https://research.gatech.edu/faces-research-meet-ashok-goel

The Institute for Data Engineering and Science, or IDEaS, is one of Georgia Tech’s 10 interdisciplinary research institutes. IDEaS provides the coordination and expertise necessary to link researchers across campus by strengthening Georgia Tech’s position in big data.

This installment of the Faces of Research Q&A series is with Ashok Goel.

What is your field of expertise and why did you choose it?
I conduct research into cognitive systems at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and cognitive science. In one direction, we build theories and techniques of AI that are inspired by human cognition and behavior. On the other, we build AI models and tools that aid and augment human thinking and learning. I love it! 

What makes GaTech research institutes unique?
The Georgia Tech AI Research Institutes are special in the multi-institutional and interdisciplinary research communities they foster to address grand societal challenges. The AI Institute for Adult Learning and Online Education (AI-ALOE) led by Georgia Research Alliance and headquartered at Georgia Tech, for example, brings together AI researchers, computer scientists, cognitive scientists, and learning scientists from academia, industry, and non-profit organizations to address the societal challenges of lifelong learning and workforce development. Our society is facing the huge challenge of reskilling and upskilling a hundred million workers (and a billion around the world) within the next decade. Addressing such huge challenges requires extraordinary and bold efforts exemplified by the AI Research Institutes.  

What impact is your research having on the world?
Our Design Intelligence Laboratory and Center for 21^st Century Universities already are having a significant impact on higher education. The virtual teaching assistant, named Jill Watson, for automatically answering questions in online classes enhances teacher presence and learner engagement is one example of our impact. The free and publicly available Virtual Experimentation Research Assistant that is now globally accessible through Smithsonian Institution’s Encyclopedia of Life web portal is another example. We expect that over time the newly established AI-ALOE Institute will amplify the impact of our work by an order of magnitude or more. This is very exciting. 

What do you like to do in your spare time when you are not working on your research or teaching?
I like to cook Indian food and read about world politics, history, and philosophy. I also like to travel and explore the world.

We had our DILab social at GVU cafe on Friday, March 18th. Thanks everyone for joining the lab social in person and remotely!

The paper “Multifunctional and Domain Independent? A Meta-Analysis of Case Studies of Biologically Inspired Design”, written by Ashok Goel and William Hancock, has just been accepted into the Design Science Journal, the flagship journal of the Design Research Society! More information about the publication can be found here: http://dilab.gatech.edu/publications/multifunctional-and-domain-independent-a-meta-analysis-of-case-studies-of-biologically-inspired-design/.

We had our DILab picnic at Piedmont Park on Saturday, May 1st. We haven’t met as a group for more than a year, so it was so nice to meet again. The weather was perfect for a picnic. We had so much fun talking, having some snacks, and playing cards and badminton!

Links:

• On the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/paidpost/verizon-5g/networked-the-5g-future.html
• On Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/networked-the-5g-future/id1533841767
• On Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/t-brand-studio/networked-the-5g-future
• On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3cjfq1REoqjCzSMksyv0d4?si=7xlPdMvFT3-GvDqb9Deguw
• SmartLink that will direct users to a platform they have on their phone, based on device: https://link.chtbl.com/Networked

Date: August 31, 2020

Georgia Tech’s Design Intelligence Laboratory (http://dilab.gatech.edu/) in the School of interactive Computing is seeking two Research Scientists.

1. Full-time Research Scientist  I in AI/ML 

Lead software developer for the Jill Watson research team (https://emprize.gatech.edu/) as part a new industry/academia collaborative project sponsored by the NSF Convergence Accelerator program. The RS will work with Georgia Tech’s Design & Intelligence Laboratory, C21U, EduWorks, and other partners, focusing on developing AI question answering agents. Job requires knowledge of AI, ML and NLP techniques, and experience with Python, SQL, Linux, and JavaScript. The RS will also help coordinate and document the project. This work can be done remotely but will require intense teamwork. Minimum qualifications: B.S. or M.S. with 5 years of experience in software development. Contact: Professor Ashok Goel at goel@cc.gatech.edu

2. Half-time Post-Doctoral Research Scientist  II in Participatory and Human-Centered Design

Postdoctoral research scientist for the Jill Watson research team (https://emprize.gatech.edu/) as part of a new industry/academia collaborative project sponsored by the NSF Convergence Accelerator program. The RS will work with Georgia Tech’s Design & Intelligence Laboratory, C21U, EduWorks, and other partners, focusing on participatory and human-centered design of AI question answering agents. The RS will also help coordinate and document the project. This work can be done remotely but will require intense teamwork.   Minimum qualifications: Ph.D. Contact: Professor Ashok Goel at goel@cc.gatech.edu

See news coverage here: https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/05/20/what-soldiers-doctors-and-professors-can-teach.html

Mukundan just graduated from MSCS this semester and will be pursuing his PhD degree in Computer Science at Northwestern University, starting Fall 2020. Mukundan worked on the Errol project during his time at DILab. Congratulations Mukundan! We are excited to see what the future holds for you 🙂