{"682025":{"#nid":"682025","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Public Policy Student Ashley Cotsman Selected for USG Academic Recognition Day","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFourth-year Public Policy student Ashley Cotsman was selected as Georgia Tech\u2019s honoree for the 2025 \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/oue.gatech.edu\/USG-academic-recognition-day\u0022\u003EUSG Academic Recognition Day.\u003C\/a\u003E She stood out among thousands of students at the Institute for her work with AI and machine learning to improve policymaking.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s truly humbling to be the first Ivan Allen College student to represent Tech at USG Recognition Day, especially as I know firsthand how many incredible, deserving students I\u2019ve studied alongside,\u201d Cotsman said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEach institution in the University System of Georgia chooses one student to honor with the award each year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs you can imagine, the competition is tough at Georgia Tech,\u201d said Shatakshee Dhongde, the associate dean for academic affairs in the Ivan Allen College. \u201cAshley\u2019s strength as a candidate was the combination of using advanced machine learning and analytical models to inform policy. Her research experience shows how we can use technology to improve the human condition, and thus, she is a perfect representative of a Georgia Tech senior.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECotsman said she\u2019s incredibly grateful for the mentors who encouraged her to explore the intersection of technology, machine learning, and smart policymaking. Alongside her public policy degree, she is completing a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/apps-ai-ml-minor\/\u0022\u003EMinor in Applications of AI and Machine Learning\u003C\/a\u003E. She also has worked in Associate Professor Omar Isaac Asensio\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/datasciencepolicy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EData Science and Policy Lab\u003C\/a\u003E since she was a first-year student.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is a well-deserved recognition,\u201d Asensio said. \u201cAshley has shown excellence in the classroom and multi-disciplinary research settings.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHer stand-out achievements include co-authoring a journal article on the use of large language models to detect global service reliability issues in electric transportation policy, earning her a first-place award at the Georgia Tech Undergraduate Research Symposium, and a mention by Microsoft AI in a feature story on Azure cloud computing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe also \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/featured-news\/2025\/02\/ai-action-smarter-sustainability-policy\u0022\u003Eled a project\u003C\/a\u003E using GPT-4 and prompt engineering to analyze the sea of sustainability reports published by organizations each year and help policymakers reduce evaluation costs. Cotsman presented her work at the Association for Public Policy Analysis \u0026amp; Management Conference with support from a President\u2019s Undergraduate Research Award.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the Fall, Cotsman won a competitive Federal Jackets Fellowship to participate in the GTDC \u201cstudy at home\u201d semester in Washington. Alongside her classes and internship at the House Finance Committee, she researched and wrote an analysis of gender dynamics in policymaking spaces, examining the challenges, opportunities, and future for gender equity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis recognition is more than a personal honor; it marks a significant first for the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts,\u201d Cotsman said. \u201cIt celebrates the growing impact of students whose work brings depth, context, and humanity to our world\u2019s most pressing scientific challenges. I am honored to represent that legacy and hope this recognition affirms the enduring relevance of humanistic perspectives in building a better future.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECotsman stood out among thousands of students at the Institute for her work with AI and machine learning to improve policymaking.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Cotsman stood out among thousands of students at the Institute for her work with AI and machine learning to improve policymaking."}],"uid":"35766","created_gmt":"2025-04-25 13:54:58","changed_gmt":"2025-04-25 14:18:06","author":"dminardi3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-04-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-04-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"676942":{"id":"676942","type":"image","title":"AshleyCotsman.jpg","body":null,"created":"1745589315","gmt_created":"2025-04-25 13:55:15","changed":"1745589315","gmt_changed":"2025-04-25 13:55:15","alt":"Cotsman at the IAC End of Year Awards with Cassidy Sugimoto and Shatakshee Dhongde","file":{"fid":"260793","name":"AshleyCotsman.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/25\/AshleyCotsman.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/25\/AshleyCotsman.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1249948,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/04\/25\/AshleyCotsman.jpg?itok=41QUJPCU"}}},"media_ids":["676942"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1289","name":"School of Public Policy"}],"categories":[{"id":"193157","name":"Student Honors and Achievements"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:dminardi3@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EDi Minardi\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["dminardi3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}