🌅 Proud Filipino: I am an international student from the Philippines, graduated Cum Laude with Distinction (Senior Thesis) at Duke University on a full-ride scholarship [Karsh Scholarship], and now a PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Institute for Data, Systems, and Society [IDSS] on the [Michael Hammer Fellowship].

🎓 Lifelong Academic: I pursued a double major in electrical and computer engineering and computer science with a concentration in machine learning and artificial intelligence. To supplement my knowledge on policies for and ethical implications of emerging technologies, I also pursued a certificate in Digital Intelligence (Science and Society). My lifetime research question has evolved through my research experiences at Duke and MIT, but the foundations never changed:

"Towards a more inclusive, sustainable, and innovative AI-powered future: how can we employ context-aware and sustainable machine learning models for resource-constrained communities to use in their worsening sustainability issues and climate-exacerbated disasters?"

👨🏽‍💻 Code for Good: Computer engineer by training, climate resilience and adaptation researcher by heart. I am fortunate to have received sufficient technical training in utilizing AI tools, ML techniques, and satellite imagery to help vulnerable people adapt to the climate crisis, considering its complexity. See my [GitHub] detailing my past and current projects.

👨🏽‍🏫 Educator: Acknowledging my educational privileges, I have always strived to share what I learn. This calling is deeply rooted by my witnessing of the wide gaps of educational opportunities in the Philippines. Countering its expansion is something I look forward to.

📸 Aesthete: I've only recently acknowledged my deep appreciation for the arts. Currently, my creative outlets include producing song covers and capturing beautiful sceneries and architectures. See my work on my recently created [Instagram] account.

🌏 Climate Justice: I started a project named PlanetTales that aims to share stories about the impacts of climate change to the most remote and vulnerable areas of the world, stories not only shared with words but also images, videos, and data to encapsulate and give justice to people’s experiences. Funded by my scholarship, my project's first stop was my hometown in the Philippines. Check out the [website]!

🫶🏽 Quality Education for All: When I was a junior in high school, my friend and I started an initiative composing of high school tutors teaching Math, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics to fellow high school students. We called it [π-oneers]. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to sustain its operations when I moved to US for college.

Always down to collaborate with likeminded individuals. Anything that blends photography, climate, AI, and social impact is of interest. Please contact me if you have ideas!