ESE PhD Candidate Vivian Lin defended her thesis on OOD-Resilient Safety Monitoring for Safety-Critical Cyber Physical Systems on Tuesday, April 14th. Advised by Professor Insup Lee from the PRECISE Center, the overarching theme of Lin’s research revolves around reliable AI/ML systems, particularly in safety-critical applications.
“Specifically, my interest is in the unexpected ways these systems can fail when they are deployed in new settings,” Lin explains, noting that her work connects to research questions in the academic engineering community at-large. “Understanding the failure modes and fallbacks for AI/ML systems can allow for a deeper understanding of these tools and promote more performative models.”
According to Lin, understanding the above research proves essential to the broader engineering community and the public that it serves. “With so much incentive to forcefully integrate AI/ML models into consumer products simply for its marketing benefits, it is more important than ever to ensure that these models perform safely and fairly,” Lin emphasizes.
While Lin found her research rewarding, it was not without its setbacks. “The qualities that make research so enjoyable are also what can make it so challenging,” Lin explains. “Research requires independence, creativity, and conviction. I can certainly say that my greatest challenges were in learning to define my own direction, having the confidence to pursue interesting ideas that were not yet well-formed, and trusting myself to see the process through.”
Lin thanks her research community for helping her persevere. “My community was my greatest asset in overcoming these challenges.” Lin stresses that observing the resilience exemplified from her fellow labmates helped propel her forward. “I don’t think my labmates realize just how much they helped me,” Lin explains, adding, “My friends and family were also instrumental in holding me up so that I had the spirit to grow.”
The community Lin formed at SEAS remains the most significant and memorable aspect of her PhD. “I cherish many memories of escaping the lab for dinner with friends, walks, and coffee trips with labmates to chat about anything and everything.” Lin says, adding that her friends and family remained “my anchors throughout my time here.”
Lin’s treasured moments of her research community extend to what she learned from faculty, postdocs, and fellow doctoral student colleagues at the PRECISE Center,“for teaching me so much.”
As for life after the PhD, Lin is interviewing for industry research positions.
When Lin’s not working, she enjoys a wide variety of hobbies. In fact, Lin considers herself a serial hobbyist. “I enjoy picking up a variety of hobbies with extreme devotion for a short period of time, including but not limited to crocheting, boxing, and journaling. More recently, my energies have been dedicated to the best cat in the world, Penny, whom I recently adopted,” Lin explains.
Learn more about Lin’s work here