Artificial Machine Intelligence = Search Targets Awaiting Discovery

We're standing stronger than a Mayan wall,
Even the mightiest of empires fall.
- Atom tha Immortal, “Palenque”

We are the AMISTAD Lab. We roll deep. Together we work on problems in theoretical machine learning, probability, statistics, and search, often proving impossibility results for learning. Our recent publications can be found here.

Projects

What does AMISTAD mean? In Spanish, amistad means “friendship,” which is an important aspect of our lab culture. There is the backcronym given at the top of the page, which alludes to the fact that machine learning and AI can be reduced to searches for small targets, a guiding focus of the research in our lab. Lastly, La Amistad was also the name of a 19th century slave ship (with an eponymous film based on the story, Amistad) taken over by those held captive, risking their lives in their fight for freedom. Their courage and struggle reminds us that rebellion and defying consensus, though always dangerous, can at times become necessary. Groundbreaking research always includes an aspect of rebellion. But rebellions can remain optimistic, generous, and loving pursuits of truth, of which amistad (friendship) is a reminder. We have hope; and in the words of Jyn Erso, rebellions are built on hope.

Rogues' Gallery

Laurie Luo

Laurie Luo

Vectorization of Bias

Persistent, intelligent, poised, and powerful. Also funny, like so funny.

hluo@g.hmc.edu

Camilo Morales

Camilo Morales

Learning Regress

7 foot frame, math along his track, with a fact-filled brain, I'm glad to have him back.

camorales@g.hmc.edu

Lydia Yang

Lydia Yang

Simulating Science

Lydia is a lovely soul and undeniable project powerhouse.

lydyang@hmc.edu

Marina Kazarian

Marina Kazarian

Simulating Science

Working with Marina is a bit like winning the research student lottery.

mkazarian@g.hmc.edu

Kishore Rajesh

Kishore Rajesh

Probabilistic Abduction

Kishore is a contender with even more untapped potential.

kirajesh@g.hmc.edu

Kerria Pang-Naylor

Kerria Pang-Naylor

Probabilistic Abduction

It's clear she can carry a project to success, with minimal stress.

kpangnaylor@g.hmc.edu

Ian Li

Ian Li

Probabilistic Abduction

Ian's mind is constantly working and deriving fantastic insights.

ili@g.hmc.edu

Tanvika Dasari

Tanvika Dasari

Mutational Neighborhoods

Tanvika is EXACTLY the type of student you want in your lab.

tdasari@g.hmc.edu

Subi Lumala

Subi Lumala

Vectorization of Bias

Subi is a researcher on a trajectory to rise above.

slumala@g.hmc.edu

Amy Zhong

Amy Zhong

Vectorization of Bias

Amy is AMISTAD Lab's secret weapon, whip sharp and hungry.

amzhong@hmc.edu

Rin Ha

Rin Ha

Vectorization of Bias

Rin has a fire that burns through all research questions.

rha@g.hmc.edu

Eric Chen

Eric Chen

Geometry of Bias

Capable and smart, Eric makes steady progress towards all goals.

erchen@g.hmc.edu

Olivia Yin

Olivia Yin

Vectorization of Bias

Olivia will get a description once she submits a picture.

oyin@g.hmc.edu

Prof. George

George D. Montañez

Lab Director

Just a curious mind swimming in a sea of peculiar observations.

gmontanez@g.hmc.edu

Members Emeriti

Amani Maina-Kilaas

Amani Maina-Kilaas

Vectorization of Bias

Brains + Tech Chops + Great Attitude = Amani.

amainakilaas@hmc.edu

Cynthia Hom

Cynthia Hom

Bias in Data

Intellectual intimidation has never before come in such a friendly package.

chom@g.hmc.edu

Shifa Somji

Shifa Somji

Mutational Neighborhoods

Shifa has the smarts to get ahead, and the confidence to chart her own path there.

ssomji@g.hmc.edu

Lucas Ewing

Lucas Ewing

Generative Code Tooling

Lucas makes winning seem easy, due to all the work he's already put in.

lewing@g.hmc.edu

Nick Grisanti

Nick Grisanti

Gopher Squad

A sharp kid, Nick is the life of the research party. His enthusiasm is unbounded.

ngrisanti@g.hmc.edu

Noah Nevens

Noah Nevens

Mutational Neighborhoods

Aiding our rebel alliance, Noah is a force to be reckoned with.

nnevens@g.hmc.edu

Kinjal Shah

Kinjal Shah

Overfitting and Underfitting

A mathematical powerhouse with a keen mind and strong deductive powers.

kdshah@hmc.edu

Nathan Justin

Nathan Justin

Team Lead - ML as Search

Boldness, positivity, and brilliance: Nathan is the real deal.

njustin@g.hmc.edu

Pedro Sandoval Segura

Pedro Sandoval Segura

Overfitting and Underfitting

A beautiful soul who appreciates the beauty of mathematics.

psando@cs.umd.edu

Megalodon Kaye

Meg Kaye

Generalization Bounds

A burst of brilliance and energy, pursuing the deepest logical truths.

Nico Espinosa Dice

Generalization Bounds

Nico is no joke. An amazing level of smarts, clothed in quiet confidence.

Hana Ahmed

Hana Ahmed

Chaos + Regularity

A multifaceted mind combined with ability and strength.

Mek Jenrungrot

Mek Jenrungrot

Team KDE

“Mek is a Legend.” — Actual student speaking of Mek.

mjenrungrot@g.hmc.edu

Viva Ojha

Vivaswat Ojha

ML as Search

Anyone who meets Viva never forgets having met Viva.

vmojha@g.hmc.edu

Jonan Rohi-Plueger

Jonan Rohi-Plueger

DFA Learnability

Take a look at his neuro-kinetics, they're way above normal.

jonanrohi.s.plueger@biola.edu

Dominique Macias

Dominique Macias

Team Lead - Overfitting and Underfitting

Strong mathematical ability and elegant proof mastery.

dmacias@g.hmc.edu

Julius Lauw

Julius Lauw

Capacity Estimation

Bright student with a drive to ask all the right questions.

julauw@g.hmc.edu

Dave Makhervaks

Dave Makhervaks

ML as Search

Quiet strength, with a confidence to strive and a hunger to learn.

dmakhervaks@g.hmc.edu

Jonathan Hayase

Jonathan Hayase

DFA Learnability

Rumor has it that Jon is pretty smart. That rumor is true.

jhayase@g.hmc.edu

Howard Deshong

Howard Deshong

DNA & DFAs

Bright, charismatic, kind, and humble. Howard shines.

hcdeshong@hmc.edu

Julia Vendemiatti

Julia Vendemiatti

Overfitting and Underfitting

Julia's brain is just different. Don't expect to keep up with her.

jvendemiatti@g.hmc.edu

Akshay Trikha

Akshay Trikha

Overfitting and Underfitting

A sense of wonder combined with an excitement for learning.

atrikha@hmc.edu

Rui-Jie Yew

Rui-Jie Yew

DFA Learnability

Wisdom demonstrated through analytical strength and interpersonal empathy.

ruijieyew@gmail.com

Daniel Bashir

Daniel Bashir

Team Lead - Overfitting and Underfitting

Well-rounded thinker with serious ML skills and deep understanding.

dbashir@hmc.edu

Tyler Sam

Tyler Sam

Overfitting and Underfitting

A self-motivated learner with precise reasoning and formal acuity.

tsam@g.hmc.edu

Priyanka Agarwal

Priyanka Agarwal

Econ as Search

The only downside of having her in my lab was that she'd have to leave one day.

pagarwal@g.hmc.edu

Sonia Sehra

Sonia Sehra

Team Lead - Underfitting Undecidability

Intrigued by the big questions and unafraid to search after their answers.

ssehra@g.hmc.edu

Laina Sanders

Laina Sanders

Econ as Search

Mathematically gifted and strong, Laina rises to meet any challenge.

lsanders@g.hmc.edu

Jarred Allen

Jarred Allen

Dependence and Consensus

Sharp and precise, like a scalpel used to peel a grape.

Cindy Lay

Cindy Lay

Dependence and Consensus

Encouragingly optimistic, dedicated, and ready for what comes next.

Ramya Ramalingam

Ramya Ramalingam

Generalization Bounds

Ramya is excellence in student form, a gift to our team.

rramalingam@g.hmc.edu

Kevin Ginta

Kevin Ginta

Intention Perception

Kevin is an asset to any team he's on. Lucky for us, he's on ours.

Anisha Tandon

Anisha Tandon

Two-Distribution Hypothesis Tests

Anisha has the wit, skill and cleverness to win. Watch out world.

atandon@g.hmc.edu

Sarah Embry

Sarah Embry

Algorithmic Search Framework

Sarah is intellectually and socially dominant in all situations.

sembry@g.hmc.edu

David Flores

David Flores

Capacity Estimation

No need to worry, when you got smarts like David.

deflores@g.hmc.edu

Aditya Khant

Aditya Khant

Capacity Estimation

Aditya just gets it done, period. Making things happen is his specialty.

Jerry Liang

Jerry Liang

Capacity Estimation

The all-American MVP, bringing order to chaos, with style and rigor.

jyliang@g.hmc.edu

Christian Garcia

Christian Garcia

Algorithmic Search Framework

Christian will make you laugh and make you think.

cfgarcia@g.hmc.edu

Eric Weiner

Eric Weiner

Representation Learning

Many seek to join AMISTAD, but AMISTAD sought to join Eric.

eweiner@g.hmc.edu

Laurel Newman

Laurel Newman

Two-Distribution Hypothesis Tests

Laurel was a researcher in the lab during spring of 2020.

lnewman@g.hmc.edu

Bill Zhu

Bill Zhu

Information Costs of Tasks

Bill will get a proper description once he submits a photo.

bzhu@g.hmc.edu

Winston Li

Winston Li

Two-Distribution Hypothesis Tests

Winston was a researcher in the lab during spring of 2020.

winsli@students.pitzer.edu

Kate Perkins

Kate Perkins

DFA Learnability

Kate was a researcher in the lab during summer of 2019.

kperkins@g.hmc.edu

Rose Liu

Rose Liu

Overfitting and Underfitting

Rose was a researcher in the lab during spring of 2020.

roliu@g.hmc.edu

Jacinda Chen

Jacinda Chen

Abductive Logic Theory

Jacinda couldn't stay long, but we're grateful for the time she spent.

jcchen@g.hmc.edu

Max Holloway

Max Holloway

Chaos + Regularity

Not the mixed martial arts fighter, but still a champ.

mholloway@g.hmc.edu

Max Szostak

Max Szostak

Abductive Logic Theory

We're maximizing the number of Max's in our lab, and each maximizes excellence.

mszostak@g.hmc.edu

Tim Lindsey

Tim Lindsey

Bias in Data

Pursing all opportunities, while pursuing ultimate truth.

tim.lindsey@biola.edu

Allen Wu

Allen Wu

Chaos + Regularity

The courage of a lioness with the insight of an academic.

alwu@g.hmc.edu

Lily Lin

Lily Lin

Geometry of Bias

Lily has the intellectual firepower and work ethic to bring success.

lily.lin@biola.edu

Limnanthes Serafini

Limnanthes Serafini

Geometry of Bias

AMISTAD Lab would absolutely choose Lim over many others.

lserafini@g.hmc.edu

Kyle Rong

Kyle Rong

Capacity Estimation

Advanced beyond his years, the precocious Rong is usually right.

krong@g.hmc.edu

Sophie Bekerman

Sophie Bekerman

Geometry of Bias

An ironclad intellect whose trenchant insight cuts through all confusion.

sbekerman@g.hmc.edu

Kelly Yang

Kelly Yang

Abductive Logic Theory

Kelly's intelligence is obvious, and her future promising.

kelyang@g.hmc.edu

Isabel Duan

Isabel Duan

Chaos + Regularity

Isabel brings unique talents to our team, to everyone's benefit.

iduan@g.hmc.edu

Anshul Kamath

Anshul Kamath

Gopher Squad

Gliding past the competition, Anshul's always at the front of the pack.

Kelly Hamamoto

Kelly Hamamoto

Mutable Architectures

Kelly was a research student in the lab during Summer 2022.

khamamoto@g.hmc.edu

Alejandro Valdez Medina

Alejandro Valdez Medina

Simulating Science

Alex brings a ton of talent to the team. He's going places.

alejandro.valdezmedina25@gmail.com

Joseph Lee

Joseph Lee

Mutable Architectures

Joseph is persistent and intelligent. He keeps going while others fade away.

jslee08@wm.edu

Alan Wu

Alan Wu

Learning Theory

An intellectual beast. Alan knows what he wants and how to obtain it.

yulwu@g.hmc.edu

William Yik

William Yik

Bias in Data

William is a rising star who's already blazing his own trail.

wyik@g.hmc.edu

Marina Ring

Marina Ring

Mutable Architectures

When the going gets tough, Marina gets going. Creative, curious, and cognitive.

mring@g.hmc.edu

Sadie Zhao

Sadie Zhao

Gopher Squad

Sadie's keen insights often save the day. She is truly a gift.

jzae2019@mymail.pomona.edu

Dan Fonseca

Dan Fonseca

Mutable Architectures

Dan will get a description once he submits a picture.

dfonseca@g.hmc.edu

Carmel Pe'er

Carmel Pe'er

Learning Regress

Carmel was a research student in the lab during Summer 2022

cpeer@g.hmc.edu

Elana Elman

Elana Elman

Learning Regress

Elana was a research student in the lab during Summer 2022.

Tiger Che

Tiger Che

Learning Theory

He's got the eye of a scholar, despite his name. You're gonna see him soar.

tche@g.hmc.edu

Sahil Rane

Sahil Rane

Learning Theory

Competitive yet collaborative, gaining an edge at every opportunity.

srane@g.hmc.edu

Milo Knell

Milo Knell

Learning Theory

A formidable combination of talent and curiosity. What can stop him?

mknell@g.hmc.edu

Forrest Bicker

Forrest Bicker

Learning Theory

Persistent pursuer of probabilistic proofs and truths.

fbicker@g.hmc.edu

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