Sarah Dean

Sarah Dean is an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science Department at Cornell University, affiliated with the College of Engineering. Her research focuses on the interplay of machine learning, optimization, and dynamics in real-world systems, particularly in control theory, recommendation systems, and ethical AI.

Education:

• PhD in EECS, University of California, Berkeley (2021)
• Postdoctoral Research, University of Washington (2021-2022)

Research Interests: Data-driven control systems, reinforcement learning, recommendation systems, user dynamics, algorithmic fairness, and the societal impacts of AI. She emphasizes foundational understanding of how learning systems interact with human and social processes.

Recent Work Trends: Her articles explore topics like bilinear system identification, user participation dynamics in recommendation platforms, and ethical considerations in AI development. Recent work includes harm mitigation strategies and mathematical modeling of AI-human feedback loops.

Awards:

• AI2050 Early Career Fellow (2024)
• Best Paper at ICML 2018 (Delayed Impact of Fair Machine Learning)
• Best Student Paper in Imaging Systems (OSA Congress 2018)

Advising & Labs: Advises over 15 graduate and undergraduate students. Leads research on interactive ML systems, with contributions to projects like the 'MSGD' repository for streaming data learning. Active in the GEESE group, promoting socially responsible computing.