Nikki Woo

I interned at Two Sigma on the Data Quality Team where I developed a product to detect and vet changes to old data, which previously were not checked, in order to prevent inaccurate data being reported to modelers. I communicated with data analysts to develop my product and factored in input from a variety of involved parties to determine the most beneficial end state. I used Python's SQLAlchemy library to interface with the data, Jinja to generate daily and weekly reports of the changes to data, and pandas to create plots to better visualize the sources of the changes.

As a software engineering intern under the AT&T Entertainment group, I worked to create an application that completely automated the brownout testing of residential gateways. This application interfaced with various hardware devices to vary the power supply given to the residential gateway and featured an interactive GUI that had realtime progress reports on the test itself as well as a field for the test to be more configurable according to testing specifications. I was also able to create a similar program for the brownout testing of a remote.

I worked as a fellow of the UCLA Game Lab, to develop a 2D pixel survival game known as "fly the friendly sky"- inspired by the long, uncomfortable experience of a long plane ride. I coded in C# using the Unity software and bounced game mechanic ideas off of my partner and game artist. You can see more details here and view the video interview on the making of my game here.

As a final project for UCLA's CS M152A Introductory Digital Design Laboratory, I and two others created a game known as "Binary Blaster" using Verilog, a computer monitor, and a Nexys 3 FPGA board. In the game, players must configure the eight switches on the FPGA board to match the random eight bit binary number on the screen, which switches every five seconds. The game also features a score tracker on a seven segment display as well as a submit and reset button.

As part of a 24 hours hackathon hosted by UCLA ACM, I worked in a team of four to create Asepsis, a site that informed people of the air quality levels at the various UC campuses. I contributed to the front end development of this site using HTML and CSS. This site was made in observance of the fires that had been ravaging California.

In the ARNI (Algorithmic Research in Network Information flow) Lab under Professor Christina Fragouli, I studied the secure capacity of a specific type of wireless network called a 1-2-1 network. I was able to use MATLAB to simulate different schemes in choosing communication paths and how these schemes affected the capacity. I was able to present my research at the Annual NSF REU Meeting of the Minds and at the Summer Undergraduate Scholars Program Poster Symposium, where I and my research partner won "Best Group Poster". (pictured above)

Within our Introduction to Electrical Engineering (ECE3) class, I and a partner breadboarded and coded an Arduino car capable of sensing and following a black line on the white floor. The car used an IR transmitter and reciever system that conveyed readings to the Arduino which in turn instructed the motors to run a certain speed to ensure the car stayed on the line.

For UCLA IEEE's Open Project Space, I worked with two others to breadboard, solder, and code a car capable of solving a maze. This car again utilized an IR transmitter and reciever system as well as an H bridge to navigate walls of a maze- turning and going straight when appropriate.

Through my Data Structures and Algorithms class, I coded a version of Tetris in C++ that involved the same pieces as the original game as well as a few additional ones that affected pieces on the entire board. Through coding this, I utilized my knowledge of data structures, inheritance, and recursion.

I serve as a Tutoring Chair for UCLA UPE, which is our school's computer science honor society. In this role, I host review sessions and project hack workshops for various UCLA computer science classes. I also guide individuals in one-on-one tutoring.

As a Resident Assistant, my job is to facilitate social interactions and ensure the mental and physical well-being of my residents. In this role, I have gained experience interacting with many different types of people of different backgrounds and experiences in both a professional and casual context.
In this role, I've learned a lot about how to stand up for myself and for others, how to make others feel happy and comfortable, and how to memorize the names of many people in a very short amount of time.

From May 2018 to May 2019, I served as the Activities Director and helped to plan and organize various social events for the Regents Scholar Society at UCLA. From May 2019 to May 2020, I've served as the Publicity Director and have helped to publicize and create promotional graphics for various Society events.

As Spirit Chair for the PACURH (Pacific Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls) 2018 Regional Leadership Conference, I organized the spirit point system and kept track of over 40 school delegations. In addition, I worked with the other 12 conference chairs to organize various aspects of the overall conference.