Nathan Dass
About Me
Work Experience
Software Engineer
Google AI
I am currently working part-time at Google AI in Ray Kurzweil's Natural Language Understanding team where I am working on improving the ads relevance scoring system, the next generation Google Assistant, and style transfer. From January 2018 to September 2018, I was working full-time in this group where I helped launch server and on-device models for smart reply in Android Messages (~25M+ DAU).
Software Engineering Intern
Google AI
During the summer of 2017, I worked at Google AI in Ray Kurzweil's Natural Language Understanding group. I worked on using new text encoders to give overall modeling improvements to suggesting responses, answering questions, finding relevant webpages, and summarizing text.
Co-Founder
InternBlitz
I competed at Georgia Tech's InVenture Prize with this project, which focused on making it easier for students to find and apply to internships. We won 2nd place at Georgia Tech's InVenture Prize.
Software Engineering Intern
During the summer of 2016, I worked on long-term typing in virtual reality. I rapidly developed prototypes while explirng different key input sources. I mainly used the HTC Vive, Leap Motion, and PMD depth sensors. During my internship, I filed one defensive publication through creative brainstorming and problem solving.
Summer Intern
Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division
During the summer of 2015, I interned at the Naval Surface Warefare Center in Carderock, Maryland on a project called Target Strength Modeling (TSM) Renderer Modernization. I designed and implemented an interface to render a proportionate model of the parts that are actually used to build the submarines in 3D, update the respective data fields of the parts and visually reflect the changes in real time, and create a file system to output the model in an intuitive manner. My mentor liked the design and robustness of the interface and is currently spreading it to other naval bases to have it used there.
Summer Intern
Naval Research Lab
During the summer of 2014, I continued interning at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C. I developed my project by integrating unique sounds with Csound based on characteristics of the data point. This allowed for a continuous map of characteristics of data points to characteristics of the sound being played instead of a discrete map used in my previous summer. This created a system where the computer would generate all of the sounds instead of the developer having to manually make them.
Summer Intern
Naval Research Lab
During the summer of 2013, I interned at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C. on a project called Modeling the Milky Way Galaxy Data Set with 3D Audio. I combined a 3D audio API called SoundScape3D, a head tracking system called InertiaCube3, a 60 monitor panorama display, and Java to attribute a corresponding sound to each data point in the data set. I created the sounds so that the characteristics of the sounds would intuitively map to the characteristics of the data point being represented. For example, the distance of each data point directly correlated to the time delay between the initial sound played and the echo played.
Research Projects
Predicting depression with EEG
Stanford ML Group Research Assistant
January 2019 - Present
I am a research assistant under Stanford Professor Andrew Ng. The goal of this project is to use deep learning methods like CNNs and TCNs to predict the heterogeneous treatment effect of the three major depression treatments.
Automatically Debiasing Text
Stanford NLP Group Research Assistant
January 2019 - Present
I am a research assistant under Stanford Professor Dan Jurafsky. The goal of this project is to use denoising autoencoders and BERT to automatically remove biases in the underlying meaning of sentences.
Head-Mounted Display: Bystander Perception
Georgia Tech Research Assistant
February 2017 - December 2017
I was a research assistant under Georgia Tech Professor Thad Starner. The goal of this project was to determine the optimal position of notifications on a head-mounted display from a bystander’s perspective.
Augmented coding
Georgia Tech Research Assistant
October 2016 - December 2017
I was a research assistant under Professor Polo Chau. The goal of this project was to investigate and develop methods of exposing little kids to coding concepts through augmented reality. We used the 3D augmented environment in the HoloLens and ARKit to make it easier for kids to obtain a solid foundation of high level concepts that can then be related to coding. We won the Best Poster Award at Chinese CHI 2018 for this project.
Scheherazade 2.0
Georgia Tech Research Assistant
May 2016 - December 2017
I was a research assistant under Professor Mark Riedl. The goal of this project is to create deep reinforcement learning architectures and algorithms with TensorFlow in order to create conversational chat bots.
NaturalMotion: Intuitive Gesture Control and Visualization of Time-Evolving Graphs
Georgia Tech Research Assistant
September 2014 - September 2016
I was a research assistant under Professor Polo Chau.The goal of this project is to use the Leap Motion to detect hand gestures and manipulate a 3D cube that represents a large data set and is displayed in a virtual environment using the Oculus Rift. Instead of looking at the raw data set, this project provides an innovative solution to data visualization. We published a poster paper for this project in VIS 2016. We also recieved a grant from the Wearable Computer Center Engagement Grant for this project.
Education
Stanford University
Major: Computer Science
Concentration: Artificial Intelligence
Expected Graduation: August 2019
GPA: 4.0/4.0
Current CS courses: Computer Vision, Natural Language Understanding, Modern Algorithmic Toolbox
Completed CS courses: Natural Language Processing, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Operating Systems, Cryptography
Georgia Institute of Technology
Major: Computer Science
Concentration: Intelligence and People
Graduation: December 2017
GPA: 3.86/4.0
Completed CS courses: Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning, Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing, Intro to Linguistics, Intro to Artificial Intelligence, Intro to Cognitive Science, User Interface Design, Computer Organization and Programming, Objects and Design, Data Structures and Algorithms, Intro to Object-Orienteted Programming, Computing and Society, Research Methods, Automata and Complexity, Research Thesis Writing, Research Proposal Writing, Applied Combinatorics, Discrete Mathematics, Statisics and Applications
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Graduation: May 2014
GPA: 4.295/4.0
Completed CS courses: Artificial Intelligence, Parallel Computing, AP Computer Science, Foundations of Computer Science
Portfolio
- Area:
- Any
- Artificial Intelligence
- Augmented Reality
- Machine Learning
- Natural Language Processing
- Virtual Reality
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ARchitect
GitHub DevPost Video Details
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Augmented coding
Details Paper Poster
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Brick Breaker
GitHub Details
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Coreference Resolution
GitHub Details
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Deep Transition Dependency Parser
GitHub Details
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Galaga
GitHub Details
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Head-Mounted Display: Bystander Perception
Details
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Improving Text Encoders
Details
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LogoLens
GitHub DevPost Video Details
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Long-term typing in VR
Details
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Modeling Data Sets with 3D Audio
Paper Details
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NaturalMotion
Paper Poster Video Details
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Randomized Optimization
Paper Details
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Reinforcement Learning
Paper Details
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Scheherezade 2.0
Paper Poster Details
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SpeechGram
GitHub Details
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Structured Perceptron
GitHub Details
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Supervised Learning
Paper Details
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Target Strength Modeling Renderer Modernization
Details
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Text Classification
GitHub Details
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Unsupervised Learning
Paper Details
Awards and Honors
Faculty Honors
Georgia Institute of Technology
December 2017
Faculty Honors
Georgia Institute of Technology
May 2017
Georgia Tech InVenture Prize 2nd Place
Georgia Institute of Technology
March 2017
Faculty Honors
Georgia Institute of Technology
December 2016
NASDAQ API Prize
HackMIT
September 2016
Dean's List
Georgia Institute of Technology
May 2016
Dean's List
Georgia Institute of Technology
December 2015
National Society of Collegiate Scholars
Georgia Institute of Technology
September 2015
Dean's List
Georgia Institute of Technology
May 2015
Dean's List
Georgia Institute of Technology
December 2014
Wearable Computing Center Engagement Grant
Georgia Institute of Technology
November 2014
AP Scholar
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
June 2014
Governor's Recognition for Early College Scholars
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
June 2014
National High School Moot Court Competition Finalist
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
March 2014
High School Science Fair 2nd Place
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
March 2014
National Spanish Exam Silver Medalist
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
2013, 2014
Spanish Honor Society
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
2013-2014
National Honor Society
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
2013-2014
Activities, Interests, and Clubs
Stanford Quantum Computing Association
Project Lead
I am in currently part of the Stanford Quantum Computing Association where I am in charge of selecting and leading projects involving challenges in quantum computing for the Stanford community to work on.
Georgia Tech SGA
Joint Vice President of Information Technology
I was the Joint Vice President of Information Technology where I was in charge of all Georgia Tech IT related graduate and undergraduate decisions, projects, and initiatives. Projects and initiatives included: working on a partnership between Georgia Tech Housing and Amazon to give each dorm and apartment on campus an Amazon Echo Dot and an Amazon Firestick, creating a single platform for all mental health resources on campus, allocating $3.5 million to tech-related projects for all colleges, schools, and departments on campus, updating the frontend of the Georgia Tech Course Critique, revamping the general SGA website, undergraduate SGA website, and graduate SGA website to make the websites more useful for students and standardizing the style, creating a platform for students to get 4 years of part-time work experience with the Georgia Tech Office of Information Technology, making a mental health portal for campus, redoing the current elections website for the campus, improving the on-demand campus transportation system, and finding a campus-wide TV streaming service.
Georgia Tech SGA
IT Development Co-Chair
I have been on the IT Board SGA since my freshman year here at Georgia Tech. Since then, I have taken on various roles and responsibilities. During my freshman year, I was in charge of maintaining JacketPages where I used Drupal, CakePHP, and SQL. During my sophomore year, I have been in charge of leading and implementing new projects that SGA decides to take on. I designed and implemented a new user-friendly and intuitive website for SGA, created an integrated polling system for the new SGA website, created a feedback portal for the student body, and worked with the graduate SGA IT committee to create a mobile app for receiving feedback from the student body.
Georgia Tech Bitcoin Club
Vice President of Public Relations (Founding Member)
I helped found the Georgia Tech Bitcoin Club and am responsible for increasing awareness of Bitcoin club on campus and attracting new members mainly through social media branding.
Alpha Kappa Psi Epsilon Sigma Chapter
Georgia Tech Business Forum Event Coordinator
I was part of the coordinating team for a workshop-based campus event that is focused on professional development in business-minded students.
Alpha Kappa Psi Epsilon Sigma Chapter
Director of Public Relations
During my sophomore year at Georgia Tech, I was a Director of Public Relations for the Epsilon Sigma Chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi at Georgia Tech. I was in charge of branding for GT Alpha Kappa Psi to Georgia Tech and the Atlanta community. As a result, I created content to promote the presence of GT Alpha Kappa Psi mainly through Facebook posts, Facebook ads, and Snapchat filters.
Alpha Kappa Psi Epsilon Sigma Chapter
Director of Corporate Sponsorship
During my sophomore year at Georgia Tech, I was a Director of Corporate Sponsorship for the Epsilon Sigma Chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi at Georgia Tech. I was responsbile for marketing Alpha Kappa Psi to possible corporate partners, campus organizations, other universities, and the general Atlanta community and raised $10,000 in sponsorship money.
Alpha Kappa Psi Epsilon Sigma Chapter
Webmaster
During my sophomore year at Georgia Tech, I was the Webmaster for the Epsilon Sigma Chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi at Georgia Tech. As Webmaster, I was responsible for updating and formatting our website. I brainstormed new ideas for our website and implemented new features that would improve our website.
Georgia Tech Residence Hall Association
Floor Representative
During my freshman year at Georgia Tech, I was the floor representative for my residence hall. I represented my floor in weekly meetings to present and vote on bills for the residence hall as a whole. I served promoted communication throughout our floor and acted as the liason between the hall council and my floor.
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Elected Officer and Debater
From my sophomore year to my senior year of high school, I debated in our school's Lincoln-Douglas Debate team. In Lincoln-Douglas, I debated many moral and ethics based topics at both the Junior Varsity and Varsity level. I debated at several national tournaments at Harvard, Yale, and Columbia and qualified for the Varsity state level Metro Finals tournament. In my senior year, I was elected as an officer of the club. As an officer, I took the club from a $500 debt to a $2,000 surplus and helped increased the number of members by 200%.
Public Forum Debate
Debater
During my sophomore year of high school, I debated in the partner-based Junior Varsity Public Forum Debate. I debated on various topics related to current events at the local level and qualified for the state level Metro Finals tournament. At several tournaments, I was recognized for my speaking skills and was awarded the best speaking points at some tournaments.
Sports
I have always enjoyed watching and playing sports. Recently, I have started playing a lot of foosball. My favorite shot is the pull-kick, but I am best known for my pull shot. I have also been working on my snake shot, but still need to improve it a lot. I also play basketball and table tennis whenever I get the chance and have been playing them since I was a kid. I love watching football and make sure to follow every game in the playoffs leading up to the Super Bowl. I also really enjoy watching the Olympics and have recently started watching soccer after the 2014 World Cup.
Cars
I am an absolute car fanatic. I have loved cars since I was a kid and have been following sports cars for a long time. Even as a kid, I always dreamed of having an Orange Lamborghini and I am determined to make that dream come true. While I can go on and on about cars for a long time, two recent cars have particularly caught my attention, the hybrid electric BMW i8 and the stunning Fenyr Supersport.
Volunteer Work
Go Baby Go
Improved mobility of kids with spinal cord injuries by modified toy cars.
Techstravaganza
Taught middle and elementary school students about introductory science topics
Math Coach
Coached middle school students in math at my high school's math competition called TJ IMO (Intermediate Math Open)
TJHSST Open House
Helped interested parents and students visiting my high school by talking to them about how my experience was and guiding them through the school
STEM promotion
Guided middle school students and parents about resources and options to pursue a career and an education in STEM