Valmeekam Karthik

I was born in Hyderabad, India but my childhood was shaped by two vastly different places; the sub-tropical highlands of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (from K.G. to 5th Grade) and the sun-scorching deserts of Ibra, Oman (5th to 10th Grade). Wherever I went, I carried my love for stories and thought of myself as a storyteller.

After my frivolous attempt at cracking the JEE, I joined Vellore Institute of Technology to explore and tell stories about Computers and Algorithms. During my Masters at Arizona State University, I discovered that rigorously formalized ideas are great stories to tell! That drove me to pursue research under the guidance of Prof. Subbarao Kambhampati.

Currently, my world revolves around Large Language Models (LLMs) and Planning. While many were caught up in the hype of LLMs' supposed planning capabilities—or panicking about them taking over the world—I was busy helping my group cut through the noise and ground the conversation. My efforts earned me the prestigious 🏆 IBM PhD Fellowship Award (2024) 🏆 in recognition of my work on the reasoning and planning abilities of LLMs.

When I'm not immersed in research, I channel my creativity into screenwriting, dancing, photography, and playing the keyboard. I also enjoy listening to a wide variety of music, ranging from heavy metal to carnatic ragas.