Hello, I am Michael!

CS & Math student — atoms and algorithms

  • Name: Michael Yao
  • School: Harvey Mudd College ’28
  • Major: Joint Computer Science & Mathematics
  • Lab: Zhuang Group
  • Based: Claremont, CA

I'm Michael — a computer-science & math student at Harvey Mudd, working in the Zhuang group on the statistical physics of deep neural networks and the structural heterogeneity of supercooled water: mean-field theory, large MD simulations, order-parameter embeddings.

Outside the lab I build tools at the seam of atoms and algorithms — agentic spectroscopy reasoning, sparse autoencoders on RL-trained models, GNN pipelines for MS/MS fragmentation. I care about systems you can hold in your head, and results that survive being looked at twice.

My Experience

My Education

Projects

Click on any project to learn more

Works.

atoms, agents, photos, and what's in between.

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Agent

02

Simulation

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Interpretability

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Photography

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Experiments

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Elsewhere

© 2026 Michael Yao