Dr. Joshua Rusow with a poster of his research on partner violence experience in minority groups
As we continue to learn more about CAIS alumni and the different doors that interdisciplinary research in AI can open, we talked to alum Joshua Rusow. Upon graduation from his Ph.D. in social work, Dr. Rusow joined Washington University in St. Louis as an assistant professor. He focuses on how AI can be used to help LGBTQ+ youth, more specifically about how they learn about romantic relationships, how they see relationships involving violence, and how experiences with violence impact their health. Interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in social work? Keep reading to learn more about Dr. Rusow’s experience at CAIS and USC!
1. Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m really enjoying the new Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom. When I’m not saving Hyrule or trying to catch ‘em all, I’m trying to figure out how to use technology and AI to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ young people. As an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis, I work with and for young LGBTQ+ people to try and better understand their needs and help them build solutions to their concerns.
2. What factors influenced your decision to pursue your Ph.D. at USC?
I chose to go to USC to work with world-class professors. It helped that much of my family was still in Southern California. Also, the school was well-resourced to support student networking and attending professional conferences.
3. What were some of your highlights at USC?
Mostly hanging out with the other students and figuring out how we could support each other.
4. Tell us about why you decided to get involved in CAIS.
I’d always been interested in how technology could be incorporated into interventions and possible solutions to some of social work’s greatest challenges. When the formal relationship of computer science, AI, and social work came together, I was beating down the door to get in!
5. How did your experience at CAIS contribute to making your time at USC memorable?
I actually took the AI in Social Work class, twice, because I loved it so much the first time! (The second time I was technically auditing.) Getting to work with gifted students who approach issues from a completely different viewpoint helped me better understand possible solutions to the problems that concern me the most.
6. Tell us about your plans for the future.
Is “getting tenure” a plan?
7. How did CAIS help you in your career?
CAIS helped me understand some technological options that I can incorporate into my work, and also helped me focus questions in ways that are answerable with AI, other machine learning, and other burgeoning technologies.
8. What advice would you offer to someone considering pursuing a Ph.D. in social work?
Talk to other people who have gotten a Ph.D. in social work, or who are currently pursuing a Ph.D. in social work. Especially those who have graduated from or are currently at the school(s) that you’re interested in. It’s okay to learn more and meander a bit while you’re in your program, but having a clear focus going in will make the experience so much easier. Good luck!
