maptourai (Locify)
AI-native tour guide that tracks user location, caches POIs, and serves narrations generated via Dedalus MCP agents (Foursquare + Brave + GPT-4.1/Claude).
Hailemariam Mersha
B.S. Computer Science & Mathematics · NYU Abu Dhabi
I'm passionate about AI security, computer vision, deep learning, and applied machine learning research. I have a strong drive for exploring cutting-edge technologies and solving complex problems through first-principle thinking. When I'm not coding or conducting research, you'll find me organizing cultural events, leading meditation sessions, or watching tech-related content to fuel my curiosity.
Education
- B.S. Computer Science & double minor in Math and Econ, NYU Abu Dhabi · Aug 2023– May 2027
Coursework
Deep Learning (RNNs, Transformers), Algorithms (Greedy, Dynamic Programming, Proofs), Computer Vision, Operating Systems, Computer Networks, Probability and Statistics, Linear Algebra, Multivariable Calculus.
GitHub Activity
Selected Research Projects
LLM Security — Prompt Injection in AI Trading Bots
Conduct research on prompt injection attacks targeting LLM-powered blockchain trading agents. Build datasets of malicious and benign token metadata to study real-world adversarial prompt patterns and develop detection pipelines using pattern analysis, obfuscation detection, and risk scoring.
LLM Jailbreak Security Research
Study of security vulnerabilities in large language models, with an emphasis on jailbreak techniques, robustness evaluation, and defense strategies for safer systems.
Climate Data Analysis (CMIP6 & ERA5)
Analysis of large-scale climate datasets focusing on climatologies, anomalies, and seasonal variability using Python, xarray, and HPC systems.
Contextual Embedding Analysis in BERT
Layer-wise study of how BERT contextualizes ambiguous tokens by comparing cosine similarity across transformer layers; quantified semantic drift to show increasing contextualization in deeper layers.
Selected Software & Web Projects
CNN from Scratch & ResNet18
Built a mini-CNN framework with numeric gradient checks; fine-tuned ResNet18 on EMNIST, reaching 96.5% test accuracy with staged linear-probe to full fine-tune runs.
Moved Object Detection with DETR
Fine-tuned facebook/detr-resnet-50 on pixel-diff frame pairs; ran ablations (best val precision 0.60, recall 0.73) with automated eval visualizations.
TypeRush: Word Storm
Typing game with auth, difficulty levels, and live leaderboards tracking WPM and accuracy; deployed on Render.
CoApp — College Application Platform
Full-stack platform providing AI essay feedback, Common App guides, and peer-review workflow; supported 200+ students and 50+ essays in its first month.
Task Management System
RESTful task manager with user auth, priority/status filters, and responsive UI; containerized deployment targeting Heroku and Postgres backends.
Bipartite Matching on VIRAT
Hungarian-matching pipeline combining IoU, centroid distance, and class cues for object tracking; generates side-by-side visualizations and CSV match reports.
Hackathons
HackPrinceton Fall 2025 — maptourai
Together with my teammates, I built an on-site AI tour guide that discovers nearby historical POIs and narrates context in real time; front/back repos open-sourced for the hackathon.
Experience
Feb 2026–Present
Research Assistant at SANAD Lab
Conduct research on prompt injection attacks targeting LLM-powered blockchain trading agents. Build datasets of malicious and benign token metadata and develop detection pipelines using pattern analysis, obfuscation detection, and risk scoring.
Jan 2026–Present
Research Assistant at eBrain Lab
Participate in analysis-oriented research on LLM jailbreak attacks and assist in large-scale experiment execution using Jubail HPC.
Summer 2025
Chaperone
Supported high school cohorts during residential programming, ensuring safety, logistics, and academic readiness.
Summer 2025
Software Engineer Intern at Letsrise
Developed and deployed 3 production features using React and Tailwind CSS, increasing user engagement by 30% for 5,000+ users. Implemented Firebase authentication and Stripe payments with Node.js/Express, and optimized frontend code reducing page load times by 25%.
Sept 2025–Dec 2025
Helpdesk Technical Specialist
Provide front-line IT support to 200+ faculty, staff, and students. Manage and prioritize helpdesk tickets, efficiently resolving hardware, software, and network issues.
May–Aug 2024
Data Analyst at Mubadala ACCESS Lab
Processed and analyzed over 1TB of CMIP6 and ERA5 climate datasets on HPC, reducing analysis runtime by 10%. Automated the visualization of over 40 years of climate data with Python.
Sept–Dec 2024
Undergraduate Research Assistant — Mobile App Energy Efficiency
Benchmarked energy use of mobile apps, identified optimizations, and reduced consumption by up to 12%.
Aug 2024–Feb 2026
Spiritual Life Leader (Guided Meditation)
Led guided meditation sessions and mindfulness activities to support student wellbeing.
Aug–Dec 2024
President
Organized 5+ cultural events for 100+ students and managed $1,000 budget.