Jesse Roberts
Professor and AI Strategy Consultant
Interests
Computational Linguistics and NLP, Machine Cognition, Robotics, Neural Architectures, Theory of Deep Learning, Game Theory
Education
Vanderbilt University
2019-2024
Ph.D. Computer Science
- Dissertation Topic: “A Theoretical & Empirical Analysis of Language Model Behavior”
- Advisor: Doug Fisher
Tennessee Technological University
2014-2017
M.S. Electrical Engineering
- Thesis Topic: Machine Learning Improvement of Solar MPPT
2011-2014
B.S. Electrical Engineering
Faculty Experience
Tennessee Technological University
2024-Current
Assistant Professor
S2025
CSC 4220/5220 - Data Mining and ML
F2024
CSC 7970 - Special Topics
- Developed a course on LLMs. Surveys the important breakthroughs which have led to the emergence of large language models, their capabilities, and critical improvements.
Tennessee Technological University
2021-2024
Lecturer
S2020 - S2024
ECE 3270 - PLC Lecture & Lab
- Developed OER lab manuals for teaching beginner PLC programming, emphasizing good coding practices.
F2021 - S2024
ECE 4961 & 4971 - Capstone Design I and II
- Complete redevelopment of curriculum to facilitate assessment and sustainability.
F2023 - S2024
ECE 3540 - Physical Electronics
Vanderbilt University
2020-2020
Instructor
Su2020
CS 1101 - Programming and Problem Solving (Java Based)
Industry Experience
ATC Automation, Cookeville, Tennessee
Senior Controls Engineer
2014 - 2021
Designed, oversaw build, and programmed automation equipment to meet customer requirements and exceed expectations while maintaining profitability. Total value of projects oversaw in excess of 20 million dollars.
Co-op Program Manager
2018 - 2020
Developed a co-op program to improve recruitment. Oversaw hiring, training, and management of co-op employees. Acted as the liaison for the building and maintenance of industrial/academic relations. Obtained a $100K industry lab grant.
Awards, Honors, and Grants
Vanderbilt University
F2021
Received the American Bureau of Shipping merit Scholarship
S2021
Nominated for the Graduate Leadership Anchor Award
S2024
Nominated for the CF Chen best paper award
Su2024
Received the Vanderbilt Award for Doctoral Discovery
Tennessee Technological University
F2018
Awarded a Carnegie Fellowship
F2023
Awarded OER Development Grant
S2024
Awarded IEEE AESS Grant for the DARPA Triage Challenge
S2024
Nominated for the KEEN Foundation Rising Star Award
Media Appearances
F2021
Interviewed on the radio about capstone project that leveraged ML to monitor parking lots.
S2025
Herold Citizen article regarding work to use large language models to preserve the Cherokee language: Article
S2025
104.7 Radio Interview regarding Cherokee preservation with AI
S2025
WBIR channel 10 Interview regarding Cherokee preservation with AI: Article
S2025
News channel 5 Nashville Interview with Forest Sanders regarding Cherokee preservation with AI
S2025
Axios Interview regarding Cherokee preservation with AI
Publications
- Rentschler, M. & Roberts, J. (2025). RL+ Transformer= A General-Purpose Problem Solver. arXiv preprint arXiv:2501.14176.
- Hossain, S., Altarawneh, A., & Roberts, J. (2025). Leveraging Large Language Models and Machine Learning for Smart Contract Vulnerability Detection. arXiv preprint arXiv:2501.02229.
- Umphrey, R., Roberts, J., & Roberts, L. (2024). Investigating Expert-in-the-Loop LLM Discourse Patterns for Ancient Intertextual Analysis. arXiv preprint arXiv:2409.01882.
- Moore, K., Roberts, J., Pham, T., & Fisher, D. (2024). Reasoning Beyond Bias: A Study on Counterfactual Prompting and Chain of Thought Reasoning. arXiv preprint arXiv:2408.08651.
- Roberts, J. (2024). A Theoretical & Empirical Analysis of Transformer Language Model Behavior. .
- Roberts, J., Roberts, L., & Reed, A. (2024). Supporting the Digital Autonomy of Elders Through LLM Assistance. Proceedings of the AAAI Symposium Series.
- Roberts, J., Moore, K., Pham, T., Ewaleifoh, O., & Fisher, D. (2024). Large language model recall uncertainty is modulated by the fan effect. arXiv preprint arXiv:2407.06349.
- Moore, K., Roberts, J., Pham, T., Ewaleifoh, O., & Fisher, D. (2024). The base-rate effect on llm benchmark performance: Disambiguating test-taking strategies from benchmark performance. arXiv preprint arXiv:2406.11634.
- Roberts, J. (2024). Introduction to PLC Automation. .
- Roberts, J., Moore, K., & Fisher, D. (2024). Do Large Language Models Learn Human-Like Strategic Preferences?. arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.08710.
- Roberts, J. (2024). Do Large Language Models Learn to Human-Like Learn?. Proceedings of the AAAI 2024 Spring Symposium Series.
- Roberts, J., Moore, K., Wilenzick, D., & Fisher, D. (2024). Using artificial populations to study psychological phenomena in neural models. Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence.
- Roberts, J. (2023). Rock Climbing Route Generation and Grading as Computational Creativity. arXiv preprint arXiv:2311.02211.
- Roberts, J. (2023). How Powerful are Decoder-Only Transformer Neural Models?. arXiv preprint arXiv:2305.17026.
- Roberts, J. (2021). Finding an Equilibrium in the Traveler's Dilemma with Fuzzy Weak Domination. 2021 IEEE Conference on Games (CoG).
- Roberts, J. & Fisher, D. (2020). pReview: The artificially intelligent conference reviewer. 2020 19th IEEE International Conference on Machine Learning and Applications (ICMLA).
- Roberts, J. & Fisher, D. (2020). Extending the Philosophy of Computational Criticism.. ICCC.
- Roberts, J. & Talbert, D. (2019). Biologically Extending the Gen 2 ANN Model.. FLAIRS.
- Roberts, J. & Bhattacharya, I. (2017). Improving any arbitrary MPPT hill climber with ANN estimations. 2017 IEEE 44th Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC).
- Roberts, J. (2017). MNFIS+; or, a Better Hybrid Heuristic Maximum Power Point Tracker. .
- Roberts, J. & Bhattacharya, I. (2016). MNFIS and other soft computing based MPPT techniques: A comparative analysis. 2016 IEEE 43rd Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC).
Professional Memberships
2023 - Current
The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI)
2024 - Current
Association of Computational Linguistics (ACL)
2021 - Current
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
2024 - Current
Computational Intelligence Society (IEEE CIS)
Faculty Service
Tennessee Technological University
Fall 2021 - Current
Undergraduate Program Committee
Spring 2022 - Current
ACME Building Design College Committee
Fall 2021 - Current
ABET Assessment Departmental Committee
Fall 2022 - Current
Founding Advisor to the Rock Climbing Club
Fall 2021 - Current
IEEE Robotics Team Coach
Research Service
Conference Organization
2025
Program Committee Member for FLAIRS
2024
Session Chair for World Congress on Computational Intelligence
Reviewer
2025
Association of Computational Linguistics (ACL)
2025
Behavioral Sciences Journal
2024
EPJ Data Science Journal
2024-2025
Natural Language Processing for the Digital Humanities
2024
Conference on Computational Natural Language Learning
2022-2025
International Joint Conference on Neural Networks
2022-2024
IEEE Conference on Games (AI & Game Theory)
Teaching Assistant Experience
Vanderbilt University
S2021
Project in Artificial Intelligence
F2020
Programming and Problem Solving (Java Based)
S2020
Compiler Construction
F2019
Database Management Systems
Research Assistant Experience
Vanderbilt University
Su2021
Researched computational sustainability
- Funded by NSF Grant No. 1521672
Graduate Courses Taken
Vanderbilt University
F2020
CS6388 - Model Integrated Computing
F2020
CS8395 - Neurodiversity Inspired Science & Engineering
S2020
CS6360 - Advanced Artificial Intelligence
S2020
CS5260 - Artificial Intelligence
F2019
CS6362 - Advanced Machine Learning
F2019
CS8395 - Computation & Cognition
Tennessee Technological University
F2018
CSC6903 - Learning Theory
S2018
CSC7980 - Stock Market Prediction Models
S2018
FIN6020 - Financial Management
F2017
CSC7240 - Intelligent Information Systems
F2016
CSC6903 - Advanced Reverse Engineering
F2016
ECE6580 - Instrument Transducer Technology
F2015
ECE6900 - Intelligent System Design
S2015
ECE6040 - Signal Analysis
S2015
ECE6250 - Random Signals & Systems
F2014
ECE6170 - High Performance Embedded System Design
F2014
ECE6200 - Linear Systems Analysis
F2014
ECE6600 - Computer Methods for Power System Analysis
Languages
- English (Native proficiency)
- Spanish (Elementary proficiency)
- Irish (Elementary proficiency)