About Us

As an expert in artificial intelligence (AI) research and development, Crisman has delivered practical, user-centered solutions to difficult challenges using state-of-the-art AI technologies. Before joining ULRI, Crisman was the principal director for AI and machine learning (ML) in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, where she was responsible for developing the DoD’s AI/ML research and development road map. She had previously served as chief scientist for the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC), helping to grow the organization significantly.

Dr. Crisman was a senior program manager for the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) where she led successful multidisciplinary research programs. She was a founding faculty member of the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Massachusetts and was a tenured professor and the director of the Robotics and Vision Systems Laboratory at Northeastern University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Crisman earned her Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania where, for her thesis, she created some of the first computer vision perception algorithms for self-driving cars.

Dr. Sean McGregor is an expert in artificial intelligence and machine learning.  Most recently, Dr. McGregor was the Founder of the Responsible AI Collaborative which is a leading index of AI experiences in the real world.  He was also a lead consultant for the XPRIZE Foundation where he audited the safety, ethics, and impacts of 150+ teams competing for the $5 million IBM Watson AI XPRIZE. 

Dr. McGregor brings to DSRI a passion for AI and digital system safety through auditing and testing. 

Denise is a seasoned communications and outreach expert with specialization in strategic planning, campaign development, engagement strategies, and execution of partnership marketing efforts. Key areas of communication include health and human safety, B2B sales and promotional messaging, and end-user communications.

Jesse Hostetler is a machine learning researcher and software engineer, currently leading development of the Dyff software platform for AI system testing. He joined DSRI in 2023, after spending the previous year developing Dyff as co-founder of AI testing startup Alignment Labs, Inc. Before that, he spent 5 years as a researcher at SRI International, working on a variety of basic and applied research projects in machine learning, reinforcement learning, and automated planning. Notable projects at SRI included: techniques for running neural networks on limited size, weight, and power devices; scalable cloud-based implementations of reinforcement learning agents; and AI agents that can adapt quickly to novel situations. Jesse received a Ph.D. in computer science from Oregon State University in 2017, where his research focused on automated planning algorithms that make better decisions with limited computing budgets.

Kevin Paeth is a technical lead at DSRI where he leads development of the AI Incident Database and works on other public interest technology projects for building a safer digital ecosystem. Prior to working at DSRI, Kevin was a software engineer at Google in both the US and EU, conducted research on digital privacy at the Internet Policy Research Initiative at MIT, and consulted on AI policy at the OECD.