Research Assistant Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Education
- 2016, Doctoral Degree, Computer Science, University of Texas - Austin
- Master's Degree, Computer Science, University of Texas - Austin
- Bachelor's Degree, Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Biography
Mayank Kejriwal is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and a Principal Scientist in the USC Information Sciences Institute. Prior to joining ISI in 2016, he obtained his Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin. His dissertation, titled "Populating a Linked Data Entity Name System", was awarded the Best Dissertation Award by the Semantic Web Science Association in 2017. He also holds an MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business, and a B.Sc. in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
He is also the author of four books, including an MIT Press textbook on knowledge graphs that has been translated in many languages. He has published across various sub-areas of Artificial Intelligence, including Semantic Web, social media analytics, knowledge graphs and natural language processing. He is a passionate advocate of using Artificial Intelligence technology for social good, and regularly collaborates with domain-experts to build such systems.
Dr. Kejriwal has given talks and tutorials in international academic and industrial venues, including serving as a roundtable speaker and participant (on using AI for fighting child trafficking) at the Concordia Summit that was co-held with the UN General Assembly in New York City in September, 2019. The myDIG system, which he co-built and co-authored and that was a product of the multi-million dollar DARPA MEMEX program, was nominated for a Best Demonstration award at the prestigious AAAI conference in 2018. His research is regularly covered in both regional and international press, such as the BBC (United Kingdom), CNN Indonesia, Popular Science, Economy Chosun (South Korea) and the World Economic Forum.
Research Summary
Dr. Kejriwal directs and leads the Artificial Intelligence and Complex Systems (AICS) group, and is also affiliated with the Center on Knowledge Graphs and the AI4Health initiative. AICS's research is centered on designing and applying neuro-symbolic AI to real-world complex problems. The group is especially interested in combining the benefits of knowledge graphs and generative AI models, including large language models like ChatGPT, in service of human-centered computing applications. While large language models (as well as other broader classes of neural deep learning-based methods) have received much attention recently, knowledge graphs are better recognized in the semantic web and knowledge discovery communities. Over the last decade, knowledge graphs have proven their utility in versatile domains ranging from healthcare and e-commerce to scientific discovery and fact-checking. Recent lines of research have shown that, owing to their flexible symbolic representation, knowledge graphs can offer a robust way of mitigating some of the faults with large language models, including so-called 'hallucinations' (where the model makes up information), and faulty reasoning on seemingly simple problems. These problems need to be resolved in real systems to enable responsible and trustworthy deployment in real-world applications.
AICS has a strong commitment to developing and rigorously evaluating neuro-symbolic AI systems for social good. Over the last seven years, research conducted by Dr. Kejriwal and his students has contributed significantly to domain-specific search and analytical engines for fighting human trafficking, improving search capabilities in a healthcare organization (Kaiser Permanente), and using data science and visualization to respond to natural disasters more effectively. The group's goal is to develop responsible human-centered AI systems that can operate synergistically with 'on the ground' problem solvers to make human society better and more productive for all stakeholders.
Dr. Kejriwal believes strongly in building coalitions and collaborations with other institutions and departments, including both universities and industrial labs. He has served as principal investigator (PI) of three multi-million dollar DARPA-funded efforts, with collaborators including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of California at Irvine, and Purdue University. He is currently listed as PI on NSF and NIH grants led by institutions such as the University of Missouri at Columbia, and the Keck School of Medicine at USC, respectively. He has also been funded by donors, non-profits, and companies (specifically, Kaiser Permanente, Yahoo, and Microsoft) for his research in data science and computational social science.
