A connection with Associate Dean and Professor Li Bai during class led junior electrical and computer engineering student Owen Ringrose to his first research position. Also involved with Temple’s chapter of IEEE and Temple Robotics, his time working with the research team has provided him with many new experiences that Ringrose is excited to apply to future engineering endeavors. 

College of Engineering: What is your research focus within the Computer Fusion Laboratory? 

Owen Ringrose: I am working in Dr. Li Bai’s Computer Fusion Laboratory. This lab focuses on research into artificial intelligence and robotics. In my research I am working with AI, particularly the benefits of using strict multi-agent workflows with human-in-the-loop capabilities. The team I’m working with is collaborating with TechOWL at the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University, Pennsylvania’s Assistive Technology Act program, which educates and connects people with assistive technology. We are researching the use of AI in this field to aid patient intake and device recommendations. 

College of Engineering: What drew you to work on research in this lab? 

Ringrose: I met Dr. Li Bai in his Digital Circuit Design course. He was a great professor who I got the chance to talk to during the semester. Through talking to him, I learned about his research lab and became interested. The chance to work on cutting edge technology like AI is appealing as it becomes ever-present in our daily lives. He told me about this project and the chance to work with Temple’s Institute on Disabilities and TechOWL. I thought the chance to work on this not only sounded like a great learning opportunity but also a chance to show the positive impacts that engineering can have on the world. 

College of Engineering: What does your average day in the lab look like? 

Ringrose: This lab is very collaborative; we start and end each week with the entire lab meeting with Professor Bai so we can talk about the progress we have made and what we have learned. Each day when I come in, I talk with the three other students I’m working with on what needs to get done, what our progress is, anything like that. After this I sit down and work on our service AI agent, refining its workflow, writing tests, researching methods and benchmarks, or meeting with the staff at TechOWL. I then like to take my lunch break and enjoy a nice walk around campus before heading back to work for the rest of the day leaving around 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. 

College of Engineering: What do you enjoy most about being a student researcher? 

Ringrose: I enjoy the people. Getting the chance to work with the students on my team and Temple staff from various departments has been fun. Being a part of a real team working on a real product is something that you don’t quite experience in the classroom, so I feel like this has been a huge learning experience in that aspect. 

I also enjoy the personal liberty that we are given. For the most part I am given a lot of freedom with the direction that this project takes, being able to talk directly with staff to figure out solutions to problems. I am also trusted to figure out schedules and working hours that help me get the most work done. 

College of Engineering: How do you think you’ve grown as an engineer while working as a researcher? 

Ringrose: I have grown both professionally and technically while working as a researcher. This is my first “real world” experience working as an engineer. This has taught me a lot about how to work as part of a team. Setting meetings, taking notes, reaching deadlines, talking to non-engineers about specifications, has all been mostly new to me and is all super valuable experience for when I go into industry. 

On the technical side, this has taught me a lot about both programming and AI. Our entire project is written in Python. While I have written a lot of Python code for my classes, this is the first codebase I have worked on that has to work in production. This comes with challenges you don’t always get when working in the classroom. Furthermore, this is my first experience working with AI. While I have spent a lot of time using AI, I have never had to worry about how it works. Building an AI agent from the ground up has taught me a lot about how these systems work. 

College of Engineering: What advice do you have for students considering research? 

Ringrose: Don’t be afraid to reach out to your professors. There’s nothing professors enjoy more than talking about their research. By reaching out to your professors, or any professor you want to work with in general, you get to build valuable connections with them that can lead to you working with them later. Even if you do not work with said professor, building a connection with them can help when you need letters of recommendation for jobs or scholarships or a connection in a department. 

College of Engineering: How has this experience shaped your future career path? 

Ringrose: Ultimately, I want to work in either the embedded development/industrial automation or power industry. While not directly related to what my research is currently focused on, this has still given me invaluable experience working as an engineer. Furthermore, the programming skills I have gained from this research will help me immensely no matter what field I go into, but especially embedded systems. 

AI, whether we like it or not, is also finding its way into every industry. Being knowledgeable about the technology and tools behind it will give me a leg up on those that do not understand it.