Paulina DeVito, a Ph.D. candidate in the FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science.
Paulina DeVito, a Ph.D. candidate in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Florida Atlantic University, has been awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. This nationally competitive fellowship, widely regarded as one of the most esteemed honors for graduate students in STEM fields, supports outstanding scholars pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees across the United States.
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program provides three years of financial support over a five-year period, including an annual stipend of $37,000 and a cost-of-education allowance to the institution. The program’s goal is to ensure the vitality and breadth of talent of the U.S. scientific and engineering workforce by recognizing individuals with exceptional promise for future contributions in research and innovation.
“I am both honored and humbled to receive this fellowship,” said DeVito. “This award is a validation of the vision I’ve carried since I first stepped onto FAU’s campus when I was 16. It not only affirms my commitment to advancing artificial intelligence and natural language processing research but also my deep passion for education in STEM. Impactful research is not limited by age or background, and young women, especially in tech, have a powerful voice in shaping the future.”
A graduate of A.D. Henderson University School and FAU High School, DeVito, 22, enrolled in college through FAU’s competitive dual enrollment program and has since achieved an extraordinary academic trajectory. By age 20, she had earned two bachelor’s degrees – one in computer science and the other in computer engineering – with the highest GPA in her graduating class, along with a host of honors including the National Merit Scholarship and an Outstanding Leadership Award. She then completed a master’s degree in computer science with a minor in AI in just one year, earning a perfect 4.0 GPA.
Now pursuing her Ph.D. in computer science, DeVito’s research focuses on developing large language model-based approaches for analyzing public discourse on social media. Her work compares these techniques to traditional natural language processing (NLP) methods to understand how people discuss emerging technologies, with recent applications exploring perspectives on generative AI (GAI) in education.
“Paulina is one of the most driven and forward-thinking researchers I’ve had the pleasure of working with,” said Hari Kalva, Ph.D., chair and professor, FAU Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. “Her work touches on an area of critical national importance: how to use AI to improve learning outcomes and enhance educational environments for a wider spectrum of students. In particular, her focus on leveraging generative AI to support student engagement and success in STEM fields is both timely and impactful. This research has the potential to influence the future of educational technologies and how they are applied to strengthen STEM pathways.”
DeVito’s research plan under the NSF fellowship will build upon her earlier work analyzing Reddit posts through NLP techniques – exploring public sentiment around GAI in education. Her new study expands the scope to include other social media platforms, where she will analyze content created by and for young women in STEM. She will extract and analyze themes, sentiments and engagement metrics from posts with various hashtags such as #WomenInSTEM. These insights will inform the design of new AI-based educational tools and interventions.
“My long-term goal is to become a professor and lead a research lab focused on advancing AI and natural language processing in education,” DeVito said. “I believe generative AI has the potential to enhance how we teach and learn, and I hope to contribute to its responsible development and meaningful application in education.”
DeVito got her start in research as a research assistant on an NSF-funded project led by Kalva and Hanqi Zhuang, Ph.D., associate dean and professor in the FAU Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The study provided one of the most detailed analyses of how teachers and students discuss GAI in education on Reddit, analyzing nearly 15,000 posts and comments over six months in 2024.
“Paulina’s natural talent for research became apparent early on during our NSF-funded study, where she played a key role in analyzing how teachers and students discuss generative AI in education on Reddit,” said Zhuang. “Her ability to navigate complex data and draw meaningful insights stood out, and I’m excited to see her pursue a Ph.D. in the critical and rapidly evolving field of AI in education.”
By comparing teacher and student perspectives and employing advanced language models to identify key themes, DeVito’s research revealed significant problems such as educators’ reliance on flawed AI cheating detectors that often wrongfully accuse students, causing emotional distress. Capturing both student and teacher views, the study aims to inform future policies and practices for more responsible and supportive AI adoption in learning environments. It also offers practical recommendations for educators, policymakers and developers to promote ethical AI use in schools. The findings have been shared at multiple academic events and a STEM research summit.
“Paulina’s academic accomplishments are extraordinary, but what truly sets her apart is her unwavering commitment to using research for meaningful social impact,” said Stella Batalama, Ph.D., dean of the FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science. “She is a shining example of the kind of student we strive to cultivate at Florida Atlantic University – one who is academically exceptional, community-minded and forward-thinking. The NSF grant is not only a recognition of her individual brilliance, but of the strength of our programs and the future of innovation coming from this institution.”
-FAU-