Curriculum Vitae

Zilin Ma, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Researcher at the Harvard Business School AI Institute (formerly the Digital Data Design (D³) Institute). Ph.D. in Computer Science, Harvard University. Download the full CV (PDF).

Appointments

Postdoctoral Researcher

2025 - Present

Harvard Business School AI Institute (formerly D³ Institute), Boston, MA

Working with Jacqueline N. Lane, Shai Bernstein, and Karim R. Lakhani

Research on human-AI collaboration in high-stakes professional work, including AI-assisted negotiation.

Education

Ph.D. in Computer Science

2019 - 2025

Harvard University, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), Cambridge, MA

Advisor: Prof. Krzysztof Gajos

Dissertation: Designing intelligent systems that address social challenges faced by vulnerable populations

B.Sc. in Computer Science, B.A. in Physics (Magna Cum Laude)

2015 - 2019

Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA

Research Experience

Researcher

Jan 2023 - Present

Frontline Associates

  • Conducted a formative study with 30+ humanitarian and crisis negotiators to identify challenges in using ChatGPT for document summarization and knowledge sharing, resulting in a first-author publication at the ICML 2024 Next Generation of AI Safety Workshop.
  • Designed and implemented an LLM-based interface that enhanced efficiency in humanitarian negotiation workflows. Comparative studies demonstrated an improvement in facilitator efficiency over ChatGPT, addressing key concerns such as risk assessments and alternative solution generation. Published at CHIWORK 2025.
  • Organized and led AI-focused workshops on frontline negotiation, the first of their kind, engaging over 100 global negotiators; adopted by organizations including the ICRC, UN, BMZ, and MSF.
  • Organized the first Harvard Negotiation Challenge, with over 100 global negotiators simulating negotiation with LLM chatbots.

CTO & Founding Engineer

May 2022 - May 2023

Sumeria Labs

  • Spearheaded the design and development of an NFT lending protocol, collaborating with the CEO to optimize user experience.
  • Directed a comprehensive security audit with CertiK, mitigating all identified vulnerabilities and ensuring the protocol met top-tier security standards.
  • Integrated traditional banking models into Web3, enabling secure and permissionless NFT loan origination.
  • Automated collateral liquidation processes on AWS, enhancing protocol efficiency during defaults and market fluctuations.

Research Intern, HCI Group

May 2018 - Jan 2019

Stanford University

  • Assessed the effectiveness of HabitLab by analyzing user behavioral data, culminating in a publication at CHI 2019.
  • Engineered behavioral coaching mechanisms utilizing neural networks and multi-armed bandit algorithms.
  • Conducted A/B tests to evaluate intervention strategies, leading to data-driven enhancements in HabitLab's approach to user engagement and productivity.

Research Intern, Imaging Science and Innovation

May 2016 - May 2017

Geisinger Health System

  • Developed a convolutional neural network using TensorFlow to automatically segment heart substructures in cardiac MR images, achieving a 97% Dice coefficient on a dataset of 50 patients.
  • Created interactive data visualizations to communicate research findings to the public and stakeholders.

Awards & Honors

2023 AMIA Best Student Paper Finalist (Top 8)

2022 UniSwap Grants Program

2019 Computer Science Arts & Sciences Outstanding Student Award, Bucknell University

2019 Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society

2018-2019 Sigma Pi Sigma Physics Honor Society

2017-2018 Residential Education Academic Excellence Award

2017 Program for Undergraduate Research, Bucknell University

2016-2019 Dean's List

Teaching Experience

Harvard University

2023-2025 — Teaching Fellow for Data Science Capstone

2020 — Teaching Fellow for Data Visualization; Course Designer for Intro to NLP with PyTorch

Bucknell University

2018 — Teaching Assistant for Algorithms and Data Structures

2017-2018 — Teaching Assistant for Classical Mechanics Lab (numerical methods in Python and Mathematica)

2016-2017 — Teaching Assistant & Study Group Leader for Classical and Modern Physics I & II

2016-2017 — Teaching Assistant for Engineering 100

2016 — Teaching Assistant for Introduction to Computer Science I

Academic Service

ACM CHI — 2024*, 2025

ACM CHI LBW — 2024

ACM CSCW — 2024*, 2025

ACM CSCW Posters — 2024

ACM DIS — 2025

ACM IUI — 2024*

ACM CUI Posters — 2024

ACM UIST — 2024

* Special recognition for outstanding reviews.

Invited Talks

Mar 2025 — Program on Negotiation (PON), AI Negotiation Summit: "ChatGPT, Don't Tell Me What to Do: Designing AI for Context Analysis in Humanitarian Frontline Negotiations"

Mar 2025 — Harvard Global AI in Negotiation Challenge: "ChatGPT, Don't Tell Me What to Do"

Oct 2024 — Panelist, Carnegie Mellon University, "Queer(ing) Generative AI for a Queer Visibility Summit"

Sep 2024 — AI in Humanitarian and Crisis Negotiation Workshop: "Confidentiality and Privacy in Using ChatGPT for Humanitarian Frontline Negotiations"

Leadership & Activities

Jun 2018 - May 2019 — President & Treasurer, Human Centered Design Club, Bucknell University

Aug 2016 - May 2018 — LGBTQ+ Housing Residential Advisor, Residential Education, Bucknell University