Chris
Hello, I'm Chris.
I'm currently a student at Harvard College, majoring in Statistics and Computer Science. My passion lies in using machine learning, software engineering, and data science to make a positive social impact. I thrive on building innovative solutions that can help address real-world challenges.

About Me

I am a junior at Harvard College majoring in Statistics and Computer Science. My coursework has given me a solid foundation in machine learning, data structures, algorithms, probability, and statistical inference. This academic background is complemented by my involvement in tech-driven extracurriculars such as Harvard Tech for Social Good (T4SG), where I lead a team of software engineers to create innovative projects that benefit society.

I also work part-time as a research assistant in the Harvard Economics department, training large language models to classify texts related to the Syrian Civil War. In addition, I am passionate about education—this semester, I’m serving as a Teaching Fellow for Stat 110, Harvard's introductory probability course, and working my second year as a Course Assistant for CS50, Harvard’s introductory computer science course, helping students master foundational programming concepts.

This past summer, I worked with CS50's Research and Development Team as a Software Engineer Fellow, where I designed new AI educational tools for future iterations of the course. Outside of academics, I sing Tenor 2 with the Harvard Glee Club (watch our last concert here!), am a member of the Cuban-American Undergraduate Student Association, and enjoy photographing and traveling the world.

Projects

Intro to Data Science & ML in Python Seminar

Taught a 45-minute seminar on data science and machine learning, covering the data science workflow, types of machine learning and popular models, and led a hands-on activity analyzing Spotify's most streamed songs. Watch here.
  • Pandas
  • Numpy
  • Matplotlib
  • Scikit-learn
  • Jupyter

alpha.cs50.ai

Revamped the CS50.ai website that hosts the CS50 chatbot that engages with students to assist with course material.
  • Next.js
  • React
  • Tailwind
  • Prisma
  • TypeScript
  • Assistants API
  • Chat Completions API

RoBERTa Multiclass Text Classification

Trained a RoBERTa model to classify Arabic text data on how civilians have died in the Syrian Civil War.
  • Pytorch
  • Wandb
  • Chat Completions API

Cointribute

A Harvard T4SG web application that promotes charitable donations and financial literacy amongst young adults. It allows users to donate to various charities, track their donations, and complete finance modules personalized via AI.
  • Next.js
  • React
  • Tailwind
  • Supabase
  • TypeScript

Multi-Objective and Multi-Constraint Optimization

A paper that proves the Envelope Theorems and the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker Conditions, providing a lens to analyze their applicability to three fictional business models and to gain further theoretical and geometric mathematical intuition.
  • Multivariable Calculus
  • Linear Algebra
  • Economics

Experiences

Senior Software Engineer

Harvard Tech for Social Good

Cambridge, MA | February 2024 - present

Lead a team of software engineers in developing an AI Resource Navigator for One Degree, a nonprofit aimed at helping low-income families access social and economic resources. Utilize technologies such as Next.js/React, Node.js, and OpenAI APIs, design system architecture, provide mentorship, and conduct code reviews to improve community access to resources.

Teaching Staff: Stat 110, CS50

Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Cambridge, MA | August 2023 - present

Teach weekly sections for Stat 110, focusing on building student intuition in probability through interactive problem-solving. Lead office hours, provide personalized guidance, and grade assignments. Recognized for fostering a supportive learning environment, achieving Excellent ratings in end-of-semester evaluations from students.

ML Research Assistant

Harvard University Department of Economics

Cambridge, MA | January 2024 - September 2024

Supported economic research on the Syrian Civil War by collecting, cleaning, and analyzing extensive datasets. Developed and fine-tuned RoBERTa models for multiclass classification of Arabic text data, accurately identifying and categorizing the impacts on civilians across multiple dimensions of the conflict.

Software Engineering Fellow (CS50)

Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Cambridge, MA | June - August 2024

Designed and implemented new AI features for the CS50 course to enhance student learning. Revamped the CS50.ai website, improving user experience and aligning it with pedagogical teaching goals.

Data Science Intern

Instituto Milenio Fundamentos de los Datos

Santiago, Chile | June - July 2023

Collaborated with professors and graduate students on an agent-based modeling project related to narcotraffic and organized crime in Chile. Developed Python scripts to process and visualize extensive crime data with dynamic geographic heat maps.

Contact Me

Please contact me directly at christopherperez[at]college[dot]harvard[dot]edu.