Srikar R Kovvuri

Srikar's academic research journey began with the development of deep learning models for malaria parasite detection, where he improved diagnostic accuracy by 3% and presented his work at an IEEE conference. He continued exploring his passion for AI through a project focused on AI-driven text-to-image generation using XLNET Transformers and GANs, which he presented at a Springer conference. Srikar also first-authored a machine learning tool aimed at improving power grid resiliency, which influenced wildfire risk legislation in California and Colorado. This work earned him recognition as a 2024 Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar and was published in the MDPI Journal of Energies, garnering over 1,200 views.

In the tech industry, Srikar worked as a Software Engineer Intern at Slice, where he built an e-commerce platform that enabled local pizzerias to order custom merchandise, improving order processing efficiency by 35%. He also led the integration of external APIs to streamline order placement and manage discounts effectively.

As co-founder of Code2Connect, Srikar has worked to expand access to computer science education on a global scale. Under his leadership, the organization has grown to over 3,500 students across six international chapters, supported by a network of 300+ mentors. Code2Connect has secured $43,000 in funding and a $120,000/year Google grant, and partnered with organizations like the U.N. Tanzania Development Trust, Microsoft, and UNESCO. Notably, the organization collaborated with the Rwandan government to host a fintech hackathon with over 400 attendees.

Outside his technical pursuits, Srikar plays badminton, a sport in which he was once ranked as a top 60 player nationally. In his free time, Srikar enjoys exploring diverse cuisines, hanging out with friends, and performing close-up magic tricks.

At Columbia, Srikar is deeply interested in cutting-edge research as well as exploring the startup ecosystem, aiming to create impactful solutions that give back to the community.