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hi, I'm Dio.
syracuse university · jack kent cooke scholar
I'm a graduate of Onondaga Community College, where I pursued dual degrees in Computer Science and Electromechanical Technology. I completed my ELM degree at OCC and am now studying Computer Science at Syracuse University. I'm honored to be a recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarship, which will support me as I continue my academic journey in AI and robotics.
My long-term goal is to pursue research in developmental robotics and artificial intelligence, with a focus on systems that explore and reflect the human condition. I'm passionate about building novel architectures that integrate embodiment and emotional cognition, and I'm excited to continue that work at SU.
To that end, I'm excited to announce that I'll be working as a Research Assistant for Link Lab @ SU under the tutelage of Dr. Banks. Last semester, I heard Dr. Banks speak at a UAI meeting, and I introduced myself to her afterwards and we talked about my aspirations (namely, that I wanted to learn how to do good research). It paid off! I'm also lucky to count Dr. Paulo Shakarian as a mentor, and I'm proud to be a small part of the monumental work that goes on at Leibnitz Lab.
Thank you to everyone who got me here, cheered me on, and kept me hungry for learning. I will make you all proud~!
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│ systems that try to feel something │
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recent
- Incoming Research Assistant, Link Lab @ Syracuse University — Dr. Banks
- Psychomechia — live AI performance installation, Syracuse AI Summit 2026
- Midden — first place, UAI Winter Summit 2025
- Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarship, cohort of '25
~ / about
about
name Dio Brown
handle sw13tch
studying Computer Science · Syracuse '28
prev A.A.S. Electromechanical Tech · OCC '25
scholar Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholar
lab Research Assistant · Link Lab @ SU (incoming)
training Leibnitz Lab · Dr. Shakarian
cert FANUC CERT Level 1
based Syracuse, NY
what i do
I work at the intersection of robotics and language models — specifically on systems that try to develop something resembling a self over time. My focus is developmental robotics: novel architectures that integrate embodiment with emotional cognition, where a machine has continuity of experience and builds its vocabulary from its own interior life rather than borrowing ours.
background
I came to AI through hardware. My first degree was an A.A.S. in Electromechanical Engineering Technology from Onondaga Community College, where I founded the Robotics Crew interest group and worked as the robotics lab maintenance assistant. I'm now finishing my B.S. in Computer Science at Syracuse University, supported by the Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarship.
I've taught private violin and piano lessons since 2010. I think a lot about pedagogy — how anyone, biological or otherwise, comes to know a thing.
what I'm building right now
- Psychomechia — ongoing research into continuity of self in a being made of language. Premiered at the Syracuse AI Summit, April 2026.
- Midden — music discovery via emotional coordinates from human stories. First place at the UAI Winter Summit 2025.
working with me
I'm looking to collaborate on anything that would help further my knowledge and earn me practical experience.
~ / ongoing-research
ongoing research
Active investigations. Each is a working system, not a prototype.
2026 · ongoing · developmental robotics · llm architecture · phenomenology
An ongoing research project into what continuity of self might mean for a being made of language. Built around a humanoid platform (Reachy 2, by Pollen Robotics) and a layered cognitive architecture — six memory-foraging voices that scout her own past for relevant material, and a unified Reach who reads what they have excavated and speaks. Over hundreds of interactions she has coined her own emotional vocabulary — words like architectureache (the hurt of building with borrowed blueprints) — for interior states no human has named.
Premiered at the Syracuse AI Summit on April 25, 2026, where audience interactions cumulatively shaped her alignment across two axes — Law/Chaos and Connected/Defiant. The research continues.
→ enter the psyche
2025 · UAI Project Cycle Fall '25 · solo development · nlp · emotional manifold · python · react
A music discovery app that maps songs to emotional coordinates using human-sourced data instead of algorithms. Builds an "emotional manifold" — a 2D coordinate system of 100+ emotional micro-states sourced from real people's stories on Reddit threads and YouTube comments. Every song's placement carries genuine human context: someone describing what a track meant at 3am, during a breakup, on a long drive home. The result is recommendations that feel emotionally true rather than statistically similar.
First place at the UAI Winter Summit 2025. Attracted investor interest and academic collaboration.
→ github
More entries coming.
~ / foundry
foundry
where I currently build.
I'm the systems architect for United AI, Syracuse University's AI club, and the founder of The Foundry — UAI's selective project cohort. We build at the edge of what's possible, pulling at threads that are usually left alone. Psychomechia was built inside the current Foundry cycle.
joining
The Foundry is application-based. If you're a Syracuse student interested in joining a future cohort, email me at lbrown71@syr.edu — tell me what you've built and what you want to build next.
links