Tucker Hermans
@thermans.bsky.social
Professor of Computing, I do research on robotics and AI. I also ski. https://robot-learning.cs.utah.edu/thermans
I've used conda/mamba for years but my coding agent always asks about trying virtual environment, is our relationship doomed?
Getting this coding agent to simplify some code just now really felt like bullying.
More of this, please. www.propublica.org?p=64422
“A Fraudulent Scheme”: New Mexico Sues Texas Oil Companies for Walking Away From Their Leaking Wells
New Mexico’s lawsuit accuses three Texas oil executives of pocketing revenue from oil and gas wells and offloading cleanup costs to the public. An investigation in 2024 by ProPublica and Capital & Mai...
propublica.org
Why have an "Answer now" button if literally every time I click it an error is thrown?
We are hiring in AI and NLP at Utah! Please apply if interested and share with folks you know are looking for faculty positions, especially if they like to ski, hike, climb, or bike! utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/190...
Assistant Professor for The Kahlert School of Computing
utah.peopleadmin.com
Come be my colleague! utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/188... . Our school (we're bigger than a department) is an awesome place to work. Our faculty are excellent across the board. Pay and benefits are good. SLC is a nice place to live. Happy to answer any questions
Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in Computing
utah.peopleadmin.com
Hope to see many friends here! We'll be presenting cuTAMP: cutamp.github.io
Differentiable GPU-Parallelized Task and Motion Planning
cutamp.github.io
Robotics: Science and Systems@roboticsscisys.bsky.social · last yr.#RSS2025 is only one week away! We can't wait to welcome you to Los Angeles, California! 🌴☀️🤖✈️ Check out our Travel page for everything you need to plan your trip — event locations, venue directions, and fun local activities: 🌐 roboticsconference.org/attending/tr...
A few folks at ICRA last week were asking about the details of my probabilistic deep learning course so I through together a public syllabus for it: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Probabilistic Deep Learning - Public Overview - Tucker Hermans - Kahlert School of Computing; University of Utah
Probabilistic Deep Learning This class covers probabilistic approaches to deep learning. These include model calibration, mixture density networks, (approximate) Bayesian neural networks, variational ...
docs.google.com
Got an email from NSF that my REU supplement won't be funded but I first read it as my entire RI Large was cancelled. 😅
This is great and the kind of close reading analysis I think a VLM is far from being able to produce anytime soon.
kottke.org@kottke.org · last yr.This is a little bit genius: an analysis of OpenAI based on a close reading of a 22-second video of CEO Sam Altman cooking pasta. “His kitchen is a catalogue of inefficiency, incomprehension, and waste.” [ft.com]
I just watched Arrival (one of my favorites) on my flight back from the NVIDIA Research Onsite and I feel inspired to create a heptapod VLA.
There's nothing like running an MCMC algorithm to remind you that computers can do a lot more than just run web browsers and PowerPoint.
Currently writing an active learning (pedagogy) exercise about active learning (ML concept)
Just got word from a colleague that he's been fired from NSF. It sounds like all at-will and probationary employees were let go, repeating what happened at NIH last week.
Norman's work influenced my thinking about affordnaces for robot learning in my dissertation. I'm excited for this!
Scientific Computing & Imaging Institute@sci.utah.edu · last yr.Mark your calendars for this Feb. 27 discussion with Don Norman, a renowned expert in user-centered design and beyond. He's among the most cited researchers in the world. 🔥 Norman will be hosted by Vineet Pandey, one of the inaugural faculty fellows in SCI's One-U Responsible AI Initiative.
So nice to see an organization I’m a member of, AAUP, actually doing something to fight back against the attack on science! ✊
Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 2y agoBREAKING: New lawsuit challenges Trump's anti-diversity executive orders, alleging Spending Clause, vagueness (Due Process), free speech (First Amendment), and separation of powers violations. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
NSF is still freezing grant payments because of Trump's executive orders targeting DEI, despite NSF's congressional mandate to weigh how grants will expand participation in science. What that means for scientists/science (with more detail than yesterday's radio story) www.npr.org/2025/01/31/n...
National Science Foundation freezes payments in response to Trump's executive actions
The National Science Foundation's funding freeze, and wider confusion about the status and future of science funding, is already hampering research.
npr.org
I just now got an official email from NSF about the freezing of new and existing grants, the relevant highlight: "Therefore, all review panels, new awards, and all payments of funds under open awards will be paused as the agency conducts the required reviews and analysis."
If you're a scientist that serves on an NSF panel that got cancelled today, I'd love to talk to you about it for an NPR story. DM, email or reach out on signal.
When I posted about my class I thought I'd give a thought about class each day, that's too much for me right now. Instead I'll say we are covering ensembles this week and it's been fun!
I'm teaching a new class this semester called "Probabilistic Deep Learning." I've organized the topics roughly around different probabilistic neural network tools we've used in my group. I'm very excited to be teaching a class that doesn't require students to install simulators or use robots!