Here's a tribute written in the memory of my friend who got me started into research.
I am an Assistant Professor at UCLA in the Department of Communication. Previously, I was a postdoc at MIT Sloan Marketing. Before then, I received my PhD in Computer Science at Princeton University, advised by Tom Griffiths. I am an Osher Fellow of the Exploratorium, San Francisco and recipient of the APS Rising Star Award, the SfNC dissertation award, UC Early Career Award, and the NOMIS and Science Young Explorer Award.
Research Summary
I am a computational cognitive scientist, working at the intersection of cognition, AI, and policy. My lab, the Computational Cognitive Policy Lab, focuses on two core questions. First, we study how our minds fail to notice or act on long-term threats such as climate change and technology dependence. Second, we employ AI and machine learning tools to design human-centric policies - policies that reflect diverse perspectives and are more likely to gain public support. My lab regularly collaborates with policymakers and agencies to help translate these insights into scalable action.
Publications
The normalization of (almost) everything ★ Grand Prize, NOMIS & Science
Reconciling novelty and complexity through a rational analysis of curiosity Spotlight, Trends in Cog Sci
The normalization of (almost) everything ★ Grand Prize, NOMIS & Science
Reconciling novelty and complexity via a rational analysis of curiosity Spotlight, Trends in Cog Sci
Investigating human priors for playing video games