Microsoft Workshop, World City Cup Conference, AI, Companion Bots, and an Interview
Letter? I Hardly Know Her! - Newsletter 11/2021
Welcome, WELCOME to Letter? I Hardly Know Her! I’m Apoorva (the her in question), a 16 y/o researcher, artist, writer, keynote speaker, and advocate for youth and gender minorities in STEAM. This newsletter is a means for me to keep track of my personal & professional growth, and to share all the good stuff I’m working on! First-timers: it’s so nice to meet you, I’m glad you’re here! For my regular hardly-knowers, here’s your promised, extra special greeting: welcome again you incredibly capable, beautiful ray of sunshine–seeing you again is like drinking hot chocolate: it’s the only thing I want on a cold winter day.
If you too want an extra greeting, you better subscribe:
As a heads up, I publish newsletters on each MONTH/MONTH, i.e. 1/1, 2/2, 3/3, … , 12/12. Is it the most efficient system? Frankly, no. But is it the most funky fresh? Absolutely it is.
Hey Hardly-Knowers!! We’re back at it again for the second newsletter–read on for this month’s shenanigans!
Microsoft National STEM Day 2021
As I mentioned in the previous newsletter, I’m super honored to have been invited to speak at Microsoft’s 2021 National STEM Day celebration this week, an event designed to inspire and motivate students from underrepresented and minority communities in technological fields.
As a featured stand-out individual in STEM due to my research and work for gender inclusivity, I was invited to lead a math workshop for thousands of students around the world to demonstrate how math is found everywhere we look and show how exciting and interactive math can be. I’m beyond thrilled to be a part of this event–and there is still time for you to be a part of it!
Join me for some “mathemagic” where I’ll do a quick demo of mental calculations, but (unlike most magicians) I will soon reveal my secrets and teach you how to do it too! Moreover, we'll do some crafts to talk about some of the amazing properties of a Möbius strip, one of math's most popular objects, and we’ll actually get to see it in action! You won't want to miss it. Make sure to register and share with anyone else who may be interested!
You can register here.
2021 World City Cup - Teacher’s Conference
This October, I was invited to speak at the 2021 World City Cup - Teacher’s Conference, where I shared how learning abacus has changed my life and perspective on it, helping me through research, entrepreneurship, and my journey in STEAM.
I truly fell in love with numbers when I started learning abacus at the age of 6. I remember how my pudgy little fingers fumbled around with the beads on my first abacus, my eyes filled with wonder, and how I gradually came to understand numbers and calculations in ways I could’ve never imagined. There is a lot of beauty to be found within these computations, and the history of how we came to think and process with the abacus. It’s hard to express how exactly and extensively learning the abacus has changed my life, but I can give you some examples! It’s somewhat of a magical thing to be able to look at a number and see all these wonderful properties about it in just a few seconds, just because you’ve spent so much time with them. They feel a bit like old friends! And practically, it does make life a lot easier–but the next person who asks me to calculate their tip, watch out…just kidding (or not, try it)!
If you’re curious, you learn more about the abacus and its history, its neurological impact, and my experience with it in my article: You Can (Literally) Count On Me!
Huge thank you to the World City Cup and the CAAA team for running such an amazing event, and for inviting me to speak at this conference! I would especially like to thank Ms. Huang, who has been teaching me for almost 10 years now and is the reason I am where I am today (and who gave me an abacus necklace that I never take off).
Gems in STEM: Artificial Intelligence
As a quick recap: my column, Gems in STEM, is a place to learn about various STEM topics that I find exciting, and that I hope will excite you too! The column is always written to be fairly accessible, so you don’t have to worry about not having background knowledge. However, it does occasionally get more advanced towards the end.
What is AI? How is it changing the world all around us? Is it really going to lead to a technological doomsday? In this week's Gems in STEM article, we answer all these questions and more! From the potential of artificial general intelligence to the basics of machine learning to understanding why natural language processing is so hard, we take a comprehensive look at all things AI and understand what it means for the future–all the while making sure we get there ethically.
Without further ado, I present to you: AI-ght, What’s All This Then?
If you enjoy it, please follow me on Medium and clap for it! (If you do, I’ll save you a seat at Thanksgiving…probably <3) Also, you’ll get an instant update for the upcoming article about…the art of crying!! No seriously, every tear has a unique and stunning microscopic structure. Intrigued? Follow!
GLAM Interview with Ishita Majumdar
For some quick context, I’m the global ambassador of the Girls Leadership Academy Meetup (GLAM), an organization that brings women leaders together to inspire girls to find their voice and take on leadership positions.
I’m so lucky to have had to opportunity to interview some AMAZING leaders in tech and business this past year, and I’m incredibly excited to share our latest interview with the trailblazing Ishita Majumdar, VP of Data Analytics Platform at eBay. She has worked in tech for over two decades, is a champion for diversity, equity and inclusion, and is a founding member of CHIEF, a network designed specifically for senior women leaders strengthening their leadership careers. If you’re interested in leadership and pursuing a career in the tech industry, you won’t want to miss this short and sweet 7-minute interview. Watch it here!
Personally, Ishita has always been a huge role model for me and I’m immensely grateful for her support over the years. She represents how important grit and perseverance is–especially in the tech world–and constantly mentors, sponsors, and encourages girls and women in STEM.
Engineering - Soldering the IRB
LOOK AT THIS BOARD. LOOK AT IT. ISN’T IT BEAUTIFUL? ISN’T IT MARVELLOUS??
I learned how to solder for the first time while working on a companion robot project, and boy was it a process. At first, I was slow and pretty clumsy with the soldering iron, but by the end, my soldering was efficient and gorgeous (like me).
This is the infrared receiver board–aka the “eyes”–for our robot, whose task is to find a red beacon, press the button on top of it, then find a green beacon (at a different frequency), pick up the green beacon, and take it out of the robot arena. To see the final robot in action, make sure to check out the next newsletter!
The Fun, the Fresh, & the Funky
You already know–the past month has been filled with CELEBRATION! Cue the annoyingly catchy (or catchily annoying?) song that goes “Ceeelebrate good times, come on!”
Halloween was super duper fun–I dressed up as a garden fairy just to chaperone all my little cousins…needless to say, I outshone them. (Unfortunately, I’m just kidding, there were literal superheroes, dinosaurs, and even Cruella–I didn’t stand a chance.)
Per tradition, I carved a pumpkin and, for some reason, chose to do an insanely complicated creepy Spider-Man. HOWEVER, it turned out so much better than I expected! *Marvel* at my talent. (And get hyped for Spider-Man: No Way Home–that movie’s gonna be insane!!)
Speaking of MCU movies, I went to see Eternals with my sister last Friday!! It was such an enjoyable movie and I loved the diversity in the film (including the much-needed South Asian representation) and its beautiful visuals.
Of course, I also celebrated Diwali with my family!
I can’t wait for Thanksgiving and the holidays–not just because of the much-needed break, but also because it’ll be so nice to see family after lockdown.
Now, let’s wrap this up with something both fresh AND funky. Seen Squid Game yet? Who am I kidding, of course you have. (And if you haven’t, please do! It’s a fantastic show.) Well, as part of my Russian Lit class, I’ve been reading the classic Crime & Punishment, and I noticed some strange similarities between Sang-woo in Squid Game and Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment! They’re both stuck in poverty, yet feel superior to those around them (due to their education)–despite being in the same situation. Both have ambiguous morality and eerily similar relationships with their respective mothers–and this is just the surface of it. If I don’t write an essay about this I will literally go insane, so make sure to watch out for that!
Coming up next on Keeping Up With (K)Apoorva...
Podcasts
I’ve been invited to be on two podcasts soon, one to share my opinion on the current approach to teaching math in the school system and another on impostor syndrome! I’ll be sure to share details in the next letter.
Exams :(
Don’t talk to me for the next month–I’ll be drowning in exams and work. But, in complete honesty, I’ve really been enjoying my classes this semester! So, no regrets.
Gems in STEM: The Art of Crying
Reading Yuval Harari’s 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
This came highly recommended, so I’m really looking forward to it! I’ve watched some of Yuval’s talks, so I know I won’t be disappointed.
The Aforementioned Robot Test
Hackathon! (Details Unknown…intriguing)
And that’s a wrap!! Congrats on making it this far, hardly-knowers, y’all are the best. If you aren’t already subscribed, what are you doing?? Get on it, hit that button below to get your extra special greeting in the next newsletter!
Sincerely,
Her (Apoorva)
Feel free to contact me about speaker events, comments, and anything else at apoorvapanidapu@gmail.com! You can also connect with me on LinkedIn.
Now that you are ready to delete “hardly” from Letter? I Hardly Know Her!, I would greatly appreciate you sharing this so that my publication name doesn’t become irrelevant & obsolete! <3
Apoorva NEVER fails to amaze me EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.