Presenter

My name is Alina Hyk, I'm a student at Oregon State University, pursuing a double degree in Computer Science and Psychology with minors in Statistics and Mathematics. My work focuses on the intersection of human-centered AI, information retrieval, and applied Natural Language Processing (NLP). I’ve contributed to the development of neural retrieval systems, including embedding-based search pipelines and large-scale Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) frameworks for scientific applications. Recently, I’ve been working on evaluating the performance of specialized versus general-purpose LLMs, building user feedback simulations, and designing agentic workflows for AI-integrated educational tools. I’m especially interested in how we can improve the usability, computability, evaluation, and interpretability of language technologies in research and learning environments.