Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D.

Miami, FL, 33127
OrcID Record | LinkedIn: nelabdiel
Spotify: Nel Abdiel | http://nel.world
n a c o l o n (at) g m a i l (dot) c o m

Academic Appointments

Columbia University - School of International and Public Affairs

Adjunct Faculty - Lecturer
Sept 2022 - Present

Teaching graduate policy students Data Science techniques and the Ethics of developing socially impactful products. Responsible for curriculum development, lab creation, and supervision of 5 Graduate Teaching Assistants.

Public Sector Experience

Department of Veterans Affairs - Office of the Chief AI Officer, DC

Applied Scientist - AI Policy Lead
Dec 2023 - Present

Lead the AI Policy Workstream, a multidisciplinary team, in developing AI Policy, Governance, and Guidance for the agency. Oversee the Safety and Rights impacting review process for AI use cases at VA.

U.S. Food & Drug Administration - Office of the Commissioner, DC

Artificial Intelligence Lead - Responsible AI Official
June 2023 - Dec 2023

Chaired the AI Governance and Advisory Board, guiding AI development and responsible use at the FDA. Advised on AI policies for HHS and the White House, and served as an AI expert for initiatives like the White House Cancer Moonshot.

U.S. Digital Service, Executive Office of the President, The White House

AI & Cybersecurity Lead - Digital Service Expert
Nov 2021 - June 2023

Worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs on AI strategies and practices, ensuring alignment with White House ethical principles. Developed AI-driven cybersecurity products at the Department of Defense, promoted responsible AI development.

White House Presidential Innovation Fellows, Washington, DC

AI Lead - Entrepreneur in Residence
Jan 2019 - Oct 2021

Led development and deployment of AI-driven solutions, including a Claims Attributes API that reduced VA benefit claims wait times and saved $10 million annually. Crafted AI and Cybersecurity research funding evaluations for ITS-JPO at DOT.

Private Sector Experience

Microsoft, Redmond, WA / Humacao, P.R.

Data & Applied Scientist II - Intellectual Property Protection & Solutions
Feb 2018 - Jan 2019

Developed advanced algorithms for time series anomaly and ML-driven intrusion detection, enhancing the security of Microsoft products and cloud services. Led collaborative efforts to address emerging cyber threats.

Soteria - Tailored Cybersecurity Solutions, Charleston, S.C.

Lead Data Scientist
June 2016 - Jan 2018

Led a cross-functional team through the development and deployment of Soteria's proprietary NLP/NLU phishing detection solution.

Education

University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Ph.D., Mathematics
Thesis: Localized Skein Algebras as Frobenius Extensions. DOI: 10.17077/etd.lxsp43cp
M.Sc Mathematics

University of Texas, Austin, TX
M.Sc., Artificial Intelligence
Expected December 2024

University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
M.St., Artificial Intelligence Ethics and Society
Expected June 2025

University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA
M.A. Mathamatics
Dissertation: Discrete Subgroups of SL(2, R)

University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, San Juan, PR
B.Sc., Mathematics

Selected Publications

The Traveling Mailman: Topological Optimization Methods for User-Centric Redistricting

Nelson Colón Vargas, Under Review. DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2407.19535

Exploiting The Margin: How Capitalism Fuels AI at the Expense of Minoritized Groups

Nelson Colón Vargas, AI & Ethics, Springer Journal, 2024. DOI: 10.1007/s43681-024-00502-w

The Localized Skein Algebra is Frobenius

Nel Abdiel and Charles Frohman, Algebraic and Geometric Topology, Volume 17, Issue 6, October 2017. DOI: 10.2140/agt.2017.17.3341

Frobenius Algebras Derived From The Kauffman Bracket Skein Algebras

Nel Abdiel and Charles Frohman, Journal of Knot Theory and its Ramification Volume 25, Issue 04, April 2016. DOI: 10.1142/S0218216516500164

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