By Katie E. Ismael
UC San Diego’s Computer Science and Engineering Department (CSE) is proud to announce the inaugural class of DeepMind Fellows. These fellowships were made possible by a recent generous gift from DeepMind, a London-based leader in artificial intelligence (AI) research and how it’s applied in the real world. UC San Diego is currently one of just three universities in the United States, and one of five in North America, selected to participate in this program.
The fellowships are designed to support machine learning (ML) graduate students. Students from cultural, racial, linguistic, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds and genders who are underrepresented in ML graduate education are encouraged to apply. DeepMind Fellows receive two-year fellowships that cover tuition along with a stipend, a travel grant and access to a DeepMind mentor. DeepMind also made a one-time gift to CSE’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative.
“The recipients of the DeepMind Fellowship all had stellar academic performance, a deep interest in ML as a discipline, and had made significant prior contributions to diversity,” said Leo Porter, director of MS programs for the Computer Science and Engineering Department. “This generous fellowship will enable these students to focus on studying the field of ML. We look forward to seeing what these DeepMind Fellows will accomplish in the future."
Meet CSE’s DeepMind Fellows (all CSE master’s students studying ML):
Anshuman Dewangan
BS, Business Administration; BA, Statistics; BA, Economics
UC Berkeley
“Imagine a future in which you can wear a headset that senses when you're feeling down from patterns in your brain waves and suggests an activity (deep breathing, jogging, calling a friend) to improve your mood based on data that the activity has proven to help you (and others like you) in the past. The DeepMind Fellowship allows me to put my passion for AI and mental health technology into action and begin making this dream a reality.
My mission is to leverage neural and digital data to promote personalized behavior change interventions for better mental and social wellness at scale. Access to mentorship from DeepMind's global and interdisciplinary AI experts will help me navigate through academia and industry to become a thought leader in the space.”
Ulyana Tkachenko
BS, Computer Science
UC Riverside
“I look forward to utilizing DeepMind’s mentorships program and professional learning opportunities to create a network of peers who are similarly interested in developing AI for social good.
I recognize many real-world issues where AI applications could identify ways to improve the sociological and ecological state of our world. A key focus of DeepMind is conducting research in areas such as medical health and carbon footprint reduction that provide tangible, positive impact to society. In my undergraduate research, I had firsthand experience utilizing data to better represent and ultimately help alleviate homelessness within Riverside County. As my future career goal, I plan to work on similar projects which directly benefit underprivileged spaces that are often overlooked by mainstream tech.”
Garrett Wolfe
BS, Computer Science
UC Irvine
“I hope to use this opportunity provided to me by this fellowship to expand my knowledge of the theory behind AI and the technical skills needed to apply it. I also hope to collaborate with my mentor to gain insight into the more pragmatic and real-world issues that can arise as well as the ethical concerns that it may bring.
My goal is to someday build an equitable education platform with artificially intelligent tutors that can adapt to the specific needs of individual students from all backgrounds. It’s an ambitious and far-off goal, but those are exactly the kind of goals that DeepMind strives to meet. Through this fellowship, with the lessons I learn and the friendships I make, I think it is attainable.”
Read more about DeepMind’s scholarship program and the company’s impact on the future of AI and ML in this blog post.
For more information about the fellowship program or questions, please visit cse.ucsd.edu/graduate/