Growing up in Montana, LSU graduate Dylan Wichman is familiar with wildfires. But his interest in trying to stop them set him on a path of working with artificial intelligence.
Dylan Wichman says he started learning about AI in 2017, during his sophomore year of high school. “My ‘access’ was basically watching YouTube videos. When I first started learning, I was trying to understand basic models so I could make them myself.”
“For a high school science fair project, I had the idea to find a way to help prevent wildfires,” Wichman says. “I was already interested in coding, so I thought I could create a program as my project, and that’s when I started to learn about AI. I saw the potential to use AI to try to predict where wildfires would occur before they start to help inform and assist firefighters.”
His project placed third in the international science fair in the computer science category, and he was put in contact with the U.S. Forest Service, which incorporates fire prediction into its work. “Coincidentally, the ‘fire lab’ was only 200 miles from my hometown.”
Wichman knew he wanted to attend college out of state and applied to LSU for computer science. After learning he received the Stamps Scholarship, choosing LSU was a “no-brainer,” he says. Wichman knew he wanted to attend college out of state and applied to LSU for computer science.
Wichman graduated from LSU in December 2023 and returned to Montana to continue his work in AI.
“I am a research engineer at Bentley Systems. The focus of my role is applying artificial intelligence to different engineering problems. Since my job is remote, I moved back to Montana and spend most of my free time fly fishing and being in the mountains,” Wichman says.
He might be far from Baton Rouge, but Wichman says his time at LSU set him up for success.
“The research experience I gained at LSU has been invaluable in preparing me for my current role as a research engineer. I also took multiple AI-related courses during my time at LSU. LSU has clearly made a point to be at the forefront of this rapidly growing field, so I never felt like I was “missing out” on learning about new AI developments.”
What does he see as the future of AI?
“I think my field, like most, is going to be greatly transformed by AI. AI will help engineers become more efficient, informed, and effective at their jobs. Change is coming, but there are new developments in this field every day, so it is very hard to make predictions as to what the future will look like.
“I think the best everyone can do is to familiarize themselves with new AI developments and to keep an open mind when it comes to using AI in their jobs. Being on the forefront of such a fast pace and emerging technology is very exciting for me.”
Learn more by reading Dylan's entire story at www.lsu.edu.
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