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App-In Club
Research Team

A community of young researchers exploring AI, computing, and science through original work, shared curiosity, and the freedom to pursue ambitious ideas.

Learning by doing.

A research project develops judgment through the decisions it demands: which questions deserve attention, what would count as convincing evidence, and how a result changes our understanding. Our approach to project-based learning (PBL) gives students the time and independence to engage deeply with that process.

Our team brings together students passionate about AI and research, IOI and IOAI competitors, and university researchers at MIT CSAIL, CMU LTI, and Stanford SAIL.

Premier AI & ML research

Our members’ papers have been accepted and presented at leading AI conferences, including NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML, AAAI, and ACL.

Six App-In Club team members together in front of the ICML 2026 sign.
ICML ’26 Team
Undergraduate researchers sharing a meal at the ICLR 2025 meet up.
ICLR ’25 Undergrad Meet Up
Rory Hu on the left, Tianyi Huang in the center, and Elsa Fan on the right at AAAI 2025.
AAAI ’25 · Left: Rory Hu · Right: Elsa Fan
Tianyi Huang presenting Structured Reasoning for Fairness at an AAAI 2025 workshop.
AAAI ’25 Oral
The KGML community gathered for a group photograph at AAAI 2025.
AAAI ’25 KGML Community
Kai Deng discussing his research poster with attendees at ACL 2026.
ACL ’26 Kai Deng
Kimberley Yin explaining her research poster to an attendee at ICML 2026.
ICML ’26 Kimberley Yin
Team members raising their glasses together at ICML 2026.
ICML ’26 Cheers!
Attendees listening to Fei-Fei Li’s invited talk on visual intelligence at NeurIPS 2024.
NeurIPS ’24 · Fei Fei Li Invited Talk
An audience attending a workshop panel discussion at ICLR 2025, with a remote speaker on screen.
ICLR ’25 · Workshop Panel Discussion
Conference attendees gathered at the ICML 2026 welcoming reception.
ICML ’26 · Welcoming Reception
Attendees discussing research during the main poster session at ICLR 2025.
ICLR ’25 · Main Poster Session
Attendees visiting the Google DeepMind and Google Research exhibition booths at ICLR 2025.
ICLR ’25 · Exhibition floor
Attendees gathering beneath a large Jane Street exhibition sign at ICLR 2025.
ICLR ’25 · Exhibition floor
An audience watching Tim Rocktäschel’s invited talk at ICLR 2025.
ICLR ’25 · Tim Rocktäschel Invited Talk

Ownership.

The most rewarding part of research is making the work your own: its questions, ideas, experiments, and conclusions.

We give students room to follow their curiosity, challenge assumptions, and develop directions of their own. An open exchange of ideas, thoughtful feedback, and high standards help them create work they can understand, defend, and take pride in.

Explore AIRC with Ryquo
Ethan Dai explaining his research, with a diagram of the TwinCheck method
Watch on YouTube
Ethan Dai (Research team ’24–present) explains his work accepted at the NeurIPS ’26 VerifyAgents and AIWILD workshops.

STEM Competitions

Jophy Lin with Tianyi Huang in front of her poster at ISEF 2024
Jophy Lin (Research Team ’24–’26) 3 times ISEF Finalist

Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)

At ISEF 2024, our members earned 1st place in BEHA and 3rd place in MATS, alongside multiple finalist positions in TMED and BMED.

Rory Hu beside her honeybee research poster at Broadcom MASTERS
Rory Hu (Research Team ’24–Present) Photo: Society for Science

Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge (JIC)

The 2022 DoD STEM Talent Award recipient discusses her research on honeybee learning and memory in an interview with Society for Science.

Read the interview

Congressional App Challenge (CAC)

Each year, 10+ App-In Club teams win the Congressional App Challenge, with some also receiving recognition from their congressional district representatives.

Students demonstrating their apps to visitors at the Congressional App Challenge
Congressional App Challenge participants posing with their congressional district representative

MIT Global Appathon

Our students consistently place in the MIT Global Appathon, with members earning first place in both individual and team categories. Awardees are invited to present their work at the MIT App Inventor Global Education Summit, formerly the MIT AI + Education Summit hosted by MIT RAISE and MIT App Inventor.

App-In Club members and fellow attendees at the MIT AI + Education Summit
A student receiving an award certificate at the MIT AI + Education Summit