Mel Xiao

welcome to my website!

Hi, i'm Mel!

I'm a mathematics and computer science student at the University of Chicago.

I love tackling challenging problems and building things that work. I'm interested in how technology and machine learning can be used to help with human problems from climate systems to early-childhood education. I work across software, hardware, and data, and I'm always looking for the next problem to solve.

Outside of that, I'm also a barista at a student-run café and the styling editor for MODA Fashion Magazine.

what i work with

languages

Python Java SQL C / C++ JavaScript

frameworks

React Flask FastAPI Spring Boot

AI & machine learning

PyTorch Hugging Face Transformers Llama Gemini ChatGPT Claude Code

developer tools & technologies

Git / GitHub Docker REST APIs WebSockets AWS (Cognito, Bedrock, ECS Fargate, S3, SQS)

where i've worked

Software Engineer Intern @ Socially Engaging Robotics (SEBO) Lab
Jun 2026 — Aug 2026

Built a full-stack educational application connecting children with the Misty robot via an iPad and LLM-powered voice pipeline; developed FastAPI/WebSocket services and deployed the system in a 100-participant user study.

Python FastAPI Websockets JavaScript React Llama
Software Engineer Intern @ VortexNet
Mar 2026 — Jun 2026

Built an AI-powered playlist platform on AWS with React and Spring Boot, featuring real-time cover design and scalable APIs. Optimized PostgreSQL/Redis infrastructure to reduce API latency 70% and database load 40%, while supporting 10K+ daily orders at 99%+ success.

Python AWS JavaScript React Spring Boot PostgreSQL Redis OpenCV
Software Engineer Intern @ Institute for Climate & Sustainable Growth, UChicago
Jun 2025 — Mar 2026

Fine-tuned NuExtract-v1.5 to extract ESG entities from 15,000+ sustainability reports. Built a data pipeline for 4.7M AlphaEarth wetland observations to analyze the effects of legislation on wetland degradation.

Python PyTorch Hugging Face Transformers

things i've built

01
UChicago Robotics Club — Leadership
Lead a 70-member club managing a $50K endowment, mentoring junior members, and running an annual 15-week CAD and prototyping training program for new members.
Leadership CAD Mentorship
02
Persistence-of-Vision LED Display
Embedded C++ system on Arduino that converts 3D voxel data into synchronized 2D LED patterns, creating a volumetric persistence-of-vision display. Showcased at MakeMIT 2026.
C++ Arduino

let's talk!