New · NeurIPS 2026 & IJCLR 2026 papers

I build visual intelligence that explains itself.

Researching interpretable machine learning for complex scenes, where computer vision, logical reasoning, and human understanding meet.

Based atOregon State University
Research focusInterpretable & neuro-symbolic ML
Open toResearch collaboration
Bhavan Vasu presenting research at an academic event
INTERPRETABILITY
HUMAN × AI
VISUAL REASONING
RELATIONAL LEARNING
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01

Selected work

Research made tangible.

A selection of projects spanning video and logical explanations, neuro-symbolic learning, content-based retrieval, aerial imagery, and learning theory.

Illustration of a language model proposing logic clauses that functional gradients refine into a weighted probabilistic logic program
Neuro-symbolic · IJCLR 2026

Probabilistic Logic Programs, Guided by Language Models

Learning probabilistic logic programs with language models that propose clauses and functional gradients that guide which ones are kept and how they are weighted.

Diagram comparing conventional machine learning and explainable AI
DARPA XAI

Explainable Artificial Intelligence

Research toward systems that communicate why they made a decision—not only what they predicted.

Program ↗
Visualization from research on neural network interpretation resilience
Aerial imagery

Resilience of Deep Network Interpretations

Investigating how model interpretations behave under perturbations in satellite and aerial imagery.

Thesis ↗
Dual-head neural network architecture for reading jersey numbers
Joint learning

Jersey Number Reader

A dual-head joint-learning architecture for reading two-digit jersey numbers from imagery.

Code ↗
Siamese network architecture for image change detection
Remote sensing

Bi-temporal Change Detection

Siamese-style neural architectures for finding meaningful change across paired satellite images.

Code ↗
Diagram illustrating metric learning neighborhoods
Learning theory

Generalization Bounds for Metric Learning

Exploring Rademacher complexity and matrix norms to characterize generalization in metric and similarity learning.

Illustrative artwork about probabilistically checkable proofs
Theoretical CS

Probabilistically Checkable Proofs

An accessible exploration of PCPs, their surprising power, and the weak PCP theorem.

02

Publications

Ideas, peer reviewed.

Papers across interpretable vision, logical and neuro-symbolic explanations, image retrieval, and remote sensing, from NeurIPS and AAAI to IEEE journals.

Publications
21
Latest venues
NeurIPS · IJCLR
Years active
2018–2026
Google Scholar ↗
NeurIPS 2026ConferenceNew

Disentangling Where and When: Factored Spatio-Temporal Explanations for Video Action Recognition

Bhavan Vasu, Giuseppe Raffa, Prasad Tadepalli

IJCLR 2026ConferenceNew

Learning Probabilistic Logic Programs with Functional Gradient Guided Language Models

Saurabh Mathur*, Sahil Sidheekh*, Bhavan Vasu*, Farbod Tavakkoli, Kristian Kersting, Sriraam Natarajan, Prasad Tadepalli* Equal contribution · Valencia, Spain

arXivPreprint

GLARE: A Natural Language Interface for Querying Global Explanations

Bhavan Vasu, Rajesh Mangannavar

IJCLR 2025Conference

Local-to-Global Logical Explanations for Deep Vision Models

Bhavan Vasu, Giuseppe Raffa, Prasad TadepalliGuildford, UK

ElectronicsJournal

Beyond Local Explanations: A Framework for Global Concept-Based Interpretation in Image Classification

Bhavan Vasu, Kunal Rathore, Prasad Tadepalli

IAAI 2024Conference

Interactive Mars Image Content-Based Search with Interpretable Machine Learning

Bhavan Vasu, Steven Lu, Emily Dunkel, Kiri L. Wagstaff, Kevin Grimes, Michael McAuley

AAAI 2023Student abstract

Global Explanations for Image Classifiers

Bhavan Vasu, Prasad Tadepalli

AGU 2022Abstract

Content-based Search of Large Image Archives at PDS Imaging Node

Steven Lu, Kiri Wagstaff, Emily Dunkel, Bhavan Vasu, Kevin Grimes, Michael McAuley

WACV 2022Conference

X-MIR: EXplainable Medical Image Retrieval

Brian Hu, Bhavan Vasu, Anthony Hoogs

Applied AI LettersJournal

XAITK: The Explainable AI Toolkit

Brian Hu, Paul Tunison, Bhavan Vasu, Nitesh Menon, Roddy Collins, Anthony Hoogs

Applied AI LettersJournal

Explainable, Interactive Content-Based Image Retrieval

Bhavan Vasu, Brian Hu, Bo Dong, Roddy Collins, Anthony Hoogs

IEEE AccessJournal

Resilience and Plasticity of Deep Network Interpretations for Aerial Imagery

Bhavan Vasu, Andreas Savakis

WACV 2020Conference

Iterative and Adaptive Sampling with Spatial Attention for Black-Box Model Explanations

Bhavan Vasu, Chengjiang Long

CVPR 2019 WorkshopsWorkshop

Visualizing the Resilience of Deep Convolutional Network Interpretations

Bhavan Vasu, Andreas Savakis

NSSDF 2019Symposium

Explainability for Content-Based Image Retrieval

Bhavan Vasu, J. Barnett, Roddy Collins, Anthony Hoogs

NSSDF 2019Symposium

Training Deep Networks for Patch-Based Search in Satellite Imagery

William Hicks, Bhavan Vasu, B. Pikus, R. Blue, Anthony Hoogs

RITM.S. thesis

Visualizing Resiliency of Deep Convolutional Network Interpretations for Aerial Imagery

Bhavan Vasu

ICIP 2018Conference

Resilience and Self-Healing of Deep Convolutional Object Detectors

Faiz Ur Rahman, Bhavan Vasu, Andreas Savakis

GlobalSIP 2018Conference

Siamese Network with Multi-Level Features for Patch-Based Change Detection in Satellite Imagery

Faiz Ur Rahman, Bhavan Vasu, Jared Van Cor, John Kerekes, Andreas Savakis

IVMSP 2018Workshop

Aerial-CAM: Salient Structures and Textures in Network Class Activation Maps of Aerial Imagery

Bhavan Vasu, Faiz Ur Rahman, Andreas Savakis

NSSDF 2018Symposium

Deep Learning for Object Detection and Classification in Satellite Imagery

C. Law, R. Blue, D. Stoup, P. Tunison, A. Hoogs, B. Vasu, J. Van Cor, J. Kerekes, A. Savakis, T. Rovito, C. Stansifer, S. Thomas

03

Journey

Built across disciplines.

From electronics and imaging science to applied computer vision, explainability, and planetary data.

2011–2015

Education

B.E. in Electronics & Communication Engineering

Global Academy of Technology · Bangalore, India
2016–2018

Education + Research

M.S. in Computer Engineering

Rochester Institute of Technology · Center for Imaging Science
2018–2021

Industry research

R&D Engineer, Computer Vision

Kitware · New York
2022

Planetary AI

Graduate Research Fellow

NASA JPL, Caltech · Machine Learning & Instrument Autonomy Group
2021–Present

Doctoral research

Ph.D., Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

Oregon State University · advised by Prof. Prasad Tadepalli

About

Rigorous research.
Creative curiosity.

My work uses computer vision and machine learning to find patterns, inspect model behavior, and turn opaque predictions into understandable interactions. I enjoy entering unfamiliar research spaces and building on existing ideas with practical, creative improvements.

Beyond research, I care about access to education and minority empowerment. Photography and music shape how I observe, frame, and communicate technical ideas.

Interpretable MLHuman–AI InteractionInteractive MLComputer VisionImage RetrievalRemote Sensing

“Be bold enough to follow the obvious, but have the tenacity to go after the behemoth.”

Personal maxim
04

Field notes

Milestones & moments.

A selected stream of talks, awards, papers, and community work. Hover or swipe to browse.

Paper accepted at NeurIPS 2026

Disentangling Where and When: factored spatio-temporal explanations for video action recognition.

IJCLR 2026 in Valencia

Learning Probabilistic Logic Programs with Functional Gradient Guided Language Models.

GLARE preprint released

A natural-language interface for querying global explanations of image classifiers.

Program Committee: NeurIPS 2026 & ICLR 2027

Reviewing for NeurIPS 2026, ICLR 2027, and AAAI 2024–2026.

Logical explanations at IJCLR 2025

Local-to-Global Logical Explanations for Deep Vision Models, presented in Guildford, UK.

Best poster, 1st place at AI Week

Won first place for best poster at Oregon State University’s AI Week two years running.

Oral presentation at IAAI 2024

Presented interactive Mars image search research in Vancouver.

IAAI paper accepted

Interactive Mars Image Content-Based Search with Interpretable Machine Learning.

AAAI 2024 Workflow Chair

Handled workflow responsibilities for the AAAI 2024 conference in Vancouver, Canada.

“Most Impactful” poster

Rule-Based Explanations for Deep Networks recognized at the PPI Center meeting.

NASA JPL Graduate Research Fellow

Interpretable ML for the Planetary Data System with the Machine Learning & Instrument Autonomy group.

Collaborator perspective

Trusted to go beyond the obvious.

“He combines a deep knowledge of machine learning techniques and research with an unparalleled willingness to branch out and try new things.”

William HicksEngineer, RAPIDS AI, NVIDIA

“Bhavan knows the foundations clearly enough to understand subtle mistakes and is capable enough to appreciate subtle but breakthrough ideas.”

Nilesh PandeyComputer Vision Engineer, Dolby

“It’s rare to come across individuals who excel in different domains, and Bhavan is indeed a rare find.”

Raviteja GundaData Scientist, Roku

Contact

Let’s make opaque systems a little more understandable.

For research collaborations, speaking, reviewing, or thoughtful conversations about visual intelligence.

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