MapForest: A Modular Field Robotics System for Forest Mapping
Abstract: Forests present compounding challenges for mobile mapping systems. Dense canopy degrades GNSS, uneven terrain demands deployment across diverse platforms, and no single sensing platform can capture the full vertical structure of a forest — from the canopy above to the understory below. Yet precise, georeferenced maps of individual trees are exactly what ecologists and [...]
Tracing Generated Content Back to Training Data
Abstract: AI-generated content is inherently derived from training data, yet it remains a mystery which specific data points large generative models rely on for a given generation. To address this, my research focuses on training data attribution—identifying the training images that are most influential in synthesizing a specific output. The ideal objective is to find [...]
Cutting the Skip: Training Residual-Free Transformers
Abstract: Transformers are ubiquitous. They influence nearly every aspect of modern AI. However, the mechanics of their training remain poorly understood. This poses a problem for the field due to the immense amounts of data, computational power, and energy being invested in the training of these networks. I highlight a recent intriguing empirical result from [...]
[MS Thesis Talk] Terrain-Aware Dynamics Models for High-Speed Off-Road Navigation
Date: Tuesday, July 28, 2026 Time: 1:30pm- 2:30pm Location: GHC 9115 Title: Terrain-Aware Dynamics Models for High-Speed Off-Road Navigation Committee: Wenshan Wang (Co-Research Advisor) Sebastian Scherer (Co-Research Advisor) Aaron Johnson Anoushka Alavilli
[MS Thesis Talk] Marble: An On-Manifold Approach to Solving Mathematical Programs with Complementarity Constraints
Date: Thursday, July 30, 2026 Time: 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM Location / ZOOM Link: (GHC 6115 / https://cmu.zoom.us/j/96096959582 ) Abstract: Many problems in robotics require reasoning over a mix of continuous dynamics and discrete events, such as making and breaking contact in manipulation and locomotion. These problems are locally well modeled by quadratic programs [...]