Ph.D. student Bhattacharya named Apple Scholar

Sushmita Bhattacharya, a Ph.D. student in computer science at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), has been named a 2022 Apple Scholar in AI/ML. Bhattacharya studies with Stephanie Gil, assistant professor of computer science, in the REACT Lab (Robotics, Embedded Autonomy, and Communication Theory Lab) at SEAS. Bhattacharya was selected for her work in the fundamentals of machine learning.

“My research focuses on multiagent reinforcement learning to solve real-world sequential decision-making problems,” Bhattacharya said. “We look at solving the fundamental challenges in computation and communication associated with autonomous agents.”

Bhattacharya is the first SEAS graduate student to receive the award, which was created in 2020 to recognize “the contributions of emerging leaders in computer science and engineering at the graduate and postgraduate level,” according to the program website. Scholarship recipients receive funding, internship opportunities, and mentorship with Apple experts in their fields. 

“I am very excited to hear that I was named one of the Apple Scholars in AI/ML,” Bhattacharya said. “I am very grateful to Dr. Gil, Dr. Dimitri Bertsekas, my collaborators, lab mates, and my friends and family, without whom I would not have achieved this.”