Hi, I'm Elaine!
About Me
I am a current Junior from West Des Moines, Iowa pursuing a degree in Computer Science (6-3) and Business Analytics (15-2) at MIT! While I'm not working, I compete on the Track & Field team, enjoy reading a good book, attempt to learn the guitar, and speed-solve all sorts of Rubik's Cubes. You can find/contact me on the platforms below:
My Projects
Below are some projects I have worked on! They range from things I did for my own enjoyment, for research/work, for school, and for my community. Along with brief summaries of each one of my works, click on the buttons to see more information, pictures, and videos—enjoy!
sustain.
sustain-ten.vercel.app
We developed a user-friendly full-stack web application that allows for people aware and concerned with personal sustainability practices to have access to brands dedicated to sustainability through browsing options that are similar to their product needs. Environmentally conscious individuals are rarely the type to prioritize brands over impact, so our platform allows a super easy way to access what they want to see and provide them with a no-brainer alternative. Created using React/Next.js, Convex for backend functionality, OpenAI API, and Clerk for auth.
agora : go with your gut
HackMIT 2023
My team and I developed a voice-based decision-making web application named agora. The user voice records their thoughts about each of their options, then it is analyzed based on tone of voice. Emotional scores for each option are calculated and ranked, allowing agora to lead the user to their "gut" decision. Using React/Next.js, TailwindCSS, Python, HuggingFaceAPI, and Figma, our team developed a minimum viable product and a UI/UX design for agora.
MobiScope: Advancing Decision-Making in New Urban Mobility
Cambridge, MA
In early 2023, I was a Research Assistant with the City Science research group in the MIT Media Lab. Their goal was to develop a physical interface to explore the potential performance and impacts of ultra-lightweight autonomous shared vehicles for future cities. My role was to create a tangible tool using Arduino and their agent-based modeling GAMA Platform that utilizes these data and models, allowing users to interact with the simulation in real-time. Through this multi-layer analysis, stakeholders can collaboratively analyze different system configurations, gaining valuable insights into the implications of different decisions and their respective trade-offs.
ConneXions Tutoring
connexionstutoring.com
Since June 2020, I have been heavily involved in the development of ConneXions Tutoring; as a Tutor, Executive Director, and Website Designer/Developer. This website is a student-led national organization providing free online K-12 tutoring services. In 2021, I took leadership of the program and integrated it into my local community school district, recruiting tutors both locally and nationwide. Furthermore, I redesigned and relaunched the website (using HTML/CSS/JS + Bootstrap) to minimize organization costs--which is now maintained by a new technical team.
Music Meteorology
Valley High School
In our Advanced Programming Languages class, my teammates and I created a Node.js app that lets the user input a U.S. city and immedietly receive a playlist based on that city's weather! This semester-long project was a great opportunity to collaborate with my peers as well as learn from each other. Our app, dubbed "Music Meteorology", primarily uses Javascript, HTML/CSS, along with an OpenWeather API.