Resume
OBJECTIVE
Nikita Johny Kachappilly
Current Master's student at UC San Diego with a strong foundation in programming languages, algorithms, and data structures seeking opportunities in the field of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
- Address: San Diego, California
- Email: nikitajohnyk@gmail.com
EDUCATION
Masters in Computer Science Engineering (AI/ML)
2024 - 2026
University of California, San Diego, USA
Relevant Coursework:
CSE 251B - Deep Learning
ECE 285C - Deep Generative Models
CSE 256 - Statistical NLP
CSE 258 - Recommender Systems and Web Mining
CSE 234 - Data Systems for ML
CSE 202 - Algorithms Design and Analysis
CSE 291J - Fairness, Bias and Transparency in Machine Learning
CSE 253 - ML for Music
Bachelor Of Technology (with Honours) in Computer Science & Engineering
2020 - 2024
Model Engineering College, Thrikkakara, India
Secured 9.72(of 10) under Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, Kerala.
Grade 12 (Major: Computer Science)
2020
Viswajyothi CMI Public School, Angamaly, India
Secured 97.6% under the Central Board of Secondary Education.
Grade 10
2018
International Indian School Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Secured 98% under the Central Board of Secondary Education.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Graduate Student Researcher at UC San Diego
July 2025
• Conducting research at the Cottrell Lab on perceptual expertise and human face recognition by modeling differences between retinal input and perceptual interpretation using deep learning.
• Collaborating with a team of four to design data-efficient, biologically inspired architectures that model the cognitive processes involved in human visual perception.
COURSES & CERTIFICATIONS
Data Structures and Algorithms
2022
Completed a course on Data Structures and Algorithms in Java offered by NPTEL in association with IIT Kharagpur.
Deep Learning
2023
Completed a course on Deep Learning-IIT Ropar offered by NPTEL in association with IIT Ropar.
Reinforcement Learning
2024
Completed a course on Reinforcement Learning offered by NPTEL in association with IIT Madras.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Graduate Student Researcher at UC San Diego
July 2025
• Conducting research on perceptual expertise and human face recognition by modeling differences between retinal input and perceptual interpretation using deep learning. • Collaborating with a team of four to design data-efficient, biologically inspired architectures that model the cognitive processes involved in human visual perception.
ACTIVITIES & ACHIEVEMENTS
2022
Participated in Tink-Her-Hack 2022, Kerala’s largest women-only hackathon conducted by TinkerHub Foundation, a tech exploration and innovation community.
2020
Secured a position among the top 5 teams in Consilio, a UI/UX Workshop based on Figma conducted by TinkerHub.
2020
School topper in 12th grade, Computer Science batch at Viswajyothi CMI Public School, Angamaly, India.
2018
School topper in 10th grade at International Indian School Dammam, Saudi Arabia, one of the largest schools in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.