Akshay Priyadarshi

TransitFit Python package

JBCA, University of Manchester (2022 - ongoing)

Developed "TransitFit", a tool for exoplanet transmission spectroscopy. Enables detection of atmospheric molecules and determination of physical parameters in exoplanets.

GitHub Repository

Exoplanet Demographics Study

JBCA, University of Manchester (2021 - ongoing)

Building a statistical tool to simulate planets around stars, estimating the number and characteristics of undetected planets to optimize future observations and planet formation theories.

Simulation and prediction of exoplanet atmosphere

NISER Bhubaneswar (2020 - 2021)

Modeled the atmosphere and simulated observations to predict the existence of HC₃N in a Super-Earth exoplanet GJ1132 b.

Publication: Paper

Machine Learning model to improve detection of dark matter

NISER Bhubaneswar (2020 - 2021)

Compared ML algorithms (Random Forest, SVM, Linear Regression, Neural Networks) to train and test a model over observational data. Improved accuracy of signal retrieval using Linear Regression and Random Forests.

Project report

Football Match Data Analysis and Visualization

Data analysis and visualization tool for football matches using Python, focusing on World Cup data. Shot maps and passing networks, using matplotlib and mplsoccer to provide actionable insights. Machine learning techniques for data binarization and feature encoding, enhancing the accuracy of event tagging and player performance metric.

GitHub repo

summarAIser: AI agent to search & summarise academic research

Engineered an AI research assistant that utilizes RAG, arXiv-API, and Gemini-API to fetch, summarize, and validate academic papers. It's designed to help researchers and enthusiasts stay up-to-date with the latest developments in science.

GitHub repo

Quantitative analysis of stocks and options

Rebalanced portfolio to optimise risk/returns using efficient frontier charts, extracting live stock data from yahoo finance.

Built a trading bot using Alpaca-API based on momentum data from moving averages, Bollinger Bonds, Keltner Channels, generating alpha of 27% after backtesting.

Found optimum stocks for bear market through Monte Carlo simulation, VaR95, and value-based analysis.

Generated Call/Put pricing of 1000s of live options using Alpaca-API and Black-Scholes-Merton model.

GitHub repo

PhD in Astronomy & Astrophysics

University of Manchester (2021 - 2025 expected)
Funded by UKRI-STFC scholarship

Integrated MSc in Physics & minor in Computer Science

NISER Bhubaneswar, India (2016 - 2021)
Funded by DST-INSPIRE scholarship

UKRI-STFC Scholarship

3.5-year scholarship from UKRI.

DST-INSPIRE Scholarship

5-year scholarship and contingency grant, given to a limited number of students, to facilitate and promote science education.

Silver Honour

International Astronomy and Astrophysics Competition (Jul 2020)

Scored 92 percentile globally.

Finalist

IISER Tirupati, Abhiprajna (May 2020)

Selected among the top 6 teams from India, in an astronomy themed science competition.

Graduate Teaching Assistant

The University of Manchester (Feb 2022 - June 2024)

Taught physics courses, including computational physics, led lab demonstrations, conducted interviews, and graded assignments.

• Demonstrator for General Physics lab (2021-2022), Electronics lab (2022-23), Introduction to Programming (2023-24)
• Teaching assistant for interdisciplinary course "Are we alone" (2022-2023)

Visiting Student

IUCAA, Pune, India (Dec 2018 - Jan 2021)

Selected for the Vacation Students' Programme (VSP) 2020. Worked on characterizing quasars into BAL, emerging-BAL, and non-BAL quasars.

Summer Research Intern

Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (May 2018 - July 2018)

Investigated the optical limiting and spectroscopic properties of SiOx thin films.

Summer Research Intern

Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (May 2017 - July 2017)

Analyzed the optical spectroscopic properties of Pentacene thin films.