Data Science Student Life
Outstanding Data Science Student Award
2025 Outstanding Data Science Student
Ms. Srutha Keerthy Dasoju
Getting into IIT Bombay, one of the topmost institutes in India, required years of
dedication, perseverance, and a love for problem-solving. Srutha's journey started
there, where she pursued her bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering and Materials
Science. An internship sparked her interest in building systems, inspiring her to
transition into software engineering, where she spent five years designing and optimizing
backend systems in the financial and travel industries.
Working on large-scale applications, she saw firsthand how data powers critical decisions, from fraud detection to customer personalization. The more she worked with data-driven systems, the more she wanted to explore their full potential, which led her to pursue a master's in data science at UHCL. Now thriving in the program with a 4.0 GPA, she is currently working on a research paper focused on "Adversarial attacks and Defense mechanisms in Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs)", an area that pushes the boundaries of AI security and robustness. She enjoys breaking down complex concepts to their fundamentals, believing that true understanding comes from grasping the "why" behind the "how."
With a deep curiosity for machine learning, backend engineering, and distributed systems,
she is eager to apply her knowledge to real-world data challenges, bridging the gap
between theory and impactful solutions. Outside of her academic and professional work,
Srutha is a professional dancer who has competed and won in national-level dance competitions.
She also enjoys playing badminton and exploring new places on long rides with her
family.
2024 Outstanding Data Science Student
Mr. Timothy Carter
Timothy is a second-year Data Science student with a flawless GPA. A product of home-schooling,
he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice and maintained
a 4.0 GPA while acquiring a Master's Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies emphasizing
International Relations. With multiple awards as an analyst working with government
agencies in supervisory and non-supervisory roles for 20 years, he is adept at gleaning
insights from various sources and delivering key findings to decision makers in both
presentations and in writing. Recently, his first scientific paper, titled "Mortality
Risk Factor Ranking for Non-Communicable Diseases Using Multiple Linear Regression"
has been accepted for publication in IEEE International Conference on Computer Communication
and Artificial Intelligence (CCAI) 2024. A veteran, Timothy also served as a Non-Commissioned
Officer within the United States Marine Corps with two combat deployments. Aside
from work and studies, he enjoys spending time with his wife and children, mountain
biking, and rooting for the Houston Astros.
2023 Outstanding Data Science Student
Ms. Jennifer Travis
Jennifer Travis has taught mathematics at a community college for nearly 20 years.
While working with community college students on data analysis projects, she realized
she needed to strengthen her knowledge of both computing and data analytics. She began
taking undergraduate computer science classes at UHCL and also at her community college,
then joined the MS in Data Science program in 2022. She has enjoyed the program very
much, and looks forward to applying her new knowledge digging into data on community
college transfer students. She is also in the MS in computer engineering program,
all while continuing to teach full-time at her community college. Jennifer finds great
satisfaction in the craft of writing, and anticipates either a second career or a
side career uncovering and sharing hidden stories in data. When she is not teaching
or studying or playing with data, Jennifer enjoys testing her limits in ultramarathon
races.