.

Students learned the fundamentals of prompt and context engineering, explored latency and user experience challenges and grappled with the limitations of generative models. They reported using their AI skills at companies like SAS, working on projects involving large language models.

“They felt confident and prepared. That’s a huge win for brand Carolina,” Jordan said.

The AI acceleration program provides opportunities and resources for Carolina community members to explore and advance AI technologies. University faculty, staff and students who seek cloud-based computing resources to pursue their AI initiatives may apply to the program.

Aligned with industry best practices

To guide responsible use, Jordan introduced a benchmark: no more than 25% of a student’s code should be AI-generated, mirroring industry practices at companies like Google. “It wasn’t something we enforced punitively,” he said, “but it helped students think critically about how much they were relying on these tools.”

The success of the course was made possible by strategic collaboration, with the program providing the funding, and ITS delivering the platform that enabled access to Microsoft Azure’s OpenAI services. Computer science students deployed their projects using Carolina CloudApps, a container-based development environment run by ITS, which gave them hands-on experience with modern software engineering practices.

“We couldn’t have done this without AIAP,” Jordan said. “It’s easy to look at a number like 200 students and think it’s small, but this is half of a graduating class of majors in a single semester. Thanks to this program, every CS student at UNC is gaining real experience building with AI.”

Technological turning point

Jordan also praised the infrastructure support from the CloudApps team, noting that students were able to deploy full-stack applications and learn production-level engineering skills in a real-world environment.

Jordan is now teaching in Cape Town, South Africa, with a group of Carolina students, and using the semester to retool his course for the spring. He hopes to shift toward an “AI-first” curriculum that explores agentic systems, asynchronous processing and real-world deployment challenges.

“This is a technological turning point,” Jordan said. “We’re not waiting to see how it plays out — we’re helping students lead the way.”