Paaduka Rangarajan

Year in School
Freshman

Major
Computer Science + Bioengineering

Research Interests
Artificial Intelligence

Research Mentor

Research/Engagement Experience

Interests

Project Title

How did I get interested in Computer Science?
I've always been a creative, sideways thinker, drawn to untangling lateral thinking puzzles and tinkering with code to make drones and robots come to life. In high school, this curiosity found a natural home in machine learning. During my internship at a neurotech company, working with brain tract data from MRI scans, I learned how transformative ML and AI can be in healthcare. Later, through my research on deep learning generalization in breast cancer histopathology, my interest deepened. I am passionate about extending computer science into the medical field, with the goal of building AI systems that are reliable and interpretable enough to be trusted in large-scale, high-stakes healthcare settings.

What social interests matter to me?

Why did you choose Illinois?
I chose UIUC for the strength of the program and the opportunity to combine CS with bioengineering, giving me both a specific application for my interests and the flexibility to explore. I was also drawn to the diversity of the student body and the sheer range of communities and resources on campus, a place where I could push myself academically while still having balance.

What are your passions outside of computing?
I've trained in Indian classical dance and music for 13 years and plan to keep performing and growing as an artist. I'm also passionate about animation, graphic design, and photography.

What has been one of your favorite experiences at Illinois that you would like to share with prospective students? (For Continuing UIUC Students)

What has been one of your favorite experiences as a CS STAR? (For Returning CS STARS)

What is my most impactful college experience?

These are a few of my favorite things!
A good swim, watercolour painting, noodles that are spicier than I can handle, rewatching The Mentalist, and watching cricket matches with my family

Research Description

Biography
Paaduka is a Computer Science and Bioengineering student at UIUC from Bengaluru, India. Her primary research focus is questioning why AI models fail and finding ways to make them more reliable and trustworthy for high-stakes healthcare applications. She brings that same instinct to other corners of computing, from building a benchmark to quantify hallucination across large language models to exploring generative AI in commercial design. Ultimately, she is driven to work across any field, where she can learn, question, and build systems people can genuinely trust.