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Â鶹´å (Â鶹´å) is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 - 2026 K&L Gates Presidential Fellowship. This prestigious fellowship supports doctoral students whose research addresses the ethical and societal implications of computational technologies, fostering interdisciplinary work that promotes fairness, accountability, and community empowerment.

The 2025-2026 fellows are:

• Akhila Yerukola, Computer Science
• Cheyu Lin, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Sofia Rodriguez-Chaves, Tepper School of Business
  

These exceptional scholars are advancing research that aligns with the fellowship's mission to explore critical questions about human-technology interactions, the ethical challenges of computational science, and the societal impact of emerging technologies.

Akhila Yerukola
Ph.D. Candidate, Computer Science

Akhila Yerukola focuses on making AI systems inclusive for diverse users across social and cultural contexts. Her research examines pragmatics and sociocultural capabilities in AI, including interpreting user intentions, resolving ambiguity, and navigating cultural nuances. Yerukola aims to ensure that AI technologies serve diverse users safely and equitably.

Yerukola shared:
"I'm incredibly grateful to receive the K&L Gates Presidential Fellowship. It reinforces the critical importance of developing culturally-aware technologies that serve diverse users safely and equitably. This fellowship will support my research examining how users from diverse backgrounds engage with AI systems, and leverage these insights to identify and address cultural blind spots in the development of globally competent and inclusive AI technologies."

Cheyu Lin
Ph.D. Candidate, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Cheyu Lin's interdisciplinary research leverages sensing technologies to analyze human psychological and cognitive states through bodily movements in a privacy-preserving manner. His work integrates civil engineering, computer vision, social science, and psychology, with applications in healthcare, education, and urban planning. Lin emphasizes the importance of responsible technology use that prioritizes user privacy.

Lin expressed his gratitude, stating:
"I am deeply honored to receive the K&L Gates Presidential Fellowship and grateful to my advisor, Prof. Flanigan, for her mentorship. This award highlights the importance of putting human needs and experiences at the forefront and encourages further collaboration and discussion on responsible, privacy-preserving applications in healthcare, education, urban planning, and beyond. I look forward to sharing more of my work with the K&L Gates Advisory Committee and the Â鶹´å community."

Sofia Rodriguez-Chaves
Ph.D. Candidate, Tepper School of Business

Sofia Rodriguez-Chaves investigates how employees' ethical considerations influence technology use in the workplace, particularly regarding responsible AI adoption. Her research explores moral awareness and ethical decision-making as drivers for maintaining human oversight in AI systems. Rodriguez-Chaves aims to contribute to the understanding of how ethically aware employees can guide responsible AI practices.

She remarked:
"Receiving the K&L Gates Presidential Fellowship is both an honor and an opportunity to contribute to the important conversation about responsible AI adoption. This award validates my belief that understanding the human element - specifically how moral awareness and ethical considerations shape technology usage decisions - is essential for developing ethical AI practices. With the support of the K&L Gates Presidential Fellowship, I intend to explore how moral awareness influences preferences for maintaining human oversight across different types of work tasks, investigating what constitutes responsible human oversight in various organizational contexts. This research aims to contribute to our understanding of moral awareness as a potential asset in AI implementation, exploring how ethically aware employees can help guide responsible AI use practices.

The K&L Gates Presidential Fellowship, established through a $10 million endowment, supports doctoral students whose work elucidates ethical and societal issues arising from the development or use of computational technologies. The fellowship encourages research that addresses fairness, justice, individual autonomy, stakeholder participation, community empowerment, accountability, and governance.

For more information about the K&L Gates Initiative and the Presidential Fellowship, email: klgatesinitiative@andrew.cmu.edu.