By Kimberley Clementi
UC San Diego’s Computer Science and Engineering Department (CSE) is proud to announce two additional DeepMind Fellows, adding to the growing class of exceptional machine learning master’s students to benefit from the program since it began in 2020. Katya Katsy and Amber Olsen join five previous CSE fellows, each recognized for their commitment to machine learning and contributions to diversity and inclusion.
These fellowships are possible due to a generous gift from DeepMind, a London-based leader in artificial intelligence (AI) research and real-world applications. UC San Diego is one of just a few universities in the United States selected to participate in the 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.
Meet CSE’s DeepMind Fellows for 2022:
Two master’s students studying machine learning
Katya Katsy: BS, Computer Science with minors in Mathematics, Statistics and Russian, UC Davis
“I am deeply thankful to DeepMind for this opportunity. The support provided by this fellowship will bring me closer to becoming the researcher I hope to eventually become.
Within AI and ML, I am especially interested in Deep Learning and Computer Vision, and I hope to use the skills I gain during graduate school to participate in AI research in the future, either in the industry or in academia.
AI has so much potential and so much to offer to humanity. Through my research, I hope to contribute to creating autonomous and semi-autonomous tools that improve our day-to-day lives by making the everyday safer and simpler. That way we can take control of what matters to us most while also staying in control over the technology that will help us achieve this.”
Amber Olsen: BS, Computer Science, UC San Diego
“Winning this fellowship feels validating. I wasn't completely sure I wanted to go to grad school, but I am definitely interested in humanitarian work and the environment.
As an (almost) 40-year-old with four children aged five to sixteen and a previous life doing humanitarian work in West Africa and Mexico, I would love to be involved in research related to that type of work or the environment. With my background, I believe I can bring a unique perspective.”