Three University of Michigan doctoral candidates have been selected for the inaugural cohort of the Quad Fellowship. Sophia Simon, an alumna currently pursuing her PhD at UC Davis, has also been selected. The Quad Fellowship is a new initiative from the governments of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. It aims to boost interdisciplinary scientific and technological innovation while simultaneously building ties among the world's next generation of STEM leaders. Click here to read the full article from the University Record.
Elana is pursuing her PhD in in the School of Kinesiology and applied to the Quad Fellowship because its mission to use science to advance societal good and promote international and interdisciplinary science collaboration between the four nations resonated with her.
“I am really excited about the opportunity to build a cross-cultural and knowledge exchange network with the other fellows and for the program’s mentoring and career development,” Goldenkoff said. “I will use the skills I develop as a Quad Fellow to empower the next generation of scientific leaders to be socially conscious and civically engaged in their local, national and global communities.”
Shion applied for the Quad Fellowship because he believes it would provide an invaluable opportunity to collaborate with other STEM graduate students and leaders in a variety of fields. He hopes to address rising challenges in machine learning and artificial intelligence such as explainability, robustness, and bias using insights from both neuroscience and biological intelligence.
"The application process prompted me to evaluate my interests and how they might realize solutions and approaches to modern computational challenges. Having applied and received the fellowship, I feel as though the process broadened my scope on my research interests," Shion said.
Divya is pursuing her PhD in Computer Science and Engineering, where she works with the intersection of algorithmic accountability and human-computer interaction. She uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods to explore bringing about accountability when low-powered actors interact with high-risk AI systems.
She is a passionate advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion. Divya co-founded and led her department's Tech + Society Reading Group and currently serves on the department's ECSEL+ and DEI committees. She led research efforts at CloudSight Inc., creating the company's first human-AI interaction pipeline that powered the award-winning accessibility app, TapTapSee.
As a Quad Fellow, Mohammad wants to explore and interact with top leaders in science and technology and build a network between academia and industry. He is pursuing his PhD in Quantum Information Theory.
When asked about why he applied for the Quad Fellowship, Mohammad stated, "Being a part of such a prestigious cohort will always serve as a great source of motivation for me. Quantum computing is a promising advancing technology that has the potential to tackle countless societal problems.”
