Sergio Gago-Masagué
Biography
Sergio Gago-Masagué, Ph.D., is Professor of Teaching, Vice Chair of Professional Programs, and Faculty Director of the Master of Computer Science program in the Department of Computer Science at UC Irvine’s Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences. He also serves as Associate Director of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2). His research spans computer science education, AI-supported learning interventions, and human-centered computing, with an emphasis on data-driven systems that improve student engagement and retention in introductory computer science courses and capstone programs.
Gago-Masagué earned his Ph.D. in Projects for Technological Innovation from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in 2012. He has served as principal investigator on several National Science Foundation grants, including an NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates program on AI-driven insights in IoT-enabled ecosystems and an NSF IUSE/HSI project focused on improving undergraduate retention in computer science through predictive modeling and personalized academic interventions. His interdisciplinary work in health technology includes contributions to NIH-funded projects that developed mobile health interventions for children with cancer and medication adherence, as well as industry-sponsored research on wearable technologies for wellness monitoring and alcohol detection. His work has resulted in four invention disclosures, including patents related to nonintrusive workflow assessment and patient-controlled analgesic dispensing systems.
At UC Irvine, Gago-Masagué has held leadership roles including Chair of the Council on Teaching, Learning, and Student Experience; Chair of the Council on Enrollment Management and Admissions; and Director of the Computer Science Capstone Program. He co-directs the Teaching and Learning in Computing initiative and serves as Associate Director of the California-Catalonia Balsells Fellowship Program. His honors include multiple Dean’s Awards for excellence in teaching and service. From 2020 to 2022, he served as a Provost Faculty Fellow, advancing the use of machine learning and tailored support to prevent academic failure.
Return to topEducation
- Ph.D. in Projects for Technological Innovation, Wellness Design, Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), 2012
- M.Sc. in Industrial Design and Product Development, Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), 2007
- B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering, Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), 2007
Distinctions
- Best Interactive Technology at Mobile World Congress 2012, 2012
- Best Poster at the International Society for Research on Internet Interventions Conference, 2016
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, The Balsells Foundation, Catalonia–California Engineering Innovation Program, 2012–2016
- Honorable Mention, Dr. De Gallow Professor of the Year Award, UCI Celebration of Teaching, 2024
- Dean’s Honoree Award, UCI Celebration of Teaching, 2025
- Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2023
- Dean’s Award for Excellence in Service, 2021
- Provost Faculty Fellow, 2020–2022
Areas of Expertise
- Computer Science Education
- AI-Supported Learning Interventions
- Predictive Modeling for Student Retention
- IoT Applications in Healthcare
- Wearable Biosignal Analysis
- Experiential Learning
- Large Language Models in Education
Recent Publications
- Lim P.S., Fortier M.A., Kaplan S.H., Gago-Masague S., Kain Z.N., “Predictors of postoperative recovery using self-reported HRQoL among children undergoing elective surgery” (opens in new tab), Paediatrics and Child Health Canada, vol. 31, pp. 42-49, 2026.
- Lu, Y., Meißner, N., Bietz, M. J., Gago-Masagué, S., van der Hoek, A., “Teamwork in Software Engineering Education: Exploring Team Dynamics and Challenges Across Course Projects” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the IEEE/ACM 48th International Conference on Software Engineering, ACM, pp. 139–150, 2026. Presented at ICSE-SEET 2026, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 12–18, 2026.
- Priyadarshini, A., Gago-Masagué, S., “Learning Fair Representations with Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, AAAI Press, vol. 40, no. 29, pp. 24864–24872, 2026. Presented at AAAI-26, Singapore, January 20–27, 2026.
- Segura, M. E., Vergés, P., Ky, R., Arangott, R., Garcia, A. K., Trong, T. D., Hyodo, M., Nicolau, A., Givargis, T., Gago-Masagué, S., “Advancing Intoxication Detection: A Smartwatch-Based Approach” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the 11th IEEE World Forum on Internet of Things, IEEE, pp. 1–7, 2025. Presented at IEEE WF-IoT 2025, Chengdu, China, October 27–30, 2025.
- Martinez Neda, B., Singh, A., Wang, M., Zhang, Z., Weber, J. L., Gago-Masagué, S., Wong-Ma, J., “Using Admission Records and Student Survey Responses for Early Prediction of CS1 Performance” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Education Technology and Computers, IEEE, pp. 422–430, 2025. Presented at ICETC 2025, Barcelona, Spain.
Most Cited Publications
- Fortier, M. A., Chung, W. W., Martinez, A., Gago Masague, S., Sender, L., “Pain Buddy: A Novel use of m-Health in the Management of Children's Cancer Pain” (opens in new tab), Computers in Biology and Medicine, vol. 76, pp. 202-214, 2016.
- Hunter, J.F., Acevedo, A.M., Gago-Masague, S., Kain, A., Yun, C., Torno, L., Jenkins, B.N., Fortier, M.A., “A Pilot Study of the Preliminary Efficacy of Pain Buddy: A Novel Intervention for the Management of Children's Cancer-related Pain” (opens in new tab), Pediatric Blood and Cancer, vol. 67, no. 10, pp. e28278, 2020.
- Lee, J., Evangelista, L.S., Moore, A.A., Juth, V., Guo, Y., Gago Masague, S., Lem, C.G., Nguyen, M., Khatibi, P., Baje, M., Amin, A.N., “Feasibility Study of a Mobile Health Intervention for Older Adults on Oral Anticoagulation Therapy” (opens in new tab), Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, vol. 2, pp. 2333721416672970, 2016.
Contact Information
Website: https://sgagomas.ics.uci.edu
Email: sgagomas@uci.edu
Phone: +1 (949) 824-7208
Address: 4413 Calit2
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Last updated on 10/2/2026.