UCLA COSMOS Spotlight

High school student Ellie Zhou had the opportunity to attend the California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS) program at UCLA in 2024. During the program, Ellie conducted a comparative study on different models used to estimate heart rate from facial video. “We explored a model called EfficientPhys, which stood out to me because it’s designed to be computationally efficient. It bypasses traditional preprocessing steps and works directly with raw video frames,” she explains. 

“The lectures were a huge highlight. Professor Achuta Kadambi and Professor Abeer Alwan were phenomenal teachers. They made complex, college-level topics feel so accessible. For instance, Professor Kadambi taught us computational techniques like the Fourier Transform and convolution, especially their applications in computer vision. On the other hand, Professor Alwan took us through the mechanics of speech production and audio signal analysis, which was fascinating,” Ellie explains.

During the program, students got the opportunity to stay and experience living in UCLA campus. Ellie described this experience to be one that “ has shaped who [she is] in so many ways.”  She states, “academically, I feel more driven and inspired to explore the concepts I learned at COSMOS, especially in fields like AI and computational modeling. But the biggest impact has been the friendships and connections I made. I met people who share the same excitement for science and learning, and those relationships have continued beyond the program.” 

Check out COSMOS here: https://cosmos.ucla.edu/home/about/