Madelyn Gatchel

gatchel@umich.edu

I am a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Michigan, advised by Professor Michael P. Wellman in the Strategic Reasoning Group. My research interests lie at the intersection of artificial intelligence and algorithmic game theory. I am also passionate about teaching, mentorship, and working to increase diversity within CS.

In May 2021 I graduated from Davidson College with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (High Honors) and Mathematics. My undergraduate research was advised by Dr. Bryce Wiedenbeck. During summer 2019, I did computer vision for robotics research with Professor R. Iris Bahar at Brown University through the DREU program. Click here to view my CV.

News

  • [May 2026] Presenting Learning Bayesian Game Families, with Application to Mechanism Design at AAMAS-26 (Paphos, Cyprus)
  • [May 2026] Completed requirements for the University of Michigan Graduate Teacher Certificate
  • [December 2025] Learning Bayesian Game Families, with Application to Mechanism Design accepted at AAMAS-26
  • [November 2025] Placed 2nd in the CSE Graduate Student Honors Competition
  • [Fall 2025] Taught EECS 110: Discover Computer Science as primary instructor
  • [August 2025] Began role as Engineering Teaching Consultant at CRLT-Engin
  • [June 2025] Completed U-M's Preparing Future Faculty program
  • [May 2025] Presented a poster at AAMAS-25 (Detroit, MI)
  • [April 2025] Received the Rackham Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award
  • [April 2025] Passed my thesis proposal defense
  • [March 2025] Selected as a Doctoral Consortium Scholar at AAMAS-25
  • [December 2024] Extended abstract of Learning Bayesian Game Families, with Application to Mechanism Design accepted at AAMAS-25
  • [Fall 2024] Taught EECS 110: Discover Computer Science as primary instructor
  • [April 2024] Received the CSE HACKS Spirit Award
  • [March 2024] Selected as one of two University of Michigan student delegates to the U7+ Alliance NEXT Milan Forum (Milan, Italy)
  • [Winter 2024] Served as Graduate Student Instructor for EECS 592: Artificial Intelligence Foundations
  • [September 2023] Invited as a student panelist at a University of Michigan Provost Advisory Committee meeting
  • [May 2023] Presented Learning Parameterized Families of Games at AAMAS-23 (London, UK)
  • [February 2023] Passed my qualifying exam
  • [January 2023] Learning Parameterized Families of Games accepted at AAMAS-23
  • [April 2022] Selected as a CRA-WP Grad Cohort for Women Scholar

Research

I develop methods to study multi-agent strategic interactions using empirical game-theoretic analysis, focusing on learning game models from data, designing algorithms to analyze large games, and applying these techniques to mechanism design.

Keywords: empirical game-theoretic analysis · simulation-based games · game-model learning · empirical mechanism design · multi-agent systems

Teaching

I have served as a primary instructor, graduate student instructor, and undergraduate teaching assistant across a range of CS courses. In 2025, I was honored to receive the Rackham Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award (1 of 20 selected university-wide from ~2,000 GSIs).

Primary Instructor

EECS 110: Discover Computer Science · University of Michigan

  • Fall 2025: 31 students; 4.8/5.0 median evaluation
  • Fall 2024: 47 students; 4.8/5.0 median evaluation

Additional Teaching Experience

  • Aug 2025–Present: Engineering Teaching Consultant, U-M CRLT-Engin
  • Winter 2024: Graduate Student Instructor for EECS 592: AI Foundations, University of Michigan — 56 students; 4.7/5.0 median evaluation
  • Spring 2021: Undergraduate Assistant Teacher for CSC/MAT 220: Discrete Structures, Davidson College
  • Fall 2019–Fall 2020: Undergraduate Assistant Teacher for CSC 121: Programming and Problem Solving in Python, Davidson College

Mentoring

  • Steven Zhang — undergraduate research assistant
  • Angelina Lee — instructional assistant for EECS 110 (Fall 2025)
  • Ena Mestry — instructional assistant for EECS 110 (Fall 2024)

Publications & Presentations

Conference Papers

Madelyn Gatchel and Michael P. Wellman. Learning Bayesian Game Families, with Application to Mechanism Design. In 25th International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), May 2026.

Madelyn Gatchel and Bryce Wiedenbeck. Learning Parameterized Families of Games. In 22nd International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), May 2023. 1044-1052. 23% acceptance rate.
Paper arXiv Slides Poster

Extended Abstracts

Madelyn Gatchel. Game-Family Learning for Simulation-Based Games (Extended Abstract). In 24th International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS): Doctoral Consortium, May 2025. 2929-2931.

Madelyn Gatchel. Analyzing Games with a Variable Number of Players (Extended Abstract). In 35th AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence: Student Papers and Demonstrations, May 2021. Vol. 35, No. 18, 15960-15961.
Paper Poster Pitch Video

Manuscripts in Preparation

Manuscript in preparation; targeting Summer 2026 submission.

Short Talks & Posters

Madelyn Gatchel. Learning Parameterized Families of Games. CRA-WP Grad Cohort for Women, April 2022. Poster.

Madelyn Gatchel. Variable-Player Learning for Simulation-Based Games. Davidson College Verna Miller Case Symposium, April 2021. Short Talk.

Madelyn Gatchel. Multi-SpooNN: A Lightweight Neural Network for Multiple Object Detection. Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, October 2019. Poster.

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Madelyn Gatchel. Variable-Player Learning for Simulation-Based Games. Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina, May 2021.
PDF Preview Talk

More about me

Things I'm into:

  • Reading. Shoutout to the Ann Arbor District Library for supporting my reading habit.
  • Working out. Group X classes and personal training through Michigan Recreation have been highlights.
  • Playing games. Hit me up if you want to play Dominion.
  • Vinegar-based barbecue. The only Carolina BBQ.
  • Asking questions. Favorite icebreaker: if from here on out you could only age from the neck up or from the shoulders down, which would you pick, and why?
  • Black olives on pizza. I will defend this.
  • Making spreadsheets. If I'm thinking about it, there's probably a spreadsheet for it.
  • Popcorn. My brother gave me a dedicated popcorn bowl in high school, and I still use it.

Things I'm not into:

  • Eating vegetables.

Contact

Feel free to reach out with any questions or just to say hi!

Email: gatchel@umich.edu