about me

Hi, I’m Dhruva. I research learning dynamics and inductive bias in neural networks. I’m currently a physics grad student at UC Berkeley.

research

I’m broadly interested in the physics of (deep) learning. Here I’m using the term physics artistically rather than literally: in my search for analytical theories of deep learning, I value useful toy models, pragmatic approximations, illuminating limits, and convincing quantitative match with practical experiments.

I’m especially curious about adaptive feature learning, since I (and many other researchers) believe that it’s key to understanding why deep learning is more sample efficient than static-feature algorithms such as kernel ridge regression.

teaching

I really enjoy teaching — it makes me feel in my element. I think sharing knowledge is dope. Early in my PhD I won the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award from the Physics department, as well as the selective Teaching Effectiveness Award from the university. You can read my essay for this award here.

Here’s some anonymous student feedback I’m extremely proud of:

• Dhruva is really chill and relaxed and an easy person to talk to. He is very prepared for discussions and they are really helpful in learning the material. He seems to be good at physics and is always willing to help/explain in the best way that he can. He also tries to explain the basics of a concept at the start of a discussion, which will help a lot because some concepts are very murky during lecture. Always learned a lot after attending.
• Very approachable and open to being asked questions, has good mini–lectures, I found his jokes funny
• Dhruva is an excellent TA. He starts each discussion with a small presentation about topics covered in the professor’s lecture and/or topics he believes important to cover. These are easily understandable and often are more useful than the lecture due to Dhruva’s excellent teaching style. He listens to the students and encourages their participation as well as questions. He relates to students as people and always comes prepared, even when faced with family emergencies. preparation and organization, attitude toward students, responsiveness and accessibility
• Dhruva is very prepared and understands what students’ are struggling on. He understands the subject well and is good at teaching.
• Dhruva is an incredible teacher, and sparked an interest in physics beyond the scope of this class everyday. He put our equations in perspective.
• Dhruva is very knowledgeable, creates his own questions that are interesting (questions could be made a little harder), and very effective in explaining the solutions. He comes to class prepared by having spent time creating and solving questions beforehand. Due to this preparedness, Dhruva is a very effective teacher. Dhruva is also receptive to feedback and enthusiastic.
• Dhruva is very organized. He conveniently keeps all the notes and discussion problems on one website. His notes are clear and concise and if/when he doesn’t have the answer to a discussion problem, he can still solve and teach it on the spot. He changes the difficulty of the problems according to the needs of the students.
• Going to discussions with him was really helpful. As someone with hardly any physics background, he made the material easier to understand and would consistently be engaging. I honestly do not think I could have passed the class without him.
• I was a student of his, and he was able to present material excellently in conjunction with lecture to ensure that we as students was able to fully comprehend material taught and ensure our success on exams and test questions. He was really able to teach us through a student perspective. His discussion and lab sections were always insightful with creative and fun questions or jokes to lighten the mood on the often times dull topics. I would not skip his section!

I was a Graduate Student Instructor for Physics 7A in Fall ‘21, Spring ‘22, Summer ‘23, and Summer ‘24. I’ve also taught Physics C10 and Physics C21 several times. I’m currently the graduate representative of the Physics department’s Major Curriculum Committee.

random facts

Some activities I enjoy:

• cooking for friends
• playing vibe chess
• messing around with software synthesizers (any Arturia Pigments fans in here?)
• observing plants, tending for plants, watercoloring still life (plants), going on long chill walks (to witness some plants, of course)
• doing flipturns in a pool (the swimming part in between is alright too I guess)

Some bands and tv I enjoy:

• Parcels
• Khruangbin
• Men I Trust
• Jungle
• Dune 2021
• Princess Mononoke
• Arrival
• Andor

Before moving to Berkeley, I studied physics, computer science, and astronomy at UT Austin (hook ‘em).