University of Maryland, College Park
Majoring in Computer Science and Linguistics.
Vedant Saran
Computer Science + Linguistics @ UMD. 2x USACO Platinum achiever, John Locke Institute Essay Competition winner, and Wikipedia administrator passionate about computational problem-solving.
About
Read more about me
I grew up as a kid who enjoyed reading and vocabulary bees. What started as just plain old memorization evolved into a love for language itself and how it actually works and forms on a fundamental level. I wanted to figure out how it could be applied to solve problems in real life, which led me to computational linguistics.
Around middle school, I discovered competitive programming through USACO and found myself drawn to the puzzle-solving aspect of algorithms. It reminded me of the linguistics puzzles I loved so much, and as someone who had never loved math, learning the deeper aspects of programming beyond math opened my eyes to a new world. Breaking down complex problems is satisfying to me, whether it's optimizing a trading strategy or figuring out how to detect Wikipedia vandalism.
These days, I spend my time tutoring other students in competitive programming, researching more about natural language processing (NLP), and contributing to Wikipedia (with over 14,000 edits and counting). I'm especially interested in how NLP technologies and machine learning can solve problems in real life, not just theoretical ones.
In my free time, I love listening to music and going down Wikipedia rabbit holes. I'm always ready to chat about a new album, a good book, sports (I love baseball & basketball), or politics :)
Education
Lexington High School
Graduated 2026 with honors.
Experience
ARFlow Research Assistant
Worked with Professor Tian Guo at WPI to enhance ARFlow technology by implementing RGB support, integrating FFmpeg compression capabilities, and conducting comprehensive testing of these technologies. Utilized Python, FFmpeg, Computer Vision, and Testing Frameworks to improve video processing and compression efficiency.
Wikipedia Administrator
Contributed 14,000+ edits across multiple articles, yielding 100 million+ page views. Developed automated tools to streamline editor experience and reduce vandalism while collaborating with a global community.
Cofounder & Lead Quant Developer
Cofounded and led a trading and quantitative analysis group focused on financial markets and algorithmic trading strategies. Generated $25k+ in profit.
→ Visit lexqrg.vercel.appUSACO Tutor
Tutor 20+ students in USA Computing Olympiad (USACO) preparation, guiding them from Bronze to Platinum divisions. Provide personalized instruction in competitive programming, algorithms, and problem-solving strategies.
Computer Science & Linguistics Club Leader
Led weekly sessions for both clubs, covering computational linguistics problem-solving as well as data structures, algorithms, and programming best practices. Mentored members for national-level linguistics competitions and coding contests, and developed practice problems to sharpen their skills.
→ Visit Linguistics Club WebsiteAwards & Honors
USA Computing Olympiad (USACO) – Platinum Division
Achieved Platinum out of approximately 15,000 total competitors, with only 17 achieving this in the December contest (2024–25).
65th place in the world out of ~15,000 competitors (2025–26).
Demonstrated advanced programming skills and strong proficiency in high-level algorithms and data structures in a highly competitive environment.
→ View ResultsJohn Locke Institute Essay Competition (Theology) – 3rd Place
3rd place worldwide among 63,328 entrants
Recognized for a clear, original argument on a complex theological question. The competition was organized by the John Locke Institute, based at Oxford & Princeton, and is known for being among the most prestigious high school essay competitions in the world. The prompt was "Why would the creator of a trillion galaxies become angry if you have sex with your boyfriend or eat bacon for breakfast?" I formulated my response by reading through historical and modern academic literature on the ideas of the self in relation to a vast universe. I utilized this research to determine why historical religious rules existed, and how they may or may not be relevant to the modern day.
→ View Certificate → View Prize WinnersPresidential 1776 Award – Massachusetts Representative
Semifinalist and one of 4 Massachusetts representatives
Selected from a nationwide America 250 civics competition recognizing exceptional knowledge of the American founding, Constitution, and Revolutionary War, advancing as one of the top four students from Massachusetts among thousands of participants.
→ View Competition DetailsMIT Informatics Tournament
35th Worldwide, 5th Divisional
Achieved 35th place out of 500+ teams and thousands of competitors worldwide, including 5th in the division. Demonstrated advanced algorithmic programming skills.
North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad (NACLO)
Invitational Qualifier
Among the top hundred linguistics competitors in the United States & Canada. Demonstrated advanced computational linguistics knowledge.
Projects
Wikipedia Editor Tools
Built a suite of JavaScript and C++ tools for Wikipedia editors: an antivandalism tool that enabled hundreds of users to detect and revert thousands of vandalism edits (protecting millions of readers from harmful content), and a categorization tool that lets editors organize and add categories to thousands of articles efficiently.
TerpTrack
Built a custom AI-powered UMD course scheduling app that recommends what courses to take based on degree requirements, professor grade distributions, prerequisites, and student preferences. Aggregates historical grade data and uses an LLM to surface tradeoffs and generate personalized semester plans.
Ranked Choice Voting Explainer
Created a beautiful, interactive website to explain ranked choice voting concepts and used it in the classroom to help teach voting systems. Built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to provide an engaging educational experience for students learning about democratic processes.
→ Visit rankedchoicevoting.vercel.appCivic Engagement Course Development
Helped design and develop a weeklong educational course on voting rights and processes for high school students, promoting civic awareness and enabling many to engage with democratic processes for the first time.