Manjul’s Introduction

About Me

Hello! My name is Manjul Balayar, and I am an incoming senior majoring in Software Engineering with a minor in Data Science. An interesting fact about me is that I was born in Nepal and moved to Ames about ten years ago.

Hobbies

Hackathons Boxing Trying New Cuisines

Why Software?

High Demand and Security

Initially, I was solely a Software Engineering major, but I declared my minor in Data Science last fall. My interest in AI began about a year ago, inspired by ChatGPT and a video by Google’s machine learning research team about a model for detecting cancerous cells.

Future Plans

I aspire to work in the field of AI/ML. Many people don’t realize that AI and Data Science are closely related, with AI often considered a subset of Data Science. Before diving into models and algorithms, it’s crucial to understand data preprocessing, data visualization, feature engineering, statistics, etc. These skills are essential for building better models.

My Skills and Objectives

Personal Strengths

• Good communicator: An essential skill in any sector.
• Adaptability: I am a quick learner.
• Open-mindedness: Being open-minded helps me adapt, learn, and grow in my field.

Data Science Skills

• Experience with data preprocessing
• Fundamental knowledge of machine learning and deep learning
• Proficiency in multiple programming languages, frameworks, and tools

Goals at DSPG

• Data Visualization: Mastering tools like seaborn, matplotlib, and Tableau, and understanding the significance of various graphs.

• Machine Learning Tools: Improving my proficiency with TensorFlow, Keras, PyTorch, Sci-kit Learn, and more.

• Feature Engineering: Learning to transform raw data into meaningful features.

These skills are crucial for my goal of working in AI and ML. Understanding and working with data is key to developing better models. I aim to improve through consistent practice and guidance from our graduate fellows and advisors.