Bistra Dilkina

Associate Professor of CS @USCViterbi. co-Director of USC Center on AI and Society @CAIS_USC.
#AI #DiscreteOptimization #ML #MLforOPT #compsust #AIforGood

[USC Center for AI in Society @CAIS_USC]

Hannah Murray represented USC CAIS at #ICTC2026!🌍

Highlights included:
🐾 Using AI to uncover hidden wildlife trafficking hotspots
🗣️ Dialogue Circle on integrating machine learning into conservation strategies (co-led with Prof. Lily Xu)

@uscsocialwork @uscviterbi @BDilkina

[USC Center for AI in Society @CAIS_USC]

Can we trust AI with our health? 🏥🤖

Join us for a CAIS seminar with Dr. Yulia Tsvetkov (@UW) on agentic LLMs & safer AI-for-health systems.

🗓️ March 12, 2026
⏰ 4:00-5:00 PM
📍 GCS 107
💻 Or join us via Zoom: https://t.co/vzCcHv4OhO

@uscviterbi @uscsocialwork @BDilkina

[USC Center for AI in Society @CAIS_USC]

After disasters , confusion reigns & systems are overwhelmed. “Community resilience steps in to fill that gap. We want to understand how to identify, measure and predict this resilience so that we can better prepare communities,” Prof. Michàlle Mor Barak. https://t.co/Gm9kNLWYDa

[USC Center for AI in Society @CAIS_USC]

📣 Final seminar of the semester! Come see Cornell Professor Dr. Carla Gomes on Tues. Nov. 18 @ 2 pm PT in the GCS Auditorium for "Knowledge-Centric AI for Scientific Discovery."

@uscviterbi @uscsocialwork @csatusc @BDilkina @phebe_vayanos

[USC Center for AI in Society @CAIS_USC]

Excited to host AI optimization researcher Dr. Pascal Van Hentenryck as our next seminar speaker. Join us Tues. Oct. 14 @ 2 pm in the GCS Auditorium.

Joining virtually? Register here: https://t.co/aIZuK4yuaH

@uscviterbi @AI4OPT @phebe_vayanos @BDilkina @GeorgiaTechISyE @csatusc

[USC Center for AI in Society @CAIS_USC]

Could AI help expose hidden hubs of wildlife trafficking at airports? CAIS PhD student Hannah Murray explored this in “Encoding & Decoding Illegal Wildlife Trade Networks” — the most-attended @united4wildlife webinar to date! 🐘✈️ 🔗: https://t.co/rj1EZ7emK9

[USC Center for AI in Society @CAIS_USC]

.@USCViterbi @uscsocialwork @CSatUSC @phebe_vayanos @BDilkina @EricRicePhD

[Bistra Dilkina @BDilkina]

@adityagrover_ big congrats, well deserved!

[USC Center for AI in Society @CAIS_USC]

In Montreal for #IJCAI2025? Stop @CSatUSC PhD student Junyang Cai's poster presentation Wed. 10 am. BALANS is an open-source, solver-agnostic meta-solver for #MIPs. Paper: https://t.co/1mq6bsRam1 @BDilkina @serdar_kadioglu @AI4OPT @USCViterbi @IJCAIconf #Optimization #OpenSource

[USC Center for AI in Society @CAIS_USC]

PhD student Weimin Huang's poster will be presented Wednesday at the Symposium on Combinatorial Search. Stop by to check out her awesome work.

Full paper: https://t.co/ft4swvOpZE
Conference details: https://t.co/rSsixL3ubb

@uscviterbi @csatusc @BDilkina

[USC Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science @CSatUSC]

Hidden wildlife trafficking routes—revealed 🧩🐘

A new @USCAdvComputing study uses AI to predict 300+ airports potentially tied to wildlife trafficking, with 11 unexpected "hotspots." A powerful tool to help protect endangered species.

https://t.co/JDOQDI175n

@USCViterbi

[USC Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science @CSatUSC]

Important work by @BDilkina @USCAdvComputing @CSatUSC, Laura Ferguson @KECKSchool_USC and partners on preventing malnutrition using AI.

[USC Stevens School of Computing and AI @USCStevensAI]

New AI tool forecasts malnutrition in Kenya up to 6 months in advance, providing critical lead time to save lives. Developed by @CAIS_USC @CSatUSC @USCGlobalHealth @Amref_Kenya & Kenya’s Ministry of Health.

Read more at the link: https://t.co/3xThIthHIo

[USC Center for AI in Society @CAIS_USC]

Join us in celebrating our USC CAIS PhD graduates--Qing Jin, Yingxiao Ye, Bill Tang, & Taoan Huang! 🎓 Mentored by CAIS Co-Directors Phebe Vayanos & Bistra Dilkina. Fight on! ✌️

@USCViterbi @uscsocialwork
#Classof2025 #Congrats #AIforSocialGood #Graduation #PhD #USC

[USC Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science @CSatUSC]

On March 13-14, we co-hosted the USC Symposium on the Future of Computing Science at Ginsburg Hall! 👏

The event brought together visionary leaders to explore the future of computing across the full computing stack.

Read our top 5 takeaways here 🔻
https://t.co/biUwn3wzKK

[USC Center for AI in Society @CAIS_USC]

How can AI & reinforcement learning help tackle biodiversity loss & maternal mortality? Join Dr. Lily Xu as she explores restless bandits, deep RL, & optimization for smarter resource allocation in dynamic, data-limited environments. https://t.co/3evXreJVsa @csatusc @uscviterbi

[CCST @CCSTorg]

🌍 From tracking salmon migrations to detecting urban forests, AI is unlocking new ways to protect #biodiversity. But challenges remain. How do we ensure AI benefits all?

Watch:
https://t.co/xFjZOVVJIv

@CalConservation @sarameghanbeery @BDilkina @ChesConserv @ucsb_nceas

[CCST @CCSTorg]

Tune in Tuesday: Using #AI for #biodiversity + #conservation. Feat. Nathaniel Roth @calconservation, @sarameghanbeery, Melissa Chapman @ucsb_nceas, @BDilkina @CAIS_USC, and Kumar Mainali @ChesConserv.

🔗 https://t.co/fGAQJf3o6a

#scipol #scicomm #academictwitter

[USC Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science @CSatUSC]

USC is at #AAAI2025 this week!

We're showcasing groundbreaking research on how AI tackles real-world challenges—from optimizing manufacturing to advancing public health and improving social choice 👇

https://t.co/9Sm2KA63nW

@USCViterbi @USCAdvComputing @RealAAAI

[CCST @CCSTorg]

REGISTER: AI Tools for Addressing Conservation and Biodiversity

Feat. Nathaniel Roth @CalConservation, @sarameghanbeery @MIT, Melissa Chapman @ethzurich @ucsb_nceas, @BDilkina @CAIS_USC, and @kumar_mainali @chesconserv.

🔗 https://t.co/fGAQJf3o6a

#scipol