Vashist Hegde, M.S.

Center Staff

vashisthegde@ufl.edu

Vashist joined the Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies in July 2025 as a software engineer. In this role, he focuses on data analysis and the development of useful, meaningful web interfaces that help early learning providers and caregivers access and use data generated through machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. His work supports programming designed to analyze the speech of teachers, children, and their families in authentic settings. Vashist currently collaborates with colleagues under the guidance of Dr. Irvin and Dr. Shannon.

 Vashist holds a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Florida, with a specialization in machine learning. His professional interests include automatic speech recognition and probabilistic analysis, particularly in applications involving children’s speech and social behavior.

 Outside of his professional work, Vashist enjoys singing and playing music.