Shane Storks, PhD
I’m a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Michigan Weinberg Institute for Cognitive Science working at the intersection of natural language processing (NLP) and cognitive science. My research leverages insights from how humans learn and reason with language to better understand the capabilities of AI language models and improve their effectiveness in downstream assistive applications. I also appraise the broader impacts of these models and other research trends to inform NLP practice and policy. I organize and volunteer for Queer in AI and Macomb Science Olympiad to promote diversity and opportunity in STEM.
Education
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Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science and Engineering
2024, University of Michigan
Dissertation: Coherent Physical Commonsense Reasoning in Foundational Language Models
Advisor: Dr. Joyce Chai -
Master of Science in Computer Science and Engineering
2021, University of Michigan
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Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science
2018, Lawrence Technological University
Research publications, preprints, and any associated presentation materials. * indicates equal contribution.
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
Other talks and guest lectures.
2025
2023
2022
2021
2018
2017
Courses I've instructed. If you want to learn more, feel free to send me an email!
LING 321 / COMPFOR 250: Alien Anatomy: How ChatGPT Works
Fall 2025Instructor of Record, University of Michigan
Non-computer science introductory course for large language models (LLMs) co-led with Andrew McInnerney. Topics include language modeling (from early rule-based and statistical approaches to modern LLMs), machine learning and deep learning basics, and the applications and implications of LLMs.
Weinberg Institute for Cognitive Science
EECS 595 / LING 541 / SI 561: Natural Language Processing
Fall 2022Graduate Student Instructor, University of Michigan
Graduate introductory NLP course led by Joyce Chai. Topics include syntax, semantics, discourse, deep learning for NLP, large language models, and their applications in information extraction, machine translation, and dialogue systems.
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS)
EECS 595 / LING 541 / SI 561: Natural Language Processing
Fall 2021Graduate Student Instructor, University of Michigan
Graduate introductory NLP course led by Joyce Chai. Topics include syntax, semantics, discourse, deep learning for NLP, large language models, and their applications in information extraction, machine translation, and dialogue systems.
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS)
EECS 595 / LING 541 / SI 561: Natural Language Processing
Fall 2020Graduate Student Instructor, University of Michigan
Graduate introductory NLP course led by Joyce Chai. Topics include syntax, semantics, discourse, deep learning for NLP, large language models, and their applications in information extraction, machine translation, and dialogue systems.
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS)- Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Co-Chair, ACL 2025 (2025)
- Co-Organizer, Queer in AI Networking Events, EMNLP 2024 (2024)
- Co-Organizer, Queer in AI Workshop, NAACL 2024 (2024)
- Co-Organizer, Queer in AI Networking Events, EMNLP 2023 (2024)
- Co-Organizer, Queer in AI Workshop and Networking Events, ACL 2023 (2023)
- Co-Organizer, NLP @ Michigan Day, University of Michigan (2023)
- Project Advisor, JRN 551: Case Studies in Public Relations, Central Michigan University (2023)
- Elementary Board Member, Organizer, Proctor, and Volunteer, Macomb Science Olympiad (2014 - Present)
- Event Supervisor, Macomb Science Olympiad (2014 - 2018)
Professional appointments in industry.
Amazon Alexa AI
June 2021 - August 2021Applied Scientist Intern
Natural Understanding, Teachable AI team (remote). Completed a self-contained research project on multi-hop reasoning advised by mentors Qiaozi Gao and Govind Thattai.
Sunnyvale, CA, USAAmazon Alexa AI
June 2020 - August 2020Applied Scientist Intern
Natural Understanding, Teachable AI team (remote). Completed a self-contained research project on embodied instruction following advised by mentor Qiaozi Gao.
Sunnyvale, CA, USAUniversal Logistics Holdings, Inc.
January 2017 - July 2018Junior .NET Developer and Data Analyst
Used C#, VB.NET, and .SQL to create and maintain company databases, warehouse management applications, telemetric data stream processors, and big data visualizations.
Warren, MI, USADominion Technologies Group, Inc.
June 2016 - December 2016Junior Programmer
Used Visual C# to build and modify user interfaces for automotive assembly machines including fluid fill and alignment.
Roseville, MI, USADominion Technologies Group, Inc.
September 2015 - June 2016Technical Assistant
Authored and prepared technical manuals for automotive assembly machines. Synthesized schematic diagrams of fluid and electric circuits with input from subject matter experts.
Roseville, MI, USA- Attendee, NextProf Nexus, University of Michigan, Georgia Institute of Technology, & University of California, Berkeley (2024)
- Winner, Alexa Prize SimBot Challenge, Amazon (2023)
- Fall 2022 GSI Award, University of Michigan Computer Science and Engineering Division (2023)
- NLP @ Michigan Best Poster Award, Michigan AI Lab (2022)
- University Distinguished Fellowship, Michigan State University (2018)
- Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence, Lawrence Technological University College of Arts and Sciences (2018)
- Wayne H. and Vita S. Buell Honor Full Scholarship, Lawrence Technological University (2014)
- Miles Gilberti, University of Michigan
- Mlen-Too Wesley, Georgia Institute of Technology (Human-Augmented Analytics Group)
- Bailey Russo, Georgia Institute of Technology (Human-Augmented Analytics Group)
- Itamar Bar-Yossef, University of Michigan
- Megan Su, University of Michigan
- Ruixuan Deng, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Fengyuan Hu, NVIDIA
- Zheyuan Zhang, Johns Hopkins University
- Nick Hu, Brown University
- Wenfei Tang, NVIDIA
- Haoyi Qiu, University of California, Los Angeles
- Brianna Epstein, ExtraHop
Unpublished course projects and side projects. Ask me about them if you're interested!
2021
2020
