Information for New and Prospective Students
Although I am semi-retired, I maintain a very active research
program. I am recruiting new students interested in three main
directions:
- Robust machine learning, including uncertainty quantification,
anomaly detection, open category detection, calibration in
classification and rejection, and risk-sensitive RL.
- Computational sustainability, including
the TAHMO weather network project as well as
ecosystem management problems such as invasive species and wildfire
management.
- Robust human-AI teams
I prefer to have all of my students jointly supervised with other
faculty members, as this provides for more robust and diverse
advising. I currently am jointly supervising students with Alan Fern,
John Selker (BEE), and Debashis Mondal (Statistics). I am also
recruiting students to work jointly with me and Rebecca Hutchinson,
Fuxin Li, or Stefan Lee. Hence, if you would like to work with me,
contact me via email or alternatively contact one of these other
faculty members and suggest a joint advising arrangement.
To work with me, you should have the
following background:
- Strong preparation in mathematics: Linear Algebra, Numerical
Linear Algebra, Vector Calculus.
- Strong preparation in probability and statistics:
Probability Theory, Probabilistic Graphical Models (Bayesian
networks), Introductory Statistics.
- Strong programming background and experience in Python (pytorch
or tensor flow is a plus), R, C++, JAVA, Lisp, MATLAB, or
Mathematica as well as knowledge of advanced data structures. Experience with git.
- Experience with optimization algorithms: Linear and quadratic
programming, convex optimization, gradient descent search and the
conjugate-gradient method, Newton's method, etc.
- Other useful background includes image processing, computer
graphics, computational geometry, geographic information systems,
database systems.
Prospective students interested in a research assistantship should
email me a letter that describes their background, experience, and
research goals. Please also include a list of the courses you have
taken (and grades received) and a resume. Attach copies of any papers
that you have published in English.
Tom Dietterich, tgd@cs.orst.edu