About Me

A 'Non-Academic' Bio

My Story

I was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee... Go Vols! As a competitive junior and collegiate tennis player, I played in national and international tournaments and was a proud member of the UT men's tennis team from 2013-2017. Tennis was an integral part of my early life and I believe the lessons and experiences that come from competitive sports and team dynamic are invaluable. I graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering, after which I spent three years working in defense at Lockheed Martin Santa Barbara Focalplane as a Test and then Systems Engineer. Since moving to California, I became an avid surfer and picked up hiking/backpacking, snowboarding, and all sorts of activities that keep outside. I am always looking for the next interesting read in macroeconomics, behavioral science, and policy.

I returned to graduate school fall of 2020 to join UCLA's Electrical and Computer Engineering Department as an MS/PhD student. I chose to focus on research on causality with generative models, and robust modeling and poison defense. Creating safe, interpretable AI is one of my primary interests, and increasingly an important interest for humanity.

In Summer 2024, I married the love of my life Cindy Pham who I met while working at Lockheed Martin in Santa Barbara. We got married in Buelton, CA and had a beautiful ceremony with family and friends, and most importantly, our dog, Matcha. We currently live in Los Angeles, CA where do our best to get outdoors, find interesting places to eat, and travel when we can.

Community and Causes

During my time at UT, I lost a close friend and teammate who battled a rare pediatric cancer while still competing in tennis and inspiring a program and entire community at large. The Sean Karl Foundation, started by Sean's family and friends in his memory, works to bring awareness and raise money for research into Ewing's Sarcoma and other rare pediatric cancers. See the link below to read more about the foundation, donation opportunities, and upcoming events.

Sean Karl Foundation

A 501(c)(3) non-profit in remembrance of Sean Karl dedicated to funding Ewing's Sarcoma research.

Learn more

Quotes

“The cost of a thing is the amount of what i will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.”
- Henry David Thoreau
The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most brilliant man if he if firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
- Leo Tolstoy
“The person you are right now is as transient, as fleeting, and as temporary as all the people you’ve ever been. The one constant in life is change.”
- Dan Gilbert
“Karma is just you, repeating your patterns, virtues, and flaws until you finally get what you deserve.”
- Naval
““If you are lucky, your solutions becomes the next generation’s problems.”
- Ezra Klein