Spring 2024 was my second semester at MIT.

Course/Research: I took Advances in Computer Vision this semester. Final project with Shiva on Neural Radiance Field (NeRF) was a lot of fun! Next semester, I plan to take Natural Language Proccessing. In terms of research, I’m focusing on mechanistically understanding the behaviors of LLMs. Although I’m not fully satisfied with my recent NeurIPS submission, I’m enjoying the process of learning: I really do feel that PhD is very self-paced. Perhaps I will write a brief blog post shortly, summarizing the state-of-the-art research in the field of AI safety / Mechanistic Interpretability.

Miscellaneous: I got driver retraining lessons, and I feel confident about driving around Boston – though Boston is not the ideal place to enjoy driving LOL. Highway driving is a definite stress reliever, although we should always be aware of safety. Found Zipcar to be pretty convenient! Travel-wise, I went to New York City during the spring break: It was indeed a bustling city where a lot of the restaurants are full even on weekdays evening. I also went to DC for the Graduate Student Council (GSC) Advocacy trip: DC’s metro is arguably the best (clean, well maintained, and looking fancy!) in the States. I also joined the GSC’s External Affairs Board (EAB) as an official board member, looking forward to working on exciting and important issues there!

Future Plans: Our research group will be attending CHAI (Center for Human-Compatible AI) workshop in June happening at Berkeley. I’m looking forward to meeting awesome people there and exploring more places around the west coast! My short-term research goal is to make the Master’s thesis deadline next Spring, and of course the ICLR/ICML deadlines this fall in the meantime. Outside of research, some outdoor activities in my todo list include sailing, recreational shooting, and bouldering.

Have a nice summer vacation!