Fourth-year Public Policy student Ashley Cotsman was selected as Georgia Tech’s honoree for the 2025 USG Academic Recognition Day. She stood out among thousands of students at the Institute for her work with AI and machine learning to improve policymaking.
“It’s truly humbling to be the first Ivan Allen College student to represent Tech at USG Recognition Day, especially as I know firsthand how many incredible, deserving students I’ve studied alongside,” Cotsman said.
Each institution in the University System of Georgia chooses one student to honor with the award each year.
“As you can imagine, the competition is tough at Georgia Tech,” said Shatakshee Dhongde, the associate dean for academic affairs in the Ivan Allen College. “Ashley’s strength as a candidate was the combination of using advanced machine learning and analytical models to inform policy. Her research experience shows how we can use technology to improve the human condition, and thus, she is a perfect representative of a Georgia Tech senior.”
Cotsman said she’s incredibly grateful for the mentors who encouraged her to explore the intersection of technology, machine learning, and smart policymaking. Alongside her public policy degree, she is completing a Minor in Applications of AI and Machine Learning. She also has worked in Associate Professor Omar Isaac Asensio’s Data Science and Policy Lab since she was a first-year student.
“This is a well-deserved recognition,” Asensio said. “Ashley has shown excellence in the classroom and multi-disciplinary research settings.”
Her stand-out achievements include co-authoring a journal article on the use of large language models to detect global service reliability issues in electric transportation policy, earning her a first-place award at the Georgia Tech Undergraduate Research Symposium, and a mention by Microsoft AI in a feature story on Azure cloud computing.
She also led a project using GPT-4 and prompt engineering to analyze the sea of sustainability reports published by organizations each year and help policymakers reduce evaluation costs. Cotsman presented her work at the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management Conference with support from a President’s Undergraduate Research Award.
In the Fall, Cotsman won a competitive Federal Jackets Fellowship to participate in the GTDC “study at home” semester in Washington. Alongside her classes and internship at the House Finance Committee, she researched and wrote an analysis of gender dynamics in policymaking spaces, examining the challenges, opportunities, and future for gender equity.
“This recognition is more than a personal honor; it marks a significant first for the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts,” Cotsman said. “It celebrates the growing impact of students whose work brings depth, context, and humanity to our world’s most pressing scientific challenges. I am honored to represent that legacy and hope this recognition affirms the enduring relevance of humanistic perspectives in building a better future.”
