Projects
Research, publications, and software
Research
Currently focusing on exploring large language model personalization performance with different user profile compositions, and improving personalization with non-user signals.
Publications
- Yilmazel O. I can't reveal yet, but it's cool :)
- Yilmazel O., Zhu A., Navarrete P., Pogorelov S., Partridge V. iNatator: Obtaining Expert Feedback on Species Ranges. New England Computer Vision Workshop (NECV); November 2024; Yale University, New Haven. Poster
- Yilmazel O., McGrady R., Partridge V., Zuckerman E. YouTube Topic Modeling. Computational Social Science Poster Session 2025; May 2025; UMass Amherst. 🏆 Winner of the People's Choice Award Poster
- Myers J. R., et al. Developing an equitable machine learning-based music intervention for older adults at-risk for Alzheimer's: Pilot findings for algorithm development and validation. JMIR Aging; October 2025. Contributor Poster
Projects
Natural Language Playlist Querying
Fall 2025
- Designed and implemented a natural language playlist retrieval system, developing custom song embeddings and a dual-encoder retriever.
- Processed 100,000 playlists from Spotify, leveraging PyTorch and HuggingFace Transformers to train retrieval models.
Scoundrel — Solo CLI Dungeon
I was bored one night
- A simple python CLI game based on the scoundrel card game.
- Why? CLI is fun and now I don't have to carry cards or shuffle.
OverMath — A Math Cooking Game
Fall 2024
- Co-developed a Unity-based educational game inspired by Overcooked; implemented Adversary AI, player controls, and projectile physics.
- Contributed core gameplay mechanics as part of a 5-person team.