Pranjal Kandhari
M.Sc. Student in Computer and Information Science
University of Konstanz · Algorithmics Group
I am a master's student at the University of Konstanz specializing in Algorithmics, working under Prof. Dr. Sabine Storandt. My research focuses on algorithm engineering for dynamic graphs, particularly k-center problems on sparse dynamic graphs. I am broadly interested in the design and empirical evaluation of algorithms for graph optimization problems under dynamic settings.
Research
Algorithm Engineering for k-Center on Sparse Dynamic Graphs
Advisor: Prof. Dr. Sabine Storandt · University of Konstanz
Designed and implemented dynamic variants of k-center algorithms for node-update dynamic graphs, extending classical static approaches to incremental, decremental, and fully dynamic models.
Approximation Algorithms for k-Center in Sparse Graphs
Advisor: Prof. Dr. Sabine Storandt · University of Konstanz
Implemented and experimentally evaluated the Maximal Distance-r Independent Set, Gonzalez, and α-approximate Gonzalez algorithms across varied sparse graph instances.
Research Interests
- Dynamic Graph Algorithms
- Approximation Algorithms
- Algorithm Engineering & Empirical Evaluation
- Graph Theory & Optimization
- Parameterized Complexity
Publications
Together Apart: Decoding Support Dynamics in Online COVID-19 Communities
Proceedings of the IEEE/ACM International Conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining
Experience
Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Konstanz
Student Research Assistant (HiWi)
- Teaching Assistant for Algorithm Engineering; graded assignments on parallelization, memory-aware algorithms, and parameterized complexity.
- Developing a web application to visualize routes in Konstanz for accessibility analysis; implemented 3D terrain rendering in R, integrated the Google Street View API, and applied preprocessing to optimize data handling and response time.
Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
Student Research Assistant (HiWi)
- Designed and implemented interactive behavioral analysis games using the oTree framework in Python to study human and AI decision-making patterns.
- Deployed games on Heroku for hundreds of online players; programmed ChatGPT-powered agents for comparative studies between human players, AI agents, and intra-AI interactions.
IIIT Hyderabad — Precog Lab
Research Associate
- Worked under Dr. Ponnurangam Kumaraguru analyzing support dynamics in online COVID-19 communities using Cox regression, BERT topic modelling, and Reddit data extraction via Pushshift and PRAW.
- Built a time-series dataset of Indian crime statistics through large-scale web scraping with Scrapy and data extraction with Camelot.
Amazon
Software Development Engineer I
- Fixed ten anomalies in a newly created API to ensure backward compatibility with an existing API using Java.
- Created availability and latency alarms and email notifications for critical endpoints using iGraph to monitor API health.
- Developed a "Plan Document Comparator" feature by performing depth-first search on graph database schemas to compare plans and highlight anomalies.
Goldman Sachs
Software Engineer · Software Engineering Intern
- Automated 200+ quality management test scenarios for the Marcus product using Cypress (JavaScript) and Cucumber; configured GitLab CI/CD pipelines for test suite execution.
- As intern: created automation tests using JUnit and Serenity BDD, parallelizing execution from minutes to seconds.
Projects
Feedback Vertex Set — Algorithm Engineering
Grade: 1.0Implemented and analyzed exact (parameterized), approximation, and heuristic algorithms for the NP-complete Feedback Vertex Set problem. Integrated parallelization techniques to improve scalability and experimentally evaluated performance across multiple graph instances.
GitHub →Smart Traffic Light Management System
Designed a system to reduce waiting time for emergency vehicles by leveraging drivers' mobile GPS data. The system dynamically adjusts signal timings based on real-time vehicle positions.
Springer Publication →Education
University of Konstanz
M.Sc. in Computer and Information Science · Specialization: Algorithmics
Thesis: Algorithm Engineering for k-Center on Sparse Dynamic Graphs
Advisor: Prof. Dr. Sabine Storandt
Selected Coursework: Randomized Algorithms, Algorithm Engineering, Efficient Route Planning Techniques, Distributed Systems, Machine Learning and Optimization Seminar
Bharati Vidyapeeth's College of Engineering
B.Tech. in Computer Science and Engineering
Skills & Awards
Programming
C++ (STL, C++17/20), Python (NumPy, Pandas, Matplotlib), Java
Research & Algorithms
Algorithm Design & Analysis, Approximation Algorithms, Dynamic Graph Algorithms, Graph Theory, Optimization, Data Structures, Empirical Algorithmics
Won 1st place among 700 teams; awarded $20,000 in government funding for further research. · Jul 2018