I’m a 5th year PhD candidate in Information Systems (minor in Economics) at the Robert H. Smith School of Business of the University of Maryland, working under the supervision of Prof. Siva Viswanathan. I extensively use Python, Stata, R and MATLAB along with modern data/text mining tools and deep learning techniques to address empirical questions on

1. Information asymmetry and discrimination in online platforms such as Airbnb.
2. Economic impact of institutional forms such as Seed Accelerators.
3. Apps’ strategic choices on decision to (delay) upgrade under platform’s new information privacy policy

Research Focus: Mechanism Designs, Asymmetric Information, Platform Strategy

Methodology: Econometrics, Machine Learning (Deep Learning), Textual Analysis, Field Experiments

You can find my 1-pager CV here

Mechanism Designs in an online sharing economy: A deep dive into Airbnb’s mechanism design that mitigates information asymmetry (SSRN)

Mechanism Designs in Mobile Platforms : Android’s Information Privacy Policy enactment, strategic delaying of privacy policy adoption by some apps and impact of such strategic behavior on apps’ outcomes (WEIS 2019) (ZDNet)

IS Entrepreneurship: A study of how seed accelerators help investors in addressing the assessment and valuation problem of startups (AOM Best Paper Proceedings)

Mechanism Designs in Hybrid TV setup: Improving the efficacy of content consumption on Smart TV by leveraging multi-screen connectivity

I have completed two terms as an instructor in Database Systems (with lab) at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. I have also covered basics of Data Mining and Frontiers of Data Science as a part of these courses

Database Systems (BMGT402) – Spring 2018 (38 students, IS/Business Analytics Major)
• Teaching Evaluation: 4.72/5.00
• Recipient, Distinguished Teaching Award 2017-2018 (All Faculty & Student instructors)

Database Systems (BMGT402) – Fall 2018 (38 students, IS/Business Analytics Major)
• Teaching Evaluation: 4.87/5.00

Here are some of the Awards and Grants that I have received during my Ph.D. journey

2019

• Allan N. Nash Outstanding Doctoral Student Award – One of the most prestigious awards for a doctoral student at R.H. Smith School of Business
• Distinguished Teaching Award AY 2017-2018 (All Faculty & Student instructors)
• Nancy S. and Edward F. Ebert Graduate Award in Free Enterprise by Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets
• Best Paper Proceedings, Entrepreneurship Track – AOM Annual Meeting
• NSF Student Travel Grant – to present at WEIS 2019
• Jacob K. Goldhaber Travel Grant – to present at SCECR 2019
• OCIS Travel Grant – to participate at OCIS Doctoral Consortium at AOM 2019

2018

• Computation Grant for Big Data Research by the Ed Snider Center
• Summer Research Fellowship by UMD Graduate School ($5000)
• Financial Aid to complete 5-course specialization in Deep Learning by Deeplearning.ai
• Travel Grant – To participate in Wharton Innovation Doctoral Symposium (WINDS 2018)

2017

• Research Grant by the Ed Snider Center

2016

• Research Grant by the DIGITS Center
• Dean’s Fellowship, Spring 2016

2015

• Dean’s Fellowship, Fall 2015

I have been a passionate quizzer (trivia master) and have gained immensely from the quizzing community.
I ventured into writing Quiz books as an attempt to contribute back to the community that nurtured me.

Book 1: Blitz the IT Quiz Book: I wrote this book during my freshman year at college (over a decade ago). Sapna Book House, a reputed publisher from Karnataka, India published this book during my sophomore year. Currently, the 6th (2018) edition is in circulation

Book 2: Kryptonite the IT Quiz book: This book was published in 2011, just before I started my MBA. The 2nd edition is currently in circulation and the 3rd edition is in the pipeline.

Read more about my books here

Prior to/Along with pursuing my academic research, I have dabbled with and have developed a few alternative passions.

Trivia/Quizzing

Volunteering