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Physics Summer Research Experience

By Kathryn Hollowood, Physics, ‘16

During the summer of 2015, I was able to participate in a ten-week REU at the Florida Institute of Technology. This was the AMALTHEA REU program which stands for Advances of MAchine Learning in THEory & Applications Research Experience for Undergraduates. Machine Learning is the process in which computer algorithms learn from the data that is input. I worked under a graduate student mentor, Dalwinderjeet Kular, and a faculty mentor, Dr. Eraldo Rebeiro, and I worked with a partner, Olatide Omojaro. My group worked on applying machine learning methods to work towards the development of a mobile application that will automatically classify a frog based on the call it makes. My partner and I compared two different classification methods. I worked on the Gaussian Mixture Model and he worked on Locality Sensitive Hashing. We found that the Gaussian Mixture Model was the more accurate method. Each group put together a technical report, a video, a poster, and a presentation. We presented our final findings at a symposium at the end of the experience which included engineers, professors, and scientists in attendance. Those in attendance rated each presentation, video, and poster. Our group was awarded best presentation and best poster!

This summer was honestly one of the best summers I’ve ever had. I went in to this experience having no idea what machine learning really was. I have learned so much after being able to work with an amazing group. I am so glad I was able to participate in this experience.

Figure 1 All of the REU Students

Figure 2 My faculty mentor, Dr. Eraldo Rebeiro; Me; My graduate mentor, Dalwinderjeet Kular; and my partner, Olatide Omojaro