Meet Lester James Miranda:
1. What do you do?
I study optimization and machine learning algorithms that were inspired by nature and apply them to different problems. These algorithms are inspired by birds and bees (PSO), ants (ACO), and even our own brain (Deep Learning)! My research is to apply some of these approaches to problems in computational biology, such as the prediction of the structure of a protein!
I also do data science side-projects, and explore optimization and machine learning algorithms by writing them from the ground up :)
2. Where do you work?
I am currently a graduate student (Masters) in Waseda University in Japan and I am part of the Furuzuki Neurocomputing Systems Laboratory. I study here under the MEXT scholarship!
Japan is beautiful, and the culture is awesome. I hope that the rigor and attention to detail of the Japanese rubs onto me, hehehe :)
3. Tell us about the photos!
[Top:] My very first experience of ice skiing in the hills of Hiroshima! Almost everything in that picture is a first! I fell down a lot of times here until I learned how to ski!
[Bottom:] This is me with my friends in a Robotics exhibition. What I really like about Waseda is the cosmopolitan environment. You get to work with people from different nationalities (there's a Chinese, Thai, Indonesian, and Indian in the photo!) and you get to learn a lot as well!
4. Tell us about your academic path so far.
Grade School: Siena College of San Jose
High School: Quezon City Science High School
Undergraduate: Ateneo de Manila University BS Electronics and Communications Engineering Minor in Philosophy
Masters Degree: Waseda University Master of Engineering Major in Information Architecture Specialization in Neurocomputing Systems
5. Anything else you'd like to share?
I currently have a blog where I post some of the projects I work on-- most of the topics range cover machine learning and data science. Check it out at here!
I hope that someday I get to use machine learning and data science in data-driven policy-making. Ateneo has made me aware of the interconnection between science and society, and I like to find ways to contribute to the society with what I know. So right now, I just learn what I have to learn, so that I can respond once I am called.