Today is the day of our Summer Banquet! The research groups were hard at work to prepare and review for the presentations later in the day.
In the Decoding DNA/Computational Bio research group, we got an in-depth lecture on statistics. We learned about p-values, hypothesis testing, and other useful statistical tests when dealing with medical accuracy.
In computer vision, we did the keras tutorial and reviewed statistics in preparation for the presentation.
In natural language processing, we continued to study probability and used Jupyter Notebook to continue coding exercises.
Finally, in robotics, we learned a little about differential equations to better understand how to optimize decision-making. We also continued learning about velocity and angular velocity, and how these factors affect automobile decision making.
After the lecture, we heard from guest speaker Greg Zaharchuk, professor in radiology at Stanford Medical School. He spoke about his experiences using Artificial Intelligence in analyzing x-rays and MRI’s. This was especially interesting for those in the Decoding DNA group!
Next, we had office hours with our research mentors. We spent the bulk of this time putting some finishing touches on the presentations, and making sure we felt confident going into the banquet!
Finally, the girls dressed up for the highlight of the week, the AI4ALL 2019 Summer Banquet, which consisted of remarks from AI4ALL educational manager Wells Santos and program directors Alivia Shorter and Juan Carlos Niebles, a presentation from keynote speaker Dr. Michelle K. Lee, a networking dinner, and presentations from the campers about the work they’ve done so far.
We kicked off the banquet with an introduction from program director and Stanford CS professor Juan Carlos Niebles, in which he emphasized the importance of having women in AI.
Next, we heard from AI4ALL Educational Manager Wells Lucas Santos. He talked about his experiences coming out as queer despite the stigma about it within the computer science community, and how he overcame it to graduate at the top of his class. Since then, he has continued his activism for minorities in tech fields, and is now continuing his work with the national AI4ALL foundation. He led us in a mantra: “AI will change the world. Who will change AI?”
Next, we heard from keynote speaker Michelle K. Lee. Dr. Lee chronicled her academic roots, from her beginning as a tech-minded girl growing up in Silicon Valley, to her days as an MIT undergraduate. Then she talked about how fascinated she was with the patent laws that dictated so much of how technology was developing. After getting a law degree from Stanford University, Dr. Lee launched herself into an extremely successful career in patent law, serving tech titans such as Google and becoming the first Asian-American woman partner of law firm Fenwick & West.
She then left her lucrative position with Google to begin a career of public service as the director of the US Patent and Trademark Office, appointed by Barack Obama and confirmed unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Her hard work, perseverance, and technical prowess broke barrier after barrier in both Silicon Valley and Washington DC, and helped pave the way for more Asian-American women to follow in her footsteps. We were so lucky to have the chance to hear first-hand about her incredible story!
After the inspiring presentation, we had a networking dinner, with attendance from all the AI4ALL staff, alums, the students, and their families. In addition to the delicious catered Mediterranean food, students got the opportunity to meet with previous AI4ALL campers and receive advice and hear about their experiences.
Finally, the campers presented on their work so far in the AI4ALL camp. Research mentors proudly looked on as students recounted their experiences and talked about the work that they’ve done and concepts that they’ve learned.
Computer Vision Group, led by Boxiao Pan and Andrew Kondrich
Robotics (Self-Driving Cars) Group, led by Peter Zachares and Ali Mottaghi
Decoding DNA (Computational Biology) Group, led by Shantao Li and Tess Rinaldo
Disaster Relief (Natural Language Processing) Group, led by Lucy Li and Christina Yuan
Program Director Alivia Shorter concluded the banquet by emphasizing the uniqueness of AI4ALL and all the opportunities that the campers get from the program.
Next week is our final week together at AI4ALL. We can’t wait to learn even more with our mentors!
All photos and blog post by Vivian Liu.
Stanford AI4ALL 