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IAN
PENTLAND_

Sophomore @ WashU — joint Business + Computer Science.

./projects github ↗
>_
// 01 — about
ian@washu
PROGRAM... Business + CS (BUCS)
LOCATION.. St. Louis, MO
CLASS..... 2029
ROLE...... Product Space Fellow

I am passionate about data analytics and technology. I believe that their intersection advances society through solving global issues, optimizing individuals' lifestyles, and providing meaningful insights.

// 02 — projects
polyedge [active] MONEY · DATA PLATFORM

POLYEDGE

A data platform for prediction markets. It pulls in 22M+ trades across 400K+ markets and stores them so I can test trading ideas against real history instead of guessing.

My first idea for an edge didn't hold up when I tested it, so I moved on. The next one did — a pricing gap worth about 5.8¢ per $1 contract, which held up across 21K simulated trades. One of the 900+ automated tests caught a data bug before it could skew results.

Python DuckDB Parquet Linux
view on github ↗
22M+trades stored and analyzed
+5.8¢edge per $1 contract, after costs
7 / 8quarters it stayed profitable
900+automated tests behind it
llm-from-scratch [complete] AI · MACHINE LEARNING

LLM FROM SCRATCH

A small language model, built and trained from scratch in PyTorch on 1.35B tokens — no pre-built model, just the underlying pieces (attention, tokenizing, training loop) put together by hand.

I then pulled 96K+ research papers and fine-tuned the model on them, improving its accuracy on that material by 32.6% — at the cost of being a bit worse at everyday language, which felt worth being honest about.

Python PyTorch Transformers
view on github ↗
162Mparameters, built from scratch
96K+papers used to fine-tune it
32.6%more accurate on domain text
radio [in progress]

Radio project — details coming soon.

SIDE HUSTLE

Custom PC Building

~$10K in builds for classmates, ~$2K profit — plus the Linux server that runs Polyedge.

PRODUCT

Product Space × Microsoft

A fellowship where I talked to users and researched how to make AI tools easier to use.

CASE COMPETITION

Lyft Case Competition

Placed in the top 5% presenting to judges from Olin Business School.

// 03 — experience
Expected
May 2029

B.S. Business + Computer Science

Washington University in St. Louis

BUCS joint program (2% acceptance rate) · 3.7 GPA · Dean's List ×2 · $30K merit scholarship · 2nd place, WashU Startup Pitch Competition ($1,250).

Oct 2024 –
Jan 2025

AI Research Assistant

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Analyzed CDC public-health data with Dr. Yusen Zhai to study how social factors influence mental-health outcomes.

Aug 2024 –
May 2025

AP CS A Teaching Assistant

RSU21 · Kennebunk, ME

Taught Java fundamentals, debugging, and OOP to 20+ students as an interim educator; led labs and reviewed assignments.

// 04 — skills
use all the time working knowledge

LANGUAGES/

python java sql javascript html/css

TOOLS/

pytorch duckdb pytest · git linux/systemd parquet · mypy · ruff

AREAS/

data pipelines backtesting model eval · REST APIs transformers automation
// 05 — contact

SAY HI.

Open to internships, research, and interesting side projects.

i.pentland@wustl.edu linkedin ↗ github ↗
© 2026 ian pentland