“Am I a hacker*?” Zhifan Li never expected to study computer science, much less develop expertise in hacking, the process of altering or creating new software applications to solve problems or achieve improved results. When she came to Rice University from Suzhou, China, Zhifan intended to study history and political science. Now, she is an accomplished computer science student with several hackathon (programming marathon) wins behind her and spending the summer before her senior year as an intern at Intuit Inc.
As a freshman, Zhifan took COMP 140, an introductory course to the computer science major, and discovered that she really enjoyed the problem-solving process of programming and realized that she could make an impact through the field of computer science. After she completed the course, her curiosity in the field only increased, spurring her to take more computer science classes, and ultimately leading her to major in computer science.
Zhifan’s creativity and desire to help others is obvious in her original projects, many of which have their roots in various competitions and hackathons. For instance, several of her ideas first found form during HackRice, an annual 24-hour hackathon hosted by Rice in which students start and finish developing original programming projects.
At HackRice 2014, Zhifan and her team developed an application called Fondren Study Room Finder, which allows students to find available rooms at the Rice library, even searching for rooms for desired specifications, ridding the inconvenience of checking each room’s availability one by one online. Inspired by Zhifan’s project, Fondren Library has updated its own study room finder to be modeled after the app.
For this year’s HackRice event, Zhifan indulged more on her creative side; her team created an Android application that allows users to create a custom photo filter based on an existing image to apply to another, essentially “peeling” features of a photo to use on another. This app, called “Peel,” won the People’s Choice Award at HackRice.
Zhifan (second from the left) with her team at HackRice 2015; photo courtesy Major League Hacking.
During these hackathons, Zhifan takes the role of a leader, breaking down the steps, delegating tasks, and keeping her group focused. Additionally, Zhifan acts as a creative lead. As a front-end developer, she focuses on the user interface, design, and aesthetics of her projects.
Recently, Zhifan’s projects have included a web application made for a hackathon for tech company interns in California, sponsored by LinkedIn. Zhifan and two of her co-workers created an application called “LAP: Life After Prison,” inspired by a New York Times article about the lives of ex-convicts. LAP helps released convicts reintegrate into society by catching them up on major news events, and identifying their next steps for rejoining society, such as obtaining a driver’s license and searching for employment. Additionally, LAP provides an SMS service that texts subscribers daily lifestyle tips and meal reminders.
Zhifan (middle) at the LinkedIn Hackathon July 2015; photo courtesy engineering.linked.in.com
In between hackathons and her summer internship, Zhifan still finds time to feed her hunger for history by reading biographies and autobiographies. When she is not out exploring the Silicon Valley or San Francisco, she’s running—she just ran her first half-marathon. On campus, Zhifan is an O-Week Peer Academic Advisor at Lovett College and the Lovett OIT Ambassador.
Zhifan Li (left), courtesy Lovett College
*Hacker, hacking, hackathon – Although the word “hacker” can imply negative connotations due to its frequent use describing individuals who exploit vulnerabilities in systems for malicious or criminal intent, the word originally described a person adept at manipulating computer systems for new or improved outcomes. Hackathons bring together teams of individuals interested in working on short-term projects to solve problems, often through the use of software applications. HackRice was first organized by five Rice undergraduates in 2012 as a time-constrained environment where teams of student hackers from various disciplines could solve problems, often by altering or creating new software-based processes.