Sample-efficient reinforcement learning and its applications

Abstract

To my wife, Chen Qian, and my parents, Xiaojian Zheng and Fengning Xian. This achievement is yours as much as it is mine. i Contents List of Figures vii List of Tables xi List of Acronyms xiii Acknowledgments xivAbstract of the Dissertation xvi her unwavering support, invaluable guidance, and continuous encouragement throughout the entire journey of this dissertation. Her expertise, patience, and commitment have been instrumental in shaping this work and guiding me towards the achievement of my academic goals. The countless hours we spent together preparing the proposal, refining our papers, and delving into the intricacies of our research will always be cherished memories, illuminating the path of my scholarly journey.I extend my sincere gratitude to my thesis committee members: Ozlem Ergun, Sagar Kamarthi, and Ilya O. Ryzhov, for their insightful discussions that have greatly contributed to my work. Special thanks go to Ilya O. Ryzhov, not only for his ongoing guidance throughout various stages of my research development but also for his ability to elucidate complex concepts with absolute clarity. His skill in refining and grounding my research ideas, coupled with his witty sarcasm and ironic humor, has been invaluable.I am also grateful to Ben Feng for fostering a collaborative and open environment, his insightful questions continually motivating me to delve deeper into my research. Additionally, I extend my appreciation to Dongming Xie, Sarah Harcum for their substantial guidance in modeling and optimizing complex biochemical systems within cell culture processes. Furthermore, my thanks go to Paul Whitford for his lucid explanations of molecular dynamics simulations and his valuable advice on physics-driven RNA degradation modeling. I must also acknowledge Sara H. Rouhanifard and her team for their significant efforts in conducting expensive experiments that have greatly bolstered our research. I wish to express my gratitude to Judy Zhong for her invaluable advice and guidance on projects at the intersection of healthcare and artificial intelligence.Throughout my five years at NEU, I had the chance to collaborate with great colleagues who have provided invaluable help with my research. Many thanks to Keqi Wang, my comrade and friend, for his collaboration on the project of many projects, writing proposals and papers, and the related follow up works. He is also one of the guests at my wedding during the COVID-19 pandemic. I also would like to thank other Ph.D students in Dr. Xie's group, Yuling Yang, Keilung Choy, Qiang Fu, Wandi Xu, and friends in the MIE department, Guotan Li, Peiqi Wang, Murtadha Aldoukhi, Burcu Özek, Nathan Adeyemi, for many insightful discussions on research ideas.Many thanks to Mikesell, Derek, Jeffrey Meier, Yi Su for providing me with internship opportunities and mentoring me at Amazon. I would like to thank Kuang-