cv
Basics
| Name | Yifan Kang |
| Label | Student |
| yifank@mit.edu | |
| Url | https://yifank.github.io/ |
| Summary | A student at MIT studying Mathematics and Computer Science, interested in machine learning, computer vision, and robotics |
Work
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2025.06 - 2025.08 Student Researcher
MIT
Working under Prof. Antonio Torralba on visual generation with multimodal LLMs.
- Co-first author of Doodle Agent: Exploring Freeform Visual Generation with Multimodal LLMs (Accepted to ICCV 2025 AI4VA Workshop), a drawing agent for open-ended visual creation using LLMs and structured prompting.
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2025.06 - Present Student Researcher
MIT
Working under Prof. Leslie Pack Kaelbling on few-shot concept discovery and robotic manipulation using diffusion policies with vision-language conditioning.
- Developed few-shot concept discovery framework, implementing diffusion policy with vision-language conditioning for robotic manipulation.
- Built comprehensive computer vision pipeline integrating ResNet18 encoders, text embedding networks, and classifier-free guidance for diffusion policy, achieving robust policy adaptation from minimal demonstrations.
- Engineered benchmarking system with custom dataset loaders, advanced optimization techniques (AdamW, EMA), and Weights & Biases tracking, evaluating generalization across 12 distinct object-language configurations.
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2023.06 - 2023.08 RSI Scholar
Research Science Institute (RSI)
Authored research paper on quantum circuit synthesis under mentorship of Henry Ma (MIT).
- Authored the paper "CNOT-Optimal Circuit Synthesis" under the mentorship of Henry Ma (MIT); Selected as the top 5 paper at RSI out of 100 candidates.
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2021.07 - 2021.07 T-Spark Scholar
Tencent
Selected for Tencent's T-Spark program, a highly competitive research initiative for high school students.
- Selected for Tencent's T-Spark program, a highly competitive research initiative for high school students.
- Optimized machine learning models for video recommendation systems, focusing on improving personalization accuracy.
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2021.01 - 2023.12 Researcher
MIT PRIMES
Conducted research on NUMA-aware data structures and benchmarking, and studied advanced mathematical topics.
- Conducted research on NUMA-aware data structures and benchmarking under Shangdi Yu and Prof. Julian Shun.
- Studied advanced mathematical topics including coding theory, game theory, topology, and representation theory.
- Presented research findings at the annual MIT PRIMES mini-conference.
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2020.06 - 2020.07 Participant
Yau International Mathcamp
Completed advanced coursework in mathematics and presented research findings.
- Completed advanced coursework in linear algebra, algebraic combinatorics, analysis, and topology.
- Selected to present a final project proving Kirchhoff's Matrix-Tree Theorem.
Education
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2024.09 - Present Cambridge, MA
B.S.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mathematics and Computer Science
- Fundamentals of Probability (6.7700)
- Discrete Probability and Stochastic Processes (18.619)
- Deep Learning (6.7960)
- NLP (6.4610)
- Computer Graphics (6.4400)
- Advanced Algorithms (6.5210)
- Machine Learning (6.7900)
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2020.09 - 2024.06 Andover, MA
Awards
- 2024.12.01
William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition — Rank 254
Mathematical Association of America
- 2024.01.01
Regeneron Science Talent Search — Top 300 Scholar
Society for Science
- 2024.04.01
- 2024.11.01
Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament (HMMT) — 2nd Place, Combinatorics Round
Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament
- 2023.04.01
United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) — Honorable Mention
Mathematical Association of America
- 2022.05.01
United States of America Computing Olympiad (USACO) — Finalist
USA Computing Olympiad
- 2022.04.01
United States of America Physics Olympiad (USAPhO) — Bronze Medalist
American Association of Physics Teachers
- 2021.04.01
United States of America Junior Mathematical Olympiad (USAJMO) — Top 24
Mathematical Association of America
Publications
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2025.10.01 Doodle Agent: Exploring Freeform Visual Generation with Multimodal LLMs
ICCV 2025 AI4VA Workshop
Co-first author. A drawing agent for open-ended visual creation using LLMs and structured prompting. Accepted to ICCV 2025 AI4VA Workshop.
-
2023.08.01 CNOT-Optimal Circuit Synthesis
Research Science Institute
Authored under the mentorship of Henry Ma (MIT). Selected as the top 5 paper at RSI out of 100 candidates.
Skills
| Programming Languages | |
| Python | |
| C++ | |
| Java | |
| Rust | |
| LaTeX |
| Machine Learning | |
| Deep Learning | |
| Computer Vision | |
| Natural Language Processing | |
| Robotics | |
| Generative Models |
| Tools & Frameworks | |
| PyTorch | |
| Weights & Biases |
Languages
| English | |
| Native |
| Chinese | |
| Bilingual Proficiency |
| Japanese | |
| JLPT N1 |
Interests
| Research | ||||||
| Machine Learning | ||||||
| Computer Vision | ||||||
| Robotics | ||||||
| Natural Language Processing | ||||||
| Quantum Computing | ||||||
| Mathematics | |||||||
| Combinatorics | |||||||
| Algebra | |||||||
| Topology | |||||||
| Coding Theory | |||||||
| Game Theory | |||||||
| Representation Theory | |||||||