Hi, I am Anya
I am a fourth-year Computer Science student at UC San Diego with interests in operating systems, including embedded and distributed systems, computer networking, AI/ML and computing education. I enjoy building efficient, reliable systems that address real-world challenges, and I am particularly interested in the infrastructure that enables modern AI models to run efficiently.
About Me
I'm a Computer Science student at UCSD.
UC San Diego, BS Computer Science (GPA: 3.981)
Sep 2022 - Jun 2026
I am interested in systems and AI - particularly the design of efficient,
reliable and scalable computational systems that support modern machine learning
workloads. I am excited by research at the intersection of operating systems,
hardware-software co-design and intelligent computation, and I hope to contribute
to building systems that push the boundaries of performance and usability.
Alongside my systems and AI interests, I am also deeply committed to computing
education. Through several years of teaching and research in this area, I have
seen the transformative impact of effective learning tools and inclusive mentorship.
I hope to continue contributing to the computing education community while pursuing
work that advances the capabilities and accessibility of modern computational systems.
Skills
- Programming Languages: Python, Java, C, C++, HTML/CSS, JavaScript
- Relevant Coursework: Advanced Data Structures (C++), Operating Systems Principles, Data Center Systems, Computer Organization and Systems Programming (C), AI and Machine Learning (Python), Software Engineering (HTML/CSS, JavaScript), Object-Oriented Design (Java), Computer Graphics (C++), Algorithms and Systems Analysis, Intro to Computer Security, Database System Principles (SQL).
- Technologies & Tools: Git, GitHub Actions, CI/CD, VSCode, Flask, React, JUnit, NumPy/Pandas, PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn, Matplotlib/Seaborn, Jupyter, OpenGL, Bash scripting, SSH, Linux/Unix, PostgreSQL.
Experience
Software Engineering Intern at Qualcomm
Jun 2025 - Sep 2025
I developed an AI-powered tool that analyzes the root causes of technical
customer issues by applying data preprocessing, inference pipeline design,
model evaluation techniques and prompt engineering. These improvements
increased accuracy to 80% (up from a 50% baseline). I built a JavaScript
browser extension that integrates the tool directly into engineers' workflows,
making root-cause analysis faster and less tedious.
Additionally, I collaborated
with a team at QHacks, Qualcomm's intern hackathon, where we created an AI-driven
curriculum design assistant and placed 3rd overall.
Tutor for CSE Department at UCSD
Sep 2023 - Present
I have tutored for nine course offerings in the following subjects: "Systems Programming
and Software Tools" (C), "Basic Data Structures" (Java), "Accelerated Intro to Programming"
(Java), "Mathematics for Algorithms and Systems Analysis" (also in 2026 I'm going to tutor
"Working with Large Code Bases").
My work has included designing
programming assignments and autograders, co-leading discussion and lab sections of up to 45
students and supporting course and exam logistics. I have also provided extensive one-on-one
help with assignments, debugging, troubleshooting and explaining concepts in an accessible way,
providing more than 300 individual sessions.
AI President (formerly AI Events Lead) at ACM AI
May 2024 - Present
As AI President, I oversee the planning, logistics and execution of the organization's
technical workshops, socials and competitions. I coordinate across a 25-member board
to improve communication and expand engagement with the student AI community. I also
help guide the technical direction of our workshops and initiatives.
Previously, as AI Events Lead, I organized and hosted nine hands-on workshops on
computer vision, neural networks, transformers and reasoning algorithms,
drawing 70+ participants and creating spaces for students of
all backgrounds to explore AI.
Lead Peer Mentor for CSE-PACE at UCSD
Sep 2024 - PresentI serve as a Lead Peer Mentor for the CSE-PACE program at UC San Diego, supporting first-year and transfer students interested in computing as they transition into university life. I mentor students and facilitate cohort discussions on topics such as AI, cybersecurity, academic planning and career preparation. In this role, I focus on building an inclusive, supportive environment where students can connect with peers, ask questions and gain confidence both academically and socially.
Project Mentor for SPIS at UCSD
Aug 2024 - Sep 2024I mentored incoming first-year students majoring in computing fields, helping them get a head start on computer science topics. I provided support to students on their final projects related to web application development and machine learning.
Machine Learning Cluster Assistant for COSMOS at UCSD
Jul 2024 - Aug 2024I led lab sessions with other cluster assistants for 28 students, helping them learn programming from basic Python through more advanced machine learning topics such as neural networks and natural language processing. I also provided support on their final machine learning projects.
Mentor for EDGE (Empowerment & Development for Girls in Engineering)
Sep 2023 - Jun 2025I mentored high school girls through the EDGE program, a collaboration between Women in Computing and the Society of Women Engineers at UC San Diego. I met with mentees to discuss studying computer science, navigating STEM pathways and building confidence in technical spaces.
Software Team Member at Yonder Deep
Sep 2023 - Nov 2024I contributed to the software team for Yonder Deep, a student organization focused on building the undergraduate-designed, low-cost, modular, fully autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for oceanographic and climate research. My work included developing Python scripts for remote AUV control, conducting research on autonomous navigation approaches, and helping design and prototype a GUI for real-time remote operation of the AUV. Through this role, I gained hands-on experience with robotics software, control systems, and practical considerations for autonomous field-deployable research platforms.
Computing Education Research
Students' Evaluation of a Free and a Paid Interactive eTextbook for Computing Education
Anya Chernova, Audria Montalvo, Vinod Vairavaraj, Liam Hardy, and Adalbert Gerald
Soosai Raj. (2026, in press).
Students' Evaluation of a Free and a Paid Interactive eTextbook for Computing Education.
In Proceedings of SIGCSE TS 2026.
- Led a study evaluating free and paid computing textbooks, showing that accessible open-source
materials can match or exceed paid alternatives in perceived educational value.
Needles in a Haystack: Student Struggles with Working on Large Code Bases
Best Paper Award: Anshul Shah, Thomas Rexin, Anya Chernova, Gonzalo Allen-Perez,
William G. Griswold, and Adalbert Gerald Soosai Raj.
Needles in a Haystack: Student Struggles with Working on Large Code Bases.
In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research V.1,
ICER '25, pages 27-40, New York, NY, USA, 2025. Association for Computing Machinery.
- Analyzed student problem-solving behaviors when working with a large code base, identifying
key comprehension challenges and proposing instructional strategies to improve large-code-base learning.
Students' Use of GitHub Copilot for Working with Large Code Bases
Anshul Shah, Anya Chernova, Elena Tomson, Leo Porter, William G. Griswold, and
Adalbert Gerald Soosai Raj.
Students' Use of GitHub Copilot for Working with Large Code Bases.
In Proceedings of the 56th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 1,
SIGCSE 2025, New York, NY, USA, 2025. Association for Computing Machinery.
- Investigated how students use and trust AI coding tools, uncovering “one-shot prompting”
behavior and offering insights for integrating AI literacy into programming education.
Navigating Creative Coding: Novice User Experiences with GenAI in Open-Ended Programming Tasks
Annapurna Vadaparty, Anshul Shah, Jack R. Kissinger, Anya Chernova, Jenish Thanki,
Keshav Tiwari, David H. Smith IV, Daniel Zingaro, and Leo Porter.
Navigating Creative Coding: Novice User Experiences with GenAI in Open-Ended Programming Tasks.
Submitted to ACM CHI 2026 (under review).
- Examined how beginners collaborate with generative AI while creating Python games, revealing
design implications for AI tools that foster reflection and self-efficacy.
Projects
Developer Journal
I worked in a team to develop a journal app with calendar, to-do list, and note-taking functionalities using HTML/CSS, JavaScript, Electron, and GitHub Actions. Through the project, I learned about Agile development practices, CI/CD pipelines, and effective teamwork on a multi-feature application.
View ProjectPlaylist Recommender
I worked in a team to develop a recommender system that selects songs based on user preferences using Python machine learning libraries. We used K-Means to create clusters of similar songs and KNN to find the closest cluster to user-specified parameters, providing personalized recommendations.
View ProjectUser-Driven Story Generator
I worked in a team on a User-Driven Story Generator, designing an NLP pipeline with Retrieval-Augmented Generation to enhance consistency, long-term memory, and factual accuracy in interactive, user-guided storytelling. This project focused on creating more coherent multi-turn narratives by grounding AI-generated content in relevant retrieved context.
View ProjectImproving Recipe Recommendations
I helped develop a system that predicts user ratings using neural networks and latent factor models. Our approach enabled more personalized and accurate recipe suggestions by capturing user preferences and underlying patterns in the dataset.
View Project