About Me

My name is Nyx Iskandar, and I am an undergraduate AI and Policy researcher passionate about building and shaping AI for public good. I'm honored to have been awarded the prestigious full-ride GovTech Singapore Smart Nation Scholarship to study Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences (EECS) and Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley.

Broadly, my research focus is improving the capabilities and safety of AI systems, particularly to solve challenges in the community. At the Center for Human-Compatible AI (CHAI), I investigate and improve the fundamental intelligence of AI systems under the mentorship of Dr. Cam Allen. Collaborating with Ritwik Gupta under the Berkeley AI Research lab (BAIR) and Berkeley Risk and Security Lab (BRSL), I evaluate the cyber capabilities of LLMs to inform AI governance and public policy. I'm also interested in the intersection of AI and education, currently working on an AI-driven tool for textbook personalization as an independent project advised by Prof. Gireeja Ranade and Prof. Narges Norouzi. Recognizing the importance of safe and responsible AI, I'm also currently working on an LLM safety testing and benchmarking project with the Singapore Government.

Furthermore, I am the teaching assistant (TA) for UC Berkeley's AI and Public Policy course taught by Prof. Andrew W. Reddie (~100 students). My other teaching experiences include being a tutor for CS/EECS classes at Berkeley and being the founder and lead mentor of Code for Hope, where I taught Python fundamentals to 200 underprivileged students and led 25 teacher volunteers from all over Singapore.

I currently serve as the Vice President of External at Machine Learning at Berkeley, the premier organization for Berkeley students in AI/ML, where I spearhead events (e.g. talks, hackathons, workshops, career fairs, company visits) with leading figures and companies / organizations in the AI/ML space. I'm also an active officer at Tau Beta Pi (TBP) and Eta Kappa Nu (HKN), the Engineering and EECS Honors Societies respectively. Additionally, I serve as the Vice President of the Singapore Student Association and a product owner / lead developer at the Office of the CTO of the Associated Students of the University of California (student government).

Outside of tech, I love to play volleyball, climb/boulder, and draw manga!