I am Apara. I am an incoming Ph.D. student in the Statistics Department at the University of Washington. I received my B.S. in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
My research interests broadly include stochastic modeling, networks, optimization and machine learning. But really, I am more interested in developing new methods in these areas and applying them to real world problems in fields such as computer science, physics, social science and epidemiology.
My undergraduate thesis, advised by Dan Larremore, concerned identifying effects of node covariates in ranking. Previously, I worked in the Larremore Lab creating statistical models to automatically discover and parse the structure of academic resumes.
In the Summer of 2020, I am interning at Microsoft in the Mixed Reality Team. I previously interned at Microsoft in Summer 2019 in the Edge Experimentation Team. In the past, I have served as a TA for Chaotic Dynamics (CSCI 4446) taught by Liz Bradley, and Discrete Structures (CSCI 2824) taught by Tony Wong.
Non-academically, I am interested in music – both listening and playing. I also read a variety of books and enjoy playing a good video game once in a while. My most recent favorite video game is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – yes, I know I’m late to the party! My most recent favorite fiction is The Once and Future King by T.H. White – for a children’s novel (though I disagree with that), it had me thinking a long time after I finished reading it.
If you find my works interesting, want to connect with me, or just want to chat about anything from Math to Tolkien:
If you’re just here for my resume, this is my most recent! (Last updated: Feb 10, 2020)