Computer Science
Research Interests
My research focuses on natural language processing, with an emphasis on Responsible AI. I study the various undiscovered and underexplored risks within natural language processing models and their corresponding datasets. Specifically, I focus on problems of fairness, trustworthiness, and safety. These in turn relate to the propagation of social biases, the spread of misinformation, and the reduction of users' physical safety.
Mentoring Experiences
Throughout graduate school, I have been fortunate to mentor fourteen students across various levels, including high school, undergraduate, and graduate. Many of these students were participants in the NSF Early Research Scholars Program, a year-long program that targets second-year undergraduate students who are underrepresented in computing. I have served as a graduate mentor for two years with a group of four students each year and have additionally mentored a group of three alumni from the program. The students I worked with have had a range of prior knowledge in natural language processing and as a result, I have tailored my mentorship styles to meet their needs. These experiences have been an invaluable aspect of my time in graduate school. Engaging in mentorship has allowed me to develop my communication and leadership skills to be put toward my future career path of becoming a professor. These skills will apply to both the mentorship of students in my own research lab as well as teaching undergraduate and graduate classes.
Meaning of the Award
I feel very honored to receive this recognition! It has truly been a pleasure to mentor these students and help them embark on their first experiences in academic research. I hope that it was as rewarding for the students as much as it was for me and aim to continue this throughout my academic career.