Minji Kim

Human-Centered Data Science · Business Analytics · AI Systems

MS Business Analytics at UT Austin McCombs
BS Human-Centered Data Science at UT Austin iSchool
AI Systems & Data Automations Fellow at VIPC

Responsible AI Human-Centered Design Data Science AI & Automation
Minji Kim

About Me

Where data meets
people & purpose

Hi, I'm Minji! I work at the intersection of people, technology, and information — driven by the belief that well-designed systems can open doors, not close them. My focus is on building solutions that promote equitable access to resources, with particular attention to communities that have historically been underserved or excluded.

I completed my BS in Human-Centered Data Science at UT Austin's iSchool, and I'm currently pursuing an MS in Business Analytics at McCombs. Alongside my studies, I serve as an AI Systems & Data Automations Fellow at VIPC, where I deploy AI tools that reduce friction and expand opportunity within Virginia's innovation ecosystem.

Responsible AI and human-centered design are at the core of everything I do. I believe technology should be accountable, inclusive, and built with the communities it serves — not just for them. Whether it's data pipelines, automated systems, or analytical tools, I ask: who does this serve, and who might it leave behind?

🎓
Education
MS Business Analytics · BS Human-Centered Data Science (GPA: 3.9) @ University of Texas at Austin
💼
Current Role
AI Systems & Data Automations Fellow at Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC), Richmond, VA
🔍
Interests
Responsible AI · HCI · Accessible & Inclusive Design · Social Justice · Food Reviews

Projects & Publications

🤖
AI Systems & Automation
📊
Business Analytics
🧑‍💻
Human-Centered Design
🔒
Cybersecurity & AI Ethics
Project
Prolific Researcher Commercialization Dashboard
Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation · September 2025 – Present
Built an AI-powered statewide research intelligence platform on AWS that aggregates multi-source publication data to map researcher pipelines and identify commercialization opportunities across Virginia's university and higher education labs — bridging the gap between academic innovation and market pathways.
Research
Privacy-Preserving On-Device Vision-Language Models
UT Austin Undergraduate Research Fellowship · November 2024
Awarded University funding to investigate privacy-preserving, on-device vision-language models — exploring how powerful multimodal AI can be deployed locally without compromising sensitive user data, with implications for equitable and responsible AI access.
Project
Safer City for Pittsburgh
Spring 2025
Applied data science to a real public safety challenge, analyzing thousands of property records to surface community risk patterns and translate them into actionable insights. Brought findings directly to city leadership, demonstrating how data-driven approaches can inform more equitable, evidence-based urban policy.
Project
Less Annoying Robo Caller: Multimodal Emotion Recognition
Spring 2025
Designed a multimodal emotion recognition system combining speech audio and ASR-derived text to enhance customer service AI. Trained a late-fusion model on 7,400+ audio files, boosting classification accuracy by 30% over unimodal baselines and built a prototype processing live voice inputs in real time.

Curriculum Vitae

Experience & Education

Education

MS Business Analytics (in progress)
McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin
BS Human-Centered Data Science · GPA: 3.9
University of Texas at Austin · School of Information
Minor: Risk Management, Programming & Computation

Experience

AI Systems & Data Automations Fellow
Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) · Richmond, VA
SOC Analyst
UT Regional Security Operations Center · Austin, TX
Data Science Researcher
AI/ML/NLP Labs · Austin, TX
Undergraduate Associate Researcher
UT Austin iSchool Labs · Austin, TX
Texas Cybersecurity Clinic Consultant
Strauss Center · Austin, TX
Business Analyst
LOE Cosmetics · Austin, TX

Leadership

President · Girls Who Code
Founded UT Austin GWC Mentorship Program · led 200+ member org · raised $7,500+
President · Informatics Undergraduate Student Council
Launched mentorship program · interdisciplinary programming across schools
Member · Responsible AI Institute (RAII)
AI governance, policy & risk management across U.S. and EU regulatory contexts

Honors & Awards

National Security Fellow
Girl Security · Women's leadership in national security, technology & AI ethics
NobleReach Scholar
National fellowship for public-interest technology & policy innovation · AI Fellow focused on AI policy & implementation
Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge — Semi-Finalist
Atlantic Council · 4th place (Washington, DC) & 6th place (Austin, TX)
Undergraduate Research Fellowship
University of Texas at Austin · Privacy-preserving on-device VLMs
University Honors
University of Texas at Austin

Skills

Programming & Platforms
Python · SQL · R · Swift · Jupyter · GitHub
Data & Cloud
Tableau · Power BI · AWS · ETL · APIs · Data Modeling
AI / ML / NLP
Scikit-learn · TensorFlow · PyTorch · Transformers · LLMs · NLP · Predictive Modeling
Download Full CV (PDF)

Foodie Diary

My Favorite Spots

Minji's Café Guide

A living, curated list of coffee shops, study spots, and hidden gems I've discovered in Austin, the DMV area, and beyond. Ratings are personal! Have a suggestion? Submit it below!

Suggest a Café ✉️

Know a spot I should try? Fill in the form and I'll check it out!

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll check it out soon ☕

Let's Connect

Whether you're interested in collaborating on research, talking data and AI, or just want to swap café recommendations — I'd love to hear from you!

Send a Message

Message sent! I'll get back to you soon 🌿