Hey there, I'm Gurmehar Singh -- thanks for stopping by!
I'm an undergraduate student at Purdue University with a double-major in computer science and mathematics, in my third (but final!) year. This past summer I was in Redmond, Washington working at SpaceX on the Starlink Ground Network Engineering team. I'm planning to head there after my graduation in May to start working full-time.
My work varies from things like automating configuration changes to Starlink servers worldwide to creating mathematical models to provide low-error predictions of customer growth. These models in turn let us buy hardware at the optimal time to scale our network and save the entire company quite a lot of money -- all with the goal of providing reliable, low-latency internet around the globe.
In my second year at Purdue, I led a team to participate in the NASA SUITS challenge. This challenge focuses on developing the next generation of spacesuit interfaces for space travel, specifically for the upcoming Artemis missions. Our team was called Team JARVIS, which stands for Just A Rather Vital Interface System.
The first step of this challenge was to write a technical proposal detailing how we would devlop a set of software systems to address a mission scenario given to us by NASA. We submitted our proposal in late 2023, and were subsequently selected as one of 11 teams across the country to actually develop our software. All teams then travelled to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where we tested our systems in simulated mission conditions, getting feedback from astronauts and NASA employees.
Three of those 11 teams were given awards -- and our team was one of them. As a result of our contribution to our outreach for the Artemis missions as well as the work we did to help the NASA team during the testing week in Houston, we were awarded the Pay it Forward Award. You can see me receiving it in the background photo. :)
The first step of this challenge was to write a technical proposal detailing how we would devlop a set of software systems to address a mission scenario given to us by NASA. We submitted our proposal in late 2023, and were subsequently selected as one of 11 teams across the country to actually develop our software. All teams then travelled to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where we tested our systems in simulated mission conditions, getting feedback from astronauts and NASA employees.
Three of those 11 teams were given awards -- and our team was one of them. As a result of our contribution to our outreach for the Artemis missions as well as the work we did to help the NASA team during the testing week in Houston, we were awarded the Pay it Forward Award. You can see me receiving it in the background photo. :)
Before Starlink, I spent a few years working at the SETI Institute to refurbish the Allen Telescope Array in Northern California, building infrastructure like databases for high-throughput observations to more design-focused areas like creating easy-to-parse displays for critical health metrics. If you ever pay a visit to the ATA, you might see some of the software I wrote running on one of the screens in the observation control room.
One of the most interesting projects I worked on at the ATA was a system to track satellites in near real-time as they passed overhead. Using three of the 42 6.1-meter diameter dishes at the ATA, I was able to automatically take snapshots of the sky overhead every few hours and programmatically search the resulting data for instances of spikes in the power, or temperature, we observe in the sky. We then match the exact location and time of those spikes to the locations of known satellites, allowing us to track these satellites and identify sources of radio interference in our observations.
One of the most interesting projects I worked on at the ATA was a system to track satellites in near real-time as they passed overhead. Using three of the 42 6.1-meter diameter dishes at the ATA, I was able to automatically take snapshots of the sky overhead every few hours and programmatically search the resulting data for instances of spikes in the power, or temperature, we observe in the sky. We then match the exact location and time of those spikes to the locations of known satellites, allowing us to track these satellites and identify sources of radio interference in our observations.
My interests tend to jump from field to field -- astrophysics, linguistics, music, and more -- and that's why I chose computer science and math as my fields of study. Whatever I want to do, I can probably get a computer to help me do it. (And there's probably a neat equation that represents that process.)
I've spent some of my free time developing a video game, along with a fully original soundtrack -- keep in mind that this was a while ago, so more modern browsers may have trouble supporting the game and there may be bugs!
Languages are fascinating to me -- I grew up speaking English, Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu), and Punjabi. I've managed to retain a decent bit of middle school Spanish, taught myself some Arabic (!شويه بس) and a little Farsi. I took Latin and high school and spent a summer learning Ancient Sumerian, but don't remember much of either of those. (surprise surprise, no one speaks them!) I've also designed a language of my own.
I've spent some of my free time developing a video game, along with a fully original soundtrack -- keep in mind that this was a while ago, so more modern browsers may have trouble supporting the game and there may be bugs!
Languages are fascinating to me -- I grew up speaking English, Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu), and Punjabi. I've managed to retain a decent bit of middle school Spanish, taught myself some Arabic (!شويه بس) and a little Farsi. I took Latin and high school and spent a summer learning Ancient Sumerian, but don't remember much of either of those. (surprise surprise, no one speaks them!) I've also designed a language of my own.
When I've got some downtime, I enjoy bouldering or learning a new language. I'm still working on Farsi, and I've picked up a little Turkish -- listening to old Tarkan songs helps with that. I also love playing the piano, whether it's modern masterpieces like Hans Zimmer's Day One from Interstellar, old Persian classics like Gol-e-Goldoon, or pieces that I've written myself. I'll also occasionally bring out my alto sax and play through some Charlie Parker or even your run-of-the-mill 12-bar blues.
If you've made it all the way to the end, thanks for your time! Hopefully you'll stop by again and see any updates I've added here.
If you've made it all the way to the end, thanks for your time! Hopefully you'll stop by again and see any updates I've added here.
