curriculum vitae

General Information

Full Name Viraj Deven Thakkar
Nationality India
Languages Hindi (native), English (fluent), and Gujarati (advanced speaker)

Research Areas

  • Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence with a keen interest in natural language processing, computer vision, robotics, and physical body simulations.

Education

  • 2017-2021
    K. J. Somaiya College of Engineering – B. Tech in Information Technology.
    • Bachelor of Technology degree awarded by Mumbai University
    • CGPA: 8.56 (10.0 scale).
    • Head of Matlab & IP (2018-2019) of Team KJSCE Robocon where the Team was placed 5th nationally
    • Vice Captain & Treasurer (2019-2020) of Team KJSCE Robocon where the Team was placed 8th nationally
    • Additonal/Elective courses
      • Hands-on Introduction to Ethical Hacking (Sem. III)
      • Game Programming (Sem. VI)
      • Useability Engineering (Sem. VII)
      • Internet of things (Sem. VIII)

Work Experience

  • 2020
    Analyst Intern at Cyber Peace Foundation
    • Dark Web and Social Media Investigation.
    • Automation of investigation and analysis process by development of a crawler. Modules to analyze text, and media content were developed and used successfully.
  • 2020
    Developer for K. J. Somaiya & KEM Hospital
    • Developed and deployed an application for KEM Hospital, Mumbai to monitor patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project focuses on data cleaning, data analysis on the dashboard, and patient management aspects

Technical Projects

  • 2018
    Ingredient Recommendation Engine
    • ML based engine that recommends ingredients to existing reciepies, adding a new layer of flavour.
    • Consolation winner at Prakalp 2018
  • 2019
    TorChat
    • Privacy centered chatting application that utilises the Tor Network to send and recieve messages and data.
  • 2019
    Landscape Analysis of OCSE and OCSA
    • Worked on the trends and different forms of Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (OCSA & OCSE) as the penetration of online technology has amplified.
    • Project funded by a grant of USD 91,666.80 from Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) in the UK.
  • 2020
    CoView
    • An application to assist in hospital & patient data summarisation and visualtisaion during COVID-19 pandemic.
    • Created a custom algorithm suited to the hospital for data cleaning and normalization.
    • Deployed and Maintained application for KEM Hospital, Mumbai.
  • 2020
    COVID-19 online scam detection
    • Designed architecture to discover malicious URLs, android applications & UPI IDs.
    • Portions of data was published by Cyberpeace Foundation
  • 2021
    COMRADE
    • Creation of an ML-based tool which employees resource crowdfunding for and amongst hospitals.
    • The project extends as a patient & inventory management software.

Open Source Projects

  • 2018
    Robot mechanisms physical simulation
  • 2021-now
    Memories

Publications

  • A. Dalvi, I. Siddavatam, V. Thakkar, A. Vedpathak, and A. Patel, ‘Recognizing Child Unsafe Apps Through User Reviews on the Google Play Store’, in Advanced Computing and Intelligent Technologies, vol. 218. Available: https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-981-16-2164-2_9.
  • I. Siddavatam, A. Dalvi, A. Patel, A. Panchal, A. S. Vedpathak, and V. Thakkar, ‘ML-Enabled Informed Intervention for Crowdsourcing-Based Optimization of Medical Resources’:, in Advances in Healthcare Information Systems and Administration. Available: http://services.igi-global.com/resolvedoi/resolve.aspx?doi=10.4018/978-1-7998-7709-7.ch017.
  • I. Siddavatam, A. Dalvi, V. Thakkar, A. Vedpathak, S. Moradiya, and A. Jain, ‘Explainability using Decision Trees and Monte Carlo Simulations’, Social Science Research Network, Rochester, NY, SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3868707, May 2021. Available: https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=3868707.

Achievements

  • University Committees
    • 2018-19: Head of Matlab & IP for Team KJSCE Robocon.
    • 2019-20: Treasurer for Team KJSCE Robocon.
    • 2019-20: Vice Captian for Team KJSCE Robocon.
  • Major Events
    • 2019: Research for NCPCR (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights).
    • 2019: Project presenter at 2nd Technology Marketplace by CIFF.
    • 2019: Attendee at International conference on cyberlaw, cybercrime & cybersecurity 2019 (ICCC 2019)
  • Technical Activities
    • 2020: Organized and taught at workshop for 100+ College Students
    • 2020–21: Internship organizer and mentor for 200+ college students
    • 2020–21: Quantum Computing course by IBM Quantum & The Coding School

Software Development Skills

  • GitHub: https://github.com/veedata
  • Stack Overflow: https://stackoverflow.com/users/11215536/veedata (top 5% contributer in 2021).
  • Frameworks: Tensorflow, SciPy, Pandas.
  • High Level Programming Languages: Python, MATLAB, Simulink, Java, C, JavaScript, C++
  • Tools & Technologies: Git, OpenCV, Django, Pandas, Simscape Multibody, Docker, Arduino, Basics of Azure/GCP/AWS
  • Programming Environments (IDEs): Visual Studio, MATLAB, Eclipse
  • Database Systems: PostgreSQL, MySQL

Other Interests

  • Sports & Games: Tennis, Basketball, Chess, and Snake
  • Hobbies: Writing, Travelling, Philosophy, and Movies