Shane Cairns

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About Me

Hey there! I'm Shane, welcome to my site! I am a Computer Science PhD student at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Missouri. I am currently researching Adaptive Resonance Theory as a means of exploring adversarial robustness, interpretability, and AI safety. My first-author paper is under review right now: I developed a novel attack method for prototype-based models and introduced a progressive adversarial training technique as a defense mechanism. Think of it as stress-testing AI systems that learn continuously. What really drives me is AI safety, interpretability, and trustworthiness. I want to build AI systems that are robust, interpretable, and aligned with human values— especially as these models get deployed in more and more sensitive industries. I'm looking for roles in AI safety research, adversarial ML, interpretability, or anywhere I can work on the societal impacts of AI. If that sounds like your team, I'd love to connect. You can reach me at syre@duck.com. Feel free to scroll through the galleries below and learn a little bit more about me!

Academics

Back in high school I got involved everywhere I could. I was on the data science team, computer programming team, engineering (JETS) team, academic team, Chemistry Olympiad, and a member of the robotics club. After high school I left my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio and went to Missouri University of Science and Technology to study Computer Science on a full academic scholarship (Distinguished Scholar Award). I finished my undergrad in 3 and a half years and was fortunate enough to get software engineering internships with Howmet Aerospace and Ford Motor Company. I'm now pursuing my PhD in Computer Science, studying adversarial robustness and interpretability in continual learning systems. I am very grateful to have been accepted to the Kummer Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fellowship here at S&T. The financial support and exposure to real-world examples of applied research has been instrumental in my growth as a researcher.

Sports

Sports have always been a huge part of my life. Growing up I played everything: soccer, football, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, you name it. I ended up sticking with soccer, and I take pride in being named captain of every team I've ever played for, all the way through college (travel, club, high school, college). I even played semi-professionally with Club Atletico St. Louis! It was a dream come true.

Family & Friends

Family and friends mean everything to me, they've supported me through every chapter. I truly owe a great deal of my success to my parents, grandparents, and my four incredible siblings. I'm also very fortunate to have met over a dozen lifelong best friends through college soccer. 10 of us lived together for 4 years! I appreciate all of them dearly.

Travel

I've explored Norway, the UK, Alaska, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and have hiked in Colorado, Tennessee, Virginia, and more! I love National Parks, camping, snowboarding, and anything outside!

Hobbies

I enjoy the competitive drive in every realm of my life: academics, sport, fitness, even my silly side hobbies are motivated by competition. Right now, I'm training for an Ironman 70.3 — that's a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run! In my (limited) free time, I love to play games. I play chess at ~1450 elo, I'm Grand Champ 2 in Rocket League, formerly Top 500 in Overwatch, and even played on my university's Overwatch team!

Animals

Please enjoy these pics of Chuck and Flash, my two orange cats. Their names are inspired by my favorite TV show of all time, "Chuck" from ~2007. I absolutely adore and am fascinated by animals— from cats and dogs to pet rats to penguins and snakes and everything in between.

Thanks for checking out the site! Feel free to contact me at syre@duck.com