Frank Frisby's Trailblazing AI at DoD
When Frank Frisby (MS ‘11) began his studies at CMU, he kept thinking that it “felt like home.” That feeling grew as he met more people on campus—and continues even today. Now working as a data scientist and project lead for the United States Department of Defense (DoD), Frisby remains in touch with many friends and instructors from his time at CEE. And as he continues to evolve his career path in machine learning, he relies on the skills developed during his master’s degree program.
Frisby says that he was attracted to CEE’s learning methods because they allowed him to “take computer systems and apply them to civil engineering and infrastructure.” He also appreciated the focus on analytical thinking—a skill he uses often in his current job.
“At CEE, I had to work through problems until we arrived at a solution. I also gained experience in writing applications and database systems. These are things that many people take for granted but I’ve really come to appreciate why these skills matter.”
“During my undergraduate degree, I gained skills. But at CMU, I learned how to put those skills together to build a product.”
These real-world applications allowed Frisby to feel comfortable in his current position, which involves working on projects with many moving parts. At the DoD, he uses machine learning to improve program performance. The exact nature of his work can’t be fully disclosed because of its nature. Frisby utilizes several programs, including OpenAI, Azure Cloud functions, and Large Language models. He’s also engaged in API development.
While he jokes that he found his first grey hair during graduate school, Frisby credits CMU with opening up new doors that allowed him to envision innovative uses for machine learning and AI After graduation, he pursued jobs in civil engineering but at a fortuitous interview, was told that his skillset better matched a computer systems job description. A year later, he began working for the government.
Frisby’s passion for machine learning led him to create a startup called CofounderAI that helps entrepreneurs, college students and motivated professionals to progress in their careers. He began working on the project because he wanted to help individuals overwhelmed with trying to keep up with technological changes. “One of the challenges I found in my career was that I’ve always needed someone on my side. The startup will use AI—which can work day and night—to perform tasks, provide insight, complete research, and support clients in both their professional and personal lives.”
He also recently participated as a team member in the U.S. Army’s 2023 Deep Green Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Challenge Phase II, sponsored by the Army Research Lab—and won! According to Frisby, the competition consisted of two phases, with the “overall focus being the perception capabilities of ground autonomous navigation systems that utilize computer vision, light detection and ranging, and AI algorithms in off-road environments.” The winning accomplishment was celebrated in an article on the U.S. Army’s website, titled “SEC Avengers take home Deep Green title.”
Even with a very busy schedule, Frisby remains strongly connected to the CMU community, even serving on the alumni board. He believes that, for him, CEE is where it all came together. “During my undergraduate degree, I gained skills. But at CMU, I learned how to put those skills together to build a product.”
He adds that learning alongside so many other hard-working, intelligent students was motivating and pushed him to do his best. “You can only get that type of experience at certain schools. Because I went to CMU, I know how much more I can produce.”