def who_am_i():
Hi! I'm Vinay Tummarakota- aspiring data scientist & public policy enthusiast - |
Hi! I'm Vinay Tummarakota- aspiring data scientist & public policy enthusiast - |
 |
Relevant Coursework
|
 |
Relevant Coursework
|
 |
Relevant Coursework
|
Each year, T-Mobile runs "The Datapalooza" - a company-wide hackathon where employees from any background develop machine learning models to tackle data-oriented challenges faced by T-Mobile. Because data scientists in previous Datapaloozas believed the manual process of evaluating ML models was quite tedious, I - and four other interns - were tasked with developing an app capable of automatically generating a litany of statistics indicating the performance of each team's model. Building the app gave me the chance to work with state-of-the-art cloud data processing tools and the opportunity to receive mentorship from T-Mobile data scientists with years of expertise in the field.
The Civic Digital Fellowship is truly a one-of-a-kind program, pairing together students passionate about technology with federal government agencies that are looking for technical expertise to improve their operations. Working for the National Institute on Aging, I developed web-scraping and machine learning scripts to swiftly compile and categorize public information useful to the NIA. I also had the wonderful experience of meeting pioneers within the field of civic technology such as members of the US Digital Service and 18F. Engaging with these organizations inspired me to think more deeply about how I can utilize my passion for data science to benefit others.
RiceApps is a student-run organization that develops web apps for clients near and dear to the Rice community. As part of RiceApps, I'm a developer for Hedwig - a mobile-friendly website that facilitates campus businesses' ability to deliver food directly to students. In addition to allowing me the opportunity to apply commonly-used languages, frameworks, and practices in an agile team, RiceApps has connected me with amazing developers, product managers, and team leads who I've been able to befriend along the way!
Proxy System Models (PSM) capture the ways in which archives (lake sediments, ice cores, corals) record changes in the climate. To expand use as a research and teaching tool, I collaborated with a team of Computer Science students to build a Python GUI that runs a lake sediment PSM in Fortran and visualizes output data. Through developing the GUI, I learned how to create an effective user interface, use github branches to simultaneously collaborate with team members, and utilize Python libraries such as tkinter, pandas, and matplotlib.
The Standard Model of Particle Physics describes three fundamental forces and the set of elementary particles which constitute the universe. But what if at a certain energy scale, the Standard Model's "elementary" particles can be shown to be composed of more fundamental particles? Using C++ and ROOT (a data analysis framework), I created a Bayesian Markov Chain Monte-Carlo (MCMC) Calculator which estimates limits on the energy scale at which the effects of compositeness are observable. I also consolidated ROOT documentation to eliminate reliance on resources scattered through ROOT forums.
To optimize interactions with Caterpillar's Parts and Manuals Website (SISWEB), I utilized an Oracle database and Microsoft PowerBI to design self-updating, interactive visualizations of key metrics related to user activity. The data-driven insights derived from these visualizations allowed Caterpillar business teams to maintain and renovate SISWEB by accounting for shifts in user activity. Developing the dashboards to satisfy new business needs while simultaneously ensuring the integrity of the database helped me understand the importance of clear communication between technical and business teams.
Through the Stanford COVID-19 Policy Hackathon, Houston Policy Challenge, and my political YouTube channel, I've enjoyed exploring policy research in criminal justice, economic inequality, and other prominent spaces. Engaging in such political discourse has taught me the importance of verifying the credibility of sources, evaluating competing arguments, and changing my mind in the face of new information and ideas.
The Rice Philharmonics (aka "the Phils") is Rice University's Premier Co-Ed A Cappella Group! We perform pop hits, soulful tunes, and a range of other musical genres at events across Texas. I love beatboxing and singing tenor for the Phils, and overall, joining the Phils has allowed my knowledge and love for music to flourish! We also recently released our album Philos and are donating royalties to Indivisible Houston.
Rice DataSci Club (RDS) hosts workshops, panels, and the annual Rice datathon to provide students with knowledge of data science tools. Through RDS, I've gained familiarity with Python data science libraries through the Data Education and Exploration Program (DEEP), mentored a group of underclassmen participating in DEEP through a supervised-ML project, and now lead DEEP's mentorship team as the Internal Vice President!
