I have been Precog-ed!

It all began with an interview with two PhD students and I in PK’s office in April’2013. I was being interviewed for the position of a summer intern at Precog, a research group at my institute IIITD. I had no clue of what I was going to do the coming summer being a part of the group. Being  the youngest member, I often had to be guided.  But the best part about working under PK is that you are never told what to do, you are just shown ways which makes your work so much more exciting and challenging.

Having read all the papers published by the PhDs working at Precog  I realized how every aspect of Online Social Media and privacy was being thought over and processed in the minds of my seniors working at the Precog lab. The five LCDs at the lab showing live view of the systems developed at Precog, intense work atmosphere and intellectual minds pepped up to add to the ever increasing achievements of the group, it was almost scary. Yet everyone at the lab is always ready to lend a hand and my learning curve after joining the group has been steep. Working with the group I saw the lighter side of things eventually. After a long hard day at work, everyone had a well-deserved share of fun. I am glad I decided to stay.

The work I was involved in was based on the decay and growth analysis of activity on Online Social Media during events mainly Indian Premier League(IPL’13) and a few short-term events including natural disasters and  terrorist attacks. Research is not easy and research of the quality being done at Precog is a task in itself. Being guided by all these  amazing people who are a part of the group made the task easier than I imagined it to be.

When I look back at the summer of 2013 I cherish the time I have spent at the lab learning and getting inspired, working on Skype with Raghav (a sophomore at CMU whom I worked with),  the  ‘what’s up’ sessions which involved  giving updates of my work and getting everyone’s valuable guidance.  I have had too many amazing experiences to list them all together.

Most importantly, I cannot forget to mention PK, the heart and brain of Precog. He is the coolest adviser I have ever met and his skills and dexterity at work are almost mind-boggling. I came to know him as my Probability and Statistics professor, the role changed to being my adviser working at Precog and now I see him as a mentor for life. Thank you PK!

I have continued my association with the group and I am sure exciting and hard-working times await for summer of 2014. 🙂