Vansh Chugh

Junior Vansh Chugh was recently named College Marshal by his peers for Commencement 2026. A data science major and music minor, Chugh has used the outgoing senior class' welcoming spirit as inspiration for his involvement on campus. 

What does it mean to you to earn the honor?

Seniors voted for me to be College Marshal, which means a lot to me that they want to honor me during graduation.

How are you involved with the outgoing senior class?

It’s something I’ve been telling my friends: next year is going to be very interesting because I have so many close friends in the senior class. When I came here as a first-year, the class above me, and even the class above them, have really, really welcomed me. They helped turn Knox into a home and community. I’ve really felt that sense of closeness with those who are graduating, and I’ll definitely miss them a lot.

How have you embraced that spirit of community from older students and tried to share it with younger or new students?

Right now, I have three jobs on campus, all focused on service. As the Richter ambassador, I help with research appointments. As a math tutor, students come to me for math support. As a peer career advisor, anyone can seek my guidance. I’m also doing an Honors junior year in a niche field, so I try to support others—helping them build math confidence, explore career paths after Knox, or find academic resources. I know what it’s like to struggle, and the class above supported me. I want to offer the same to those coming after me.

When you were looking at a place to attend college, what about Knox stood out to you?

I chose Knox because I wanted a liberal arts college in a smaller city. I’m from New Delhi, a city of 40 million people where there’s never silence—you always hear a motor, a fan, or a dog barking. Here, when I walk from SMC (Umbeck Science-Mathematics Center) to WAC (Whitcomb Art Center), it’s five minutes of complete silence. After school, I know I’ll be in a big city again, so this is my one chance to build a close-knit community in a small city—something I actively sought—along with a liberal arts education that offers autonomy and flexibility.

Have you given any thought to your summer plans?

I am researching with a professor at the University of Rochester in my intended field. He previously led the society that organized an annual conference I attended. I plan to conduct research with him until I return home in the first week of July. I’m excited to spend time with my mom and family.

What is the field and conference you went to?

My field is music information retrieval, the study of extracting and analyzing information from music data. Some people refer to this as music AI, though 'AI' can mean many things. Generative models—systems that create new music—are one aspect of it, but music AI also includes building tools for artists, like software to help compose music, and recommendation systems, such as those used on Spotify. For example, a system could identify which instrument is playing in a song and then recommend other songs with a similar instrument tone. Music information retrieval is the general name of the field. The conference I attended was ISMIR, the International Society of Music Information Retrieval.

I've been interested in music my whole life and have explored many art forms. When I came here, I wanted a more lucrative career, and I am glad I now combine my two main interests.

Recommendation is a small subdomain, like my Honors this year, which is also a subdomain of the broader MIR (Music Information Retrieval) space. My summer research, next year's Honors, and my future Ph.D. are each small subdomains as well. It seems really narrow, but like any field, once you're in, you see how many options there are.

Last year, you won a DataFest competition. Many Knox students are involved in these competitions. Are you still doing them, and if so, how does it feel to be one of the elder statesmen of Knox participants?

Our group just won Best Insight this year and received our certificate a few days ago. I was the elder statesman in the group and told them, 'Hey, I’ll be able to contribute less this time because I have my thesis and other commitments.' They understood, but we still managed to make a presentation, answer questions, and win Best Insight. There are four awards, and I’ve won three in three years, so hopefully next year I'll win the fourth.