Travis Mandel

Travis Mandel is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH Hilo), serving as the Data Science Program Coordinator within the College of Natural and Health Sciences. He holds a PhD from the University of Washington's Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering and a Bachelor's degree from Carnegie Mellon University.

His research focuses on Human-In-the-Loop AI, bridging AI and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), with applications in Computer Vision for environmental and climate science. He leads NSF-funded initiatives such as the NSF CAREER Award (2020) and NSF EPSCoR CHANGE HI (2022). His prior work includes reinforcement learning for educational games and error correction in wireless networks.

Teaching includes courses like Python for Data Analysis (DATA 172), Artificial Intelligence (CS 440), and Computer Vision (DATA/CS 483). He has advised numerous undergraduate and graduate students, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration. Key awards include the Pattern Recognition Editor's Choice Award (2023) and Best Paper nominations in educational data mining (2013).

His contributions span over 20 peer-reviewed publications, with a focus on AI ethics, human-AI collaboration, and environmental applications. He actively develops data science programs at small institutions and explores AI's role in democratizing scientific tools.