Hi, welcome to my website! :)
I am a PhD student at the
Language Technologies Institute
in the
School of Computer Science
at
Carnegie Mellon University,
advised by
Professor Virginia Smith.
My research interests center around tackling efficiency problems in machine learning
from systems, algorithms, and data perspectives. In my big head, the big goal is to drive
accessibility and participation in the creation of the AI technologies we use so that
resources cease to be a bottleneck or criteria for being part of the decision-making process.
"Driving accessibility" extends to other aspects of my life. I usually spend my weekends at
STEMforDevelopment, where I currently mentor over a score
of URM graduate school aspirants in enhancing their research interests clarity and optimizing
their applications for Western schools' graduate programs.
I also organize at
ML Collective(-Nigeria), where we help our folks grow confidence in their
independent research skills--outside of formal education--via P2P study/reading sessions and shared projects as well as offer mentorship toward their publications.
Non-work-wise, I routinely powerlift, do amateur boxing, watch Liverpool FC games, and add to my bank of "useless" knowledge by reading diversely.
Shortly before I resumed my PhD, I completed my BSc in Computer Science at the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Nigeria, advised by
Dr. Adebayo Abayomi-Alli. Academic union strike actions and COVID-19 lockdown extended my bachelor's degree timeline.
Fortunately, this gave me more time than a typical undergraduate to refine my interests
beyond what my immediate environment offered and also amass an eclectic mix of fulfilling experiences:
I had ample time to participate in several hackathons and internships, and I regularly spoke on tools and topics
I liked at tech conferences across different parts of the globe. Since early 2021, I have been an independent researcher
with ML Collective
(and made cameo appearances at
Masakhane
and
Cohere For AI), where I am fortunate to be primarily mentored by
Dr. Rosanne Liu
and
Dr. Jason Yosinski.
In the following year, my first completed research project (on sign language understanding) earned me the national AI champion award at the Nigeria Computer Society's AI Summit,
held at Lafia's Government House.
Toward the end, I (along with my friends) designed a real-time opinion mining system for digital assets and secured a
115k USD grant to bring it to life. This enabled me to focus on exploring independent research without worrying much about my living expenses. :)
I am a "community-taught" ML practitioner; hence, much of those years were dedicated to giving back to our tech communities,
including Data Science Nigeria, Google Developer Student Club, She Code Africa, the National Association of Computing Students,
and ML Collective.
During the earliest years, I had stints as a choir director at my local churches, majoring on vocals, drums, and piano.
My BSc years were roundly punctuated by existential crises
[1,
2].
My final year was spent transitioning from award-worthy social awkwardness to an unexpected reputation as a local clown,
all while obsessively fine-tuning my Afro-pop dance skills and embracing the reveler lifestyle.
