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Abstract: Natural language processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) more generally have the potential to break down linguistic barriers worldwide, yet millions who speak low-resource languages remain underserved by current technologies. Drawing on past collaboration with colleagues conducting basic research and applied science, I present key technical contributions in active learning (including cost-conscious annotation), topic modeling, and personalization systems that have influenced both theoretical understanding and real-world applications. Building on these foundations, I introduce an ambitious research agenda focused on machine translation for low-resource languages, a domain where current deep learning approaches fall short due to data scarcity. I will present a systematic multi-year plan exploring transfer learning, data augmentation, and cross-lingual modeling to address this grand challenge. This work not only promises significant contributions to NLP but also aligns with broader societal goals of democratizing access to information across linguistic barriers. The research vision combines technical innovation with a commitment to mentoring the next generation of computer scientists capable of tackling increasingly complex AI challenges. Bio: Eric Ringger is a Computer Scientist innovating in the fields of Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning. The through-line of my research and applied science work has been to empower and augment people -- customers, partners, scholars -- with great automation built on NLP, ML, and AI. The other dominant focus of my career is mentoring and growing people in their learning and impact. I am passionate about computer science and devoted to helping people realize their amazing potential. Most recently I was focused on enabling Zillow Group to use machine learning and AI -- including large language models -- to empower customers in finding and landing in a great home and to empower business partners with automation and intelligent support, all backed by the right automation and data. At Zillow Group I also built, led, and supported 1. the team that personalizes your search for and discovery of a place to live, 2. the team that understands your goals in the housing domain, 3. the team that personalizes Zillow's communications, 4. the team that builds the experimentation platform for controlled randomized experiments at scale for Zillow Group, and 5. the customer-focused product analytics team. I have contributed to progress in Search Ranking as a research scientist at Facebook and to the fields of Natural Language Processing and Text Mining as a professor at Brigham Young University, as a research scientist at Microsoft Research, and as a Ph.D. student at the University of Rochester.