UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Erica Mi, who earned two bachelor’s levels and a grasp’s diploma from Penn State in 2022, just lately obtained the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (CSGrad4US) from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Mi is utilizing the award to pursue a doctoral diploma in laptop science on the University of Chicago.
The goal of the CSGrad4US fellowship and mentoring program is to enhance the variety of home graduate college students pursuing analysis and innovation careers in laptop science, laptop engineering or data science, in accordance to the NSF website.
Mi graduated magna cum laude in 2022 with three degrees: a bachelor’s diploma in data sciences and know-how with a focus in integration and software from the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST); a bachelor’s diploma in telecommunications and media industries from the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications; and a grasp’s diploma in informatics, which she pursued by Penn State’s built-in undergraduate-graduate (IUG) program. As a pupil, she accomplished internships with Johnson & Johnson, Novaris Consulting, IBM and EY-Parthenon.
After graduating, Mi did an internship in the Cyber Operations and Analysis Technology group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, the place she labored with a protection company to strengthen its cybersecurity techniques. She then returned to EY-Parthenon as a full-time advisor in the Deal Tech group. In that function, she recognized system vulnerabilities throughout the oil and fuel, well being care, and aerospace and protection industries.
Now, in her first yr on the University of Chicago, the CSGrad4US Fellow and doctoral pupil is specializing in human-computer interplay of social and organizational informatics.
“I look to combine social sciences with computational and participatory methods to analyze social phenomena and influence artificial intelligence ethics and policy, impacting the design thinking across technology, business and society,” she mentioned.
Mi credit her Penn State adviser Fred Fonseca for supporting her return to academia. Fonseca is an affiliate professor in the College of IST’s Department of Human-Centered Computing and Social Informatics.
“After I entered industry, I found it difficult to find mentors who had worked in industry and then decided to return to academia,” Mi mentioned. “Dr. Fonseca always reminded me that school would be there whenever I felt ready to return.”
According to Mi, the CSGrad4US program offers her with monetary flexibility to conduct analysis, one-on-one mentorship with college in academia, and a neighborhood of friends navigating the identical profession pivot.
“Having been removed from research for a couple of years, I am grateful that this fellowship gave me the resources and support I needed during the application process and the opportunity to continue doing research today,” Mi mentioned.
According to Fonseca, Mi is a superb instance of how a high pupil can do effectively at Penn State.
“Erica used all the resources Penn State offers students wanting to learn and explore,” he mentioned. “She was a Schreyer Honors Scholar, took advantage of the IUG option, and was a learning assistant. She also taught a class as part of Penn State’s Students Teaching Students program. Erica made us all feel that the dedication and work we put into making Penn State a great learning environment is worth it.”