Pallab Layak

SIP Member Since 2021
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Mechanical Engineering/Mathematics
Class of  2026

Skills & Highlights:
  • Public Speaking
  • Mentorship
  • Research
View Resume
Resume Summary:

Self-driven, highly curious, ardent STEM student that is eager to share his excitement and passion for Mathematics and Computer Science. Specific interests lie in calculus and computational problem solving. Has won accolades in many Mathematics and Science Olympiads throughout middle and high school. Has used background to create lesson plans and conduct seminars for elementary and middle school students for past 3 years. Technical proficiencies include Python. Experience in working on diverse teams.

Achievements

Certifications

  • 2021 Wharton Moneyball Academy – Data Analytics in Sports Summer School (UPENN)
  • 2021 British Council Micro:bit
  • 2021 Coursera – Physics 101 Forces and Kinematics (RICE University)
  • 2021 Moving from Blocks to Text (Raspberry Pi)
  • 2021 Coursera – Machine Learning (Stanford)
  • 2019 Coursera – Programming For Everybody (University of Michigan)

Awards & Scholarships

  • 2021 Indian Olympiad Qualifier in Mathematics (IOQM) Certificate of Merit
  • 2020 National Merit Commended Scholar
  • 2019 Vidyashilp Academy Proud Achiever in Sports

Competitions

  • 2020 Tech-A-MAIS 1st Place in Hack Overflow
  • 2020 Tech-A-MAIS Organized BREAK1N event
  • 2019 School Rank 1 in SOF International Math Olympiad Round 1

Presentations & Speaking

  • 2021: STEAMBloom Virtual STEM Conference: Starting Early: Developing 21st Century Skills for Your Next Step in STEM: College/Career!
  • 2021: HackSIP 2 Hackathon; co-host
  • 2021 Codetigers – Helped Organise Great Indian Coding Competition
  • 2021 Codetigers/SIP – Mentor in 10-week Starting From Scratch Livestream series

Experience

  • 2021 Heckyl Technologies – Machine Learning Program for Detecting Heart Problems

Bio

Pallab is a 12th-grade student at Mallya Aditi International School, Bangalore, India. He is a member of the STEM Impressionists Program (SIP), a nonprofit organization that supports underrepresented minorities in STEM. As part of SIP, Pallab was a member of the Champions for Science 2021 panel discussion, to make STEM education in high schools more inclusive and engaging.

He is also passionate about basketball and has represented his school for the last 7 years, winning various tournaments. Uniting his love of Sports and Maths, he recently attended the Moneyball Academy Summer Program, a course in data analytics in sports organized by the University of Pennsylvania. In the future, he hopes to pursue a career in Engineering. As he continues to participate in SIP, Pallab hopes to spread awareness and his love for STEM to a wide array of students all around the world.

What SIP Means to Me

Earlier this year, Mx. DeHart reached out to me to join SIP. Initially I was uncertain about whether I’d be able to manage my time well enough to compensate for the time difference, but I realised it would be foolish of me not to seize this opportunity.

My first project with SIP was hosting a YouTube Livestream 10-week Scratch Course: “Starting from Scratch.” I was one of the mentors on the series. Not only did I learn various new aspects of Scratch, but also how to work with a diverse team, and understand everyone’s point of view. It was my first time on a live streaming platform and was definitely a learning experience. Despite our days and nights of preparation, I always had to be ready to improvise when I was on the live stream. I also picked up a plethora of techniques to make captivating presentations, as we had to keep children engaged for an hour for the live stream.

Before joining SIP, I did not have much experience with public speaking and was terrified by the thought of speaking in front of large audiences. SIP gave me an opportunity to spread a message that I am truly passionate about: “The beauty and importance of STEM as we enter the 4th industrial revolution.” My passion helped overcome my nerves. I am now able to write speeches and speak with more confidence than I could ever imagine.

Researching about diversity in STEM for our presentations has helped me become more conscious of my surroundings. I ensure that I am always inclusive and encourage others around me to do so as well.