Matthew Maung

Global Challenge: I've worked on analyzing urban infrastructure and looking at how to methods to make them more sustainable and efficient.

Abstract:

Ants serve as ideal subjects for understanding distributed decision-making and social organization due to their decentralized coordination mechanisms. Research done on Ants has allowed us to better understand altruistic social behaviors as well as how the individual interacts with the colony.

Our research aims to investigate the possibility of developing an agent based simulation that can accurately model the behaviors of an ant, highlighting the movement of an ant within a nest as well as the various activity states it undergoes when interacting with other ants. Additionally, the research can be used to improve swarm networks and artificial swarm intelligence, helping handle swarms of drones or robotics in adverse conditions.

Over the last three years, I have continuously focused my work around improving urban infrastructure. While developing a simulation for ants may not directly correlate to improving infrastructure, the findings of our research can help propel other research that does directly correlate. Investigating ants helps us understand the underlying mechanisms of engaging socially with others and the community around us, and better understanding these mechanisms means that we can continuously learn to design cities that help support and cultivate social behaviors that benefit society.

After studying abroad in four different cities, I have been able to gain a perspective on how diverse and different each city is, as well as the attitudes and cultural norms of cities, especially within how people interact day to day. By designing this simulation, we can continue to study the relationship between people and the way they interact with one another in a more sustainable manner, reducing the need for energy usage and upkeep for terrariums.

Bio:

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Matthew Maung is pursuing a degree in Computer Science. Through GLASS, Matthew has focused on UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and #11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

Throughout his college career, Matthew has studied abroad in four different countries. South Korea, China, Vietnam, and Portugal. These experiences have not only allowed him to hone his skills to help investigate his selected UN SDGs further, but also ignited his passion and interest to continue exploring different cultures, but reinforced his love for trying new things. On campus, Matthew was the Director of Operations for Rogue Aerospace, creating partnerships with local businesses and other student organizations while garnering sponsorships for the team. Matthew was also a Data Engineering Intern for DIRECTV, and a Software Engineering Intern at the Urban Future Labs. He finalized his Bachelor’s Thesis at the Center for Urban Science and Progress under professor Maurzio Porfiri, focusing on developing a simulation to emulate the behaviors of ants. He is expected to start at Capital One as an Associate Software Engineer in August 2025.

In his free time, Matthew enjoys playing volleyball and finding the best places to eat in NYC.