About Me
👋 Hey, I’m Purnima
💡 Engineer · ML Explorer · Future Product Strategist
Currently a Master’s student in Computer Science (MPCS) @ University of Chicago
🚀 What I Do
- Build intelligent systems → simulation, automation, and data-driven insights
- Experiment with ML models that solve real-world problems
- Think at the intersection of data + product strategy
🛠️ Toolbox
Python · TensorFlow · Keras · Scikit-learn · SystemC
Pandas · SQL · Docker · Spring Boot · OpenCV
Featured Projects
🌱 Plant Disease Detection
CNN + Focal Loss + ResNet → Boosted accuracy from 78% → 92% on 50k+ image dataset
(Practical edge: early detection saves yield + farmers’ time)
🌾 Crop Forecasting with SARIMA
Forecasted crop yield cycles using NDVI vegetation data + SARIMA
(Because forecasting food is cooler than forecasting stock prices 🌽)
My Learning at UChicago
This is where I will write about your specific courses, projects, and key takeaways.
- Advanced Data Mining: Gained hands-on experience with clustering algorithms like K-Means and DBSCAN, and learned to apply them to large-scale datasets.
- Parallel Computing: Explored the fundamentals of parallel processing and developed high-performance algorithms for scientific simulations.
Books I'm Reading
Using this section to share my thoughts on books I've read.
Author: Shelby Van Pelt
A grumpy octopus. A grieving woman. A small own full of second chances. Remarkably Bright Creatures didn't just tug at my heartstrings, It reconnected them. This book is about loneliness, memory, and unexpected friendships, all wrapped in the voice of one of the most unforgettable narrators I've ever met: Marcellus, the octopus. Yes, an octopus. But more human than most. What Shelby Van Pelt does here is magic: she brings to life the aching silences between people, and the strange beauty of being seen, really seen, when you least expect it. It's not a loud book. It's a quiet, healing one. And sometimes, those are the ones we need the most. If you've ever felt a little lost, a little alone, this book might find you.
Author: Virginia Woolf
Day in the life of Clarissa dalloway, upperclass housewife. Referred as “Mrs Dalloway” throughout the book to indicate that she is the property of her husband, Richard Dalloway. She can ask her servants to pick out flowers but the book opens with clarissa buying flowers for her party to indicate her independence, throwing parties represent Clarissa’s primary opportunity to assert her agency as an individual. Tone of modernism in the entire book. Narration of the book moves between characters, times, and places, which leads to numerous realities built by each individual perception. i.e. how the mind works I could see internal parallels between Clarissa and Septimus, such as their emotional connections to Shakespeare, musings on death, and growing dissatisfaction with the expectations London society has for them.
Let's Connect
Purnima Pal | Last Updated: 18 September 2025