Kathryn Wantlin

Department: Computer Science
Faculty Adviser: Naomi Leonard
Year of Study: G1
Undergraduate School: Harvard University
Undergraduate Major: Computer Science / Economics

Personal Bio

During undergrad, I transitioned from economics to computer science and ultimately did my thesis in game theory and robotics, specifically in applying market-based techniques to enable cooperative mapping under uncertainty. Currently, I'm interested in the intersections of machine learning, multi-agent systems, and information theory. I'm also a first-generation student from Elkview, West Virginia, and didn't decide to go to grad school until my senior year after doing multiple internships in finance, software engineering, and research. The adjective that might best describe me is "interdisciplinary", so if you're also uncertain if research is right for you or how to navigate all the opportunities at university, I'd love to chat!

Fun Fact

I'm a big anime fan, so if you have any good recommendations, my watch-list is always open.

Research Pitch

My current research work is focused on multi-agent systems and machine learning, and I'm interested in reproducing collective behavior and collective intelligence found in the natural world. This spans anything from understanding the dynamics of coupled robotic swarms using models from physics to modeling the activation of biological units that underly human cognition. Understanding how groups of agents in the natural world are optimized to solve their problems would aid engineers and scientists in building more efficient AI teams and is a problem area that spans computer science, robotics, biology, and more.

Plans for Summer 2022

Not available to participate in Summer ReMatch+ program.