Our Team

Prof. Arya Farahi (PI)

Arya Farahi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics and Data Science (SDS) at the University of Texas at Austin, where his D3 Lab is dedicated to advancing knowledge and innovation in the fields of astroinformatics, statistical sciences, and decision-making. His research focuses on understanding the unexpected and not-well understood consequences of AI models, including algorithmic bias and uncertainty quantification, and developing cutting-edge methodologies and tools to mitigate these challenges.

Prior to joining the University of Texas, he was a Data Science Fellow at the Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS) and McWilliams Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University.

He earned his Bachelor's of Science in Physics and Mechanical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology, and completed his Ph.D. in Physics and Scientific Computing at the University of Michigan.

Graduate Student

Ritwik Vashistha

Ritwik is a PhD student in Statistics at Department of Statistics and Data Science. He is primarily interested in developing statistical and machine learning methods that can help tackle problems in science and society. Beyond statistics, he loves to unwind by watching movies, playing a competitive game of tennis, and kayaking.

Graduate Student

Liyang Xie

Liyang is a second-year PhD student in the Department of Statistics and Data Science at the University of Texas at Austin. He is interested in machine learning with biomedical applications.

Undergraduate Student

Prachi Ingle

Prachi Ingle is pursuing B.S. in Computer Science and Math as part of the Turing Scholars and Dean’s Scholars Honors Programs. Her research interests include AI/ML, computer systems, and big data analytics. She is currently working in the Data, Discovery, and Decision (D3) Research Lab on active learning techniques. In her free time, Prachi enjoys painting, cooking, and exploring new places.

Undergraduate Student

Anjie Liu

Anjie is a second-year undergraduate majoring in Statistics and Data Science. Being part of the Polymathic Scholars Honors Program, she enjoy exploring new fields and diving deep into the areas of her interests. In particular, her academic passion lies in astronomy and machine learning. She aspires to apply her learning towards bettering her community. When she is not busy, she enjoys reading books, binge watching movies and shows, and listening to music.

Undergraduate Student

Tu-Quyen Dao

Tu-Quyen is a second-year undergraduate student majoring in Biochemistry. Her research interests lie in biostatistics and clinical research.

Undergraduate Student

Callihan Bertley

Callihan Bertley is a second year Mathematics major with a concentration in Scientific Computing and Data Science. His research interest lies in AI/ML, specifically in generative AI and continual learning (CL) techniques and potential applications. In his free time, Callihan enjoys playing chess and learning languages.

Undergraduate Student

Siddh Shah

S iddh Shah is a rising junior studying Computer Science, part of the Turing Scholars honors program. Siddh's research interests lie in AI/ML, Astronomy, and (at this moment) any intersection of the two. Additionally, Siddh enjoys trying new food, stargazing, and cooking.

Undergraduate Student

Yuqing (Nerwen) Cao

Nerwen is a second-year undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science. She is interested in machine learning, big data analytics, and their applications in various fields, particularly in astronomy. In her free time, she enjoys live music and performances, as well as photography.

Undergraduate Student

Janavi Kolpekwar

Janavi Kolpekwar is a second year undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. in Statistics & Data Science with a minor in Business Entrepreneurship. Her research interests include generative AI, Machine Learning, & Data Analytics. Javani is primarily interested in building new AI and statistical models to apply in the real world. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, watching movies, and reading.

Alumni

Undergraduates:
Hannah Lee (Math, 2023)    Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital
Naima Sagar (Economics, 2023)   Department of the Treasury
Vivian Bui (Bussiness, 2023)   J.P.Morgan Bank
Ben Ayers (Physics, 2022)   Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC)

Lab News

September 2024: Nerwen Cao and Callihan Bertley have joined our team.
December 2024: Ritwik Vashistha's paper has been accepted for the AAAI-2024 conference.
September 2024: Hannah Lee has graduated and is joining the Massachusetts General Hospital at a Research Assistan.
September 2024: Tu-Quyen Dao joins our lab to contribute to the TAME Pain project, an initiative focused on researching and addressing various aspects of pain asseessment.
June 2024: Congradulations to Prachi Ingle for being selected for the prestigious Junior Fellows program at UT-Austin.
May 2024: Naima Sagar has graduated and is joining the Department of the Treasury.
May 2024: Vivian Bai has graduated and is joining J.P.Morgan.
May 2024: C ongratulations to Inez Khan, Vaishnavi Sathiyamoorthy, Siddh Shah, and Prachi Ingle on securing summer internships. I’m thrilled to hear about these opportunities and wish you all the best in your new roles.
April 2024: Congratulations to Xiaohan (Jessica) Wu on getting accepted into UT-Austing' economy PhD program.
April 2024 : Arya Farahi and Prachi Ingle' s submission, "KiTE - An Auditing Tool for Trustworthiness Hypothesis Testing and Quantification," has been selected as a finalist for the AI Audit Challenge 2023.