Class of 2027
University Scholar
Hometown: Lahore, Pakistan
Majors: Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science
Certificate: Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Hobbies and Interests: I like to go for walks and look forward to exploring the Sarah P. Duke Gardens this year. Usually, I unwind in my room curled up with an iPad, doodling digital art accompanied by Taylor Swift or Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in the background. I also love to read and am excited to find a cozy place on campus to make my reading nook.
Bio: Manahil’s academic interests include Software Engineering, Cybersecurity, Data Science, and Machine Learning. Besides that, tech equity, education equity, and women’s rights are passions of hers. From SPIRE and SWE to Theta Tau and Penny Pilgram George Women’s Leadership Fellowship, Manahil is involved across campus in areas that excite her. Her blooming love for documentary photography has led her to create a book (as a result of an Independent Study) focusing on life in a Pakistani village. It explores the role of women, the growing exodus from central Punjab villages and its link to cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and her personal story of leaving a village and being a first generation immigrant in the US. Similarly, she’s also led a summer research experience where she created machine learning models to detect anomalies in network traffic. She is now involved in another cybersecurity research project with a policy lean with the Sanford School.