UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After graduating with bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) in 2024, Charlie Watson joined the Nittany AI Alliance as an artificial intelligence (AI) solutions architect. Now, he’s guiding students in the very activities that led him to his career.
Watson came to Penn State seeking a college with a good reputation in the technology field, specifically in computer programming. He liked the College of IST’s philosophy.
“IST’s focus on the intersection of information, technology and people was a major reason I applied there,” he said. “I firmly believe that when you’re building technology, you must consider the people who will use it.”
Watson majored in information sciences and technology on the design and development track. With that path, he’d get exposure to crucial concepts like human-centered design in addition to math, coding and the foundational technical elements of his major.
During the spring of his third year in his bachelor’s degree program, Watson discovered the integrated undergraduate-graduate (IUG) degree option.
“I’d always wanted to pursue a master’s degree but wasn’t sure if I’d do it immediately after my undergraduate studies or after some time in industry, perhaps with employer support,” he said. “The IUG option enabled me to earn both degrees in just five years, all within a college I was already familiar with.”
Watson was an involved student. He performed as a saxophonist in the Pride of the Lions Pep Band and participated in the Python Developer Club and Nittany Data Labs. He also served as a learning assistant (LA) for several IST courses.
“Each LA experience, whether debugging student code, teaching concepts or grading, built my knowledge and helped me to learn to think through complex problems and articulate them clearly,” Watson said. “I learned how to bridge the gap between an expert’s understanding and a student’s; it was a transformative part of my development.”
Watson’s most impactful student involvement was with Nittany AI Alliance, specifically, its Nittany AI Advance program, which enhances student learning by instilling a deep understanding of AI while helping students develop the skills needed to successfully use AI technology to solve problems.
Watson was introduced to the program by his capstone instructor Jenn McCauley, assistant teaching professor in the College of IST, who was then serving as the Nittany AI Advance program manager.
“I joined Advance in fall 2023 as a machine learning engineer and full stack developer for the SmartOCR project,” Watson said. “We collaborated with University Admissions to use optical character recognition (OCR) techniques to extract information from high school transcripts. This was a significant undertaking; previously, students might spend an hour or two manually entering their courses and grades when applying to Penn State.”
Charlie quickly progressed through the Advance program and became the technical team leader on the SmartOCR project, helping to take it from proof of concept to a robust product. This leadership role provided him with deep experience in applying AI to real-world problems and insights into agile project management, a core aspect of Advance.
At the same time, the leadership team at the Nittany AI Alliance was developing a new staff position. The AI solutions architect — education program specialist role was designed to address a strategic need within Nittany AI for dedicated, technical and strategic guidance as student projects and cohorts grew in scale.
After graduating in spring 2024, Watson applied for and was successfully hired into that position.
“Charlie exemplifies what it means to be part of IST,” McCauley said. “From his coursework to his first year as a professional, he’s brought a positive spirit filled with curiosity on what is possible and what is practical, along with a keen eye towards the user experience. Charlie’s journey from a standout student to a technical team leader in Nittany AI uniquely positioned him to understand the challenges our students face, which made him an excellent fit for the new role.”
In the position, Watson aims to improve the quality of student projects and how far they can progress.
“It’s about empowering students to overcome obstacles and build something important,” he said. “And that means staying on top of new AI techniques, emerging models and innovative frameworks. I’m constantly looking at what people in the industry are doing, seeking out new developments to incorporate the best and most current approaches into how we support our students."
Watson said he believes AI education — like the new Artificial Intelligence Methods and Applications major program in the College of IST — will be integral to nearly everyone’s job going forward. Experiential opportunities like those offered by Nittany AI can help students learn how to leverage AI in their future careers, he added.
"There are so many fantastic entry points into the program, catering to different interests and levels of experience,” Watson said. “From the broad community of the Nittany AI Student Society to the workshops of Nittany AI Inspire, from the idea generation of the Nittany AI Challenge to the deep-dive projects of Nittany AI Advance, there’s truly a pathway for everyone to get involved.”