Before I started to build ScalableTokenizer, I was interested in LLMs for languages commonly used in archival contexts. I built the Regina Twala Archives, available publicly through the Stanford Archives.
On the application layer, I previously worked on a VR-assisted system for high-risk trades such as underwater welding. The system understands the worker's environment in real time through camera-equipped goggles, enabling live interpretation of the workspace as tasks are performed.
Even more previously in life, when I was 15, I joined The Atlantic on the Public Opinion Data Team under Adrienne Green (then Managing Editor, now at The New York Times) as the youngest intern in the magazine's history at the time. I met political journalists and individuals in government who later funded and supported my project, State of the Students (SOTS), and facilitated introductions to senior policymakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who later played pivotal roles in supporting SOTS.
SOTS was an award-winning national non-partisan civic media project that to this date, collected the most accumulated views and engagement for both high-profile races and local elections from 2019 to 2023. You can view more here.
During the pandemic's vaccine rollout, I published behavioral research on physician gender and vaccine hesitancy in the Whitman Journal of Psychology, receiving multiple awards, including one sponsored by the U.S. government (press release here).
At the same time, questions of health, both personal and public, were central to national conversation. In high-profile elections, one of the most contested issues was individual autonomy in health decision-making. This included who should be allowed to choose whether to receive a vaccine, undergo body-altering medical procedures, or access over-the-counter dietary supplements. While the first two topics were widely debated, the regulation of dietary supplements, particularly for minors, was often overlooked. I focused my research on this gap, and the work gained meaningful attention.
My research was featured in major competitions, including the Genius Olympiad (press release here), the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (press release here), and the International Science and Engineering Fair (press release here). I also led a 12-person team on a nationwide public health study that was published at the Boston Congress of Public Health and later referenced in policy discussions related to California Assembly Bill 82.