Center for Cyber Physical Realms (CYPHR) Launch Event

With an eye on the current state of agentic AI, explore the history of transformers and LLMs to place the push for agentic systems in perspective. Discussion points included the three NLP scaling laws, tips for building agentic systems, and how agentic AI fits in the progression towards AGI.

Kevin McFall, Ph.D., is a Principal Instructor for the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute (DLI). He is trained as a mechanical engineer with degrees from Virginia Tech, MIT, and Georgia Tech. A research position early in his career in a Computer Engineering Department inspired him to shift focus to AI. He since built an academic career exploring topics in computer vision, AI, and autonomous systems. Now at NVIDIA, he leverages this background to deliver DLI workshops and support other DLI instructors across a wide spectrum of deep learning technologies including generative AI and large language models.

Dr. Kevin Oden is a Lockheed Martin (LM) Fellow and serves as the Chief Scientist of Human Machine Teaming in LM’s Advanced Technology Laboratories. He has 20+ years supporting, and leading, research projects that aim to enhance human performance in military contexts. Early career work tackled challenges related to the use of virtual reality for team training in simulation. Currently, a primary focus is strategic leadership for the design of capabilities that will maximize the joint work of human machine teams for accelerated decision-making and calibrated trust.

He earned a doctorate of philosophy in Applied/Experimental and Human Factors Psychology from the University of Central Florida (UCF). He holds Master’s degrees in both Clinical Psychology and Modeling and Simulation from UCF. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology from the University of Florida. Finally, he was recognized as a Graduate Research Fellow by the Consortium of Universities in Washington D.C., while conducting research at the Army Research Institute for Behavioral and Social Sciences.

Dr. Leslie Blaha is the Deputy Chief Scientist of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. She serves as the Deputy science and technology advisor to the AFOSR Director and Chief Scientist in matters of formulation, planning, managing and integration of all Department of the Air Force basic research programs.

Dr. Blaha is a mathematical psychologist by training, completing her joint Ph.D. in Psychology and Cognitive Science, with an emphasis in mathematical modeling, at Indiana University in 2010, under the mentorship of Dr James Townsend. She joined the Air Force Research Laboratory in 2010, pursuing basic research within the Battlespace Visualization Branch of the 711th Human Performance Wing. Prior to assuming the role of Deputy Chief Scientist, she served as the AFRL Liaison to Carnegie Mellon University, leading collaborative research in the cognitive sciences of human-autonomy teaming, and was the Line of Effort Lead for Human and Machine Co-Learning. Passionate about mentoring, she has mentored over 30 trainees, from high school to postdoctoral research level. Dr. Blaha was awarded an Early Career Impact Award from the Federation of Associations for Brain and Behavioral Sciences in 2018. She served as the Secretary/Treasurer of the Society for Mathematical Psychology and is a co-founder of the Women of Mathematical Psychology. She has authored or co-authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and edited a two-volume book.