Hi there👋! My name is Ricardo and I am a software developer with a passion for creating innovative and efficient solutions. I have a strong foundation in computer science concepts and a track record of successfully completing projects on time and within scope. In my free time, I enjoy learning about new technologies and staying up-to-date with industry trends. I am constantly seeking out opportunities to expand my skillset and take on new challenges.

As the founder of Torus Studio, a start-up that uses machine learning to create innovative VR games, I am passionate about the potential of technology to change the way we interact with and experience the world. I have always been drawn to the intersection of software development and creative expression, and at Torus Studio, I have the opportunity to bring these two worlds together.

Prior to starting Torus Studio, I worked as a full-time student at The University of Arizona in Computer Science, where I gained valuable experience in machine learning and software development. I saw an opportunity to combine my skills and passion in the exciting field of VR gaming, and that's how Torus Studio was born.

At Torus Studio, our goal is to push the boundaries of what is possible with machine learning and create immersive, engaging games that inspire and entertain players. We are a small, dedicated team of developers and designers who are passionate about building the future of VR gaming. We hope to not only create amazing experiences for our players, but also to contribute to the larger conversation about the role of technology in society as a whole.

Remarks

"I have the distinct pleasure of working with Ricardo in data science. His grasp of the subject and his passion to help others are to be commended. He really helped me better understand neural networks." -Aman Dwivedi (dwivedi.aman11@gmail.com)

"It is my privilege to recommend Ricardo Martinez for the Machine Learning Internship. I tutored Ricardo in two University of Arizona courses: Precalculus and Calculus I. During our time, I watched Ricardo grow into an exceptional individual who excels in his academic pursuits. As his tutor, I appreciated his respectful attitude and strong work ethic, but his skill of critical thinking stood out to me the most. Ricardo would constantly ask meaningful questions that helped provide different angles for finding solutions to problems. He would not settle on moving forward until he had full mastery of the topic at hand. When I first met Ricardo, he was a borderline C student in his PreCalculus course, and through developing these attributes, he transformed into an A student at the end of his Calculus I course. I have tutored over one hundred students, and to date, there have been very few students who have demonstrated such high levels of critical thinking like Ricardo. Through his critical thinking, other attributes, and the growth that he has made, I have full confidence in him. He will undoubtedly make an excellent addition to the Machine Learning Internship." -Jason Keatseangsilp (tutoringwithjasonk@gmail.com)

"I am happy to write on behalf of Ricardo Martinez in support of his application. Ricardo took ISTA 131, Dealing With Data, from me in Fall of 2021. Ricardo is bright, hard-working, responsible, enthusiastic, and a really nice person. I give him a strong positive recommendation. Ricardo earned an A in ISTA 131 (98% average). It is not hard to get a good grade in this class and this placed him in the top 15% of 80+ students. ISTA 131 fulfills the function of a second-semester coding class, but it is primarily an introduction to data science. We spend the bulk of our time on Python's pandas and matplotlib modules, but we also go through SQL with some degree of thoroughness and I throw the students into the deep end with git. Unfortunately, the git material has been optional since the start of the pandemic because it's so much easier to fix things in-person when they really get it tangled up. The class has an open-ended final project in which the students find their own dataset(s) and make three visualizations that ideally show us something interesting about the data and the real world. One of the images is required to be a scatter plot with a regression line, which is how far we get with data analysis in the class. However, Ricardo chose to go far beyond this and create a convolutional neural network to classify handwritten digits (so of course he used the MNIST data). Here is an image of the data that he made after doing dimensionality reduction:

As I stated before, ISTA 131 is only a second semester class and is pretty easy. But Ricardo went way beyond what was required for the class. He has intelligence, independence, enthusiasm, and works hard. It is easy to give him a positive recommendation." -Dr. Richard M. Thompson (rmthomps@arizona.edu)