I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Quantitative Theory and Methods. I am also the principal investigator of the Tolbert Black Digital Studies Lab and the co-principal investigator of the AI & Philosophy Lab with Emily Ruth Diana. I completed my Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania and concurrently earned a Masters in Statistics from the Wharton School at the same institution.

My doctoral journey was guided by my advisors Anita Allen, a legal scholar and philosopher, Quayshawn Spencer, a philosopher of science and race, and Michael Kearns, a computer scientist and machine learning researcher. My dissertation committee was further enriched with the expertise of Samuel Freeman, a specialist in political philosophy and ethics, Aaron Roth, a computer scientist specializing in machine learning, and Scott Weinstein, a mathematical logician.

Before my time at Penn, I obtained master’s degrees in Biochemistry and Philosophy from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Mobile.

My research is situated at the intersection of philosophy, computation, methodology, and society. I employ a means-end methodology, initiating with the end goal and then working backwards to craft simple, yet potentially insightful models. The central goal when working with a simple model is to devise a solution that unveils a structure, offering insights into the real world. This often involves finding structure through the exploration of various optimization problems.

The objective is not merely to find structures but to unearth those that hold substantial meaning, aiming for a qualitative structure in the solution that could potentially resonate in policy discussions. Essentially, the aspiration is to derive a qualitative structure from a simple model that can be applied to real-world problems, bridging the theoretical and the practical.

Beyond optimization, my approach encompasses the utilization of other mathematical frameworks such as game theory, learning theory, and causal inference to reason about societal issues. This is a continuous endeavor to carve out structured solutions with the potential to influence real policy discussions.

Furthermore, my engagement extends to contemplating issues in political philosophy. This involves not only addressing questions arising from methodology and computation but also delving into broader societal concerns, navigating both ideal and non-ideal theory dimensions in political philosophy.

In addition to my academic pursuits, I have gained industry experience working as a Research Scientist Intern and later as a Research Scientist II Intern at Amazon Web Services, where I engaged in research on algorithmic fairness and bias.

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