I’m starting a new series called “Papers I Read This Week” to keep track of some of the most interesting work I’ve been reading. I often skim more abstracts and excerpts than I can list here, but this will serve as a place to highlight the papers that stood out—whether for their ideas, methods, or the questions they raise.
As I conclude my travels through my 34th country, I find myself reflecting not just on the places I have visited, but on why I have always been drawn to travel.
This summer, my parents and I traveled to Kenya and Tanzania, visiting Maasai Mara, Serengeti, and the Ngorongoro Crater. The safari was more than just a vacation — it gave us a chance to step back and think about the world and our place in it. We expected to see animals in their natural habitat, but what we gained was a deeper perspective.
This summer, I completed the NeuroAI course offered by Neuromatch Academy, a volunteer-led organization providing research education and training at the intersection of neuroscience and machine learning. The course introduced key topics in biologically inspired AI, including neural coding, learning dynamics, and open problems in cognition, while emphasizing hands-on coding, peer collaboration, and engagement with current research. As someone who had been passively interested in NeuroAI, this course was foundational in helping me move from curiosity to genuine direction. It gave me the conceptual framework, technical skills, and intellectual community to explore the field seriously.