Sudhan Chitgopkar, a University of Georgia alumnus from Cumming, will work to merge his knowledge of computer science with studies in law as a 2026 Knight-Hennessy Scholar, a fully endowed, multidisciplinary leadership development program for graduate students at Stanford University.
“I look to law school to understand how we can hold algorithms to high legal and social standards and to litigate in that pursuit,” Chitgopkar said.
Chitgopkar graduated summa cum laude from UGA in 2023 with bachelor’s degrees in computer science and international affairs from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Public and International Affairs. He then earned a master’s degree in computational science and engineering from Harvard University in 2024.
Established in 2016, the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship provides full funding for graduate students as they pursue studies ranging from medicine to law to doctoral degrees as well as joint- and dual-degrees. The program is designed to prepare students to take leadership roles in finding creative solutions to complex global issues.
Chitgopkar is UGA’s fifth Knight-Hennessy Scholar.
“Sudhan is passionate about artificial intelligence and algorithms and how they can be applied beyond the realm of computer science, and the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship is an important recognition of the significance of his work,” said Meg Amstutz, dean of the Morehead Honors College. “We look forward to seeing how his studies impact the future of algorithms and policy.”
Chitgopkar will pursue a Juris Doctor at Stanford Law School. His long-term intention is to work at the intersection of law and computation, “shaping doctrine to ensure algorithms are transparent, fair and democratically governed,” he said.
For the past two years, Chitgopkar has been working as a forward deployed engineer for Palantir, a company that develops data integration and analytics platforms. He has been building the world’s first AI edge intelligence system, which processes data locally on edge devices without needing Wi-Fi to model and visualize that data.
His goal is to not only apply algorithms to policy challenges but also to the governance of algorithms themselves. Chitgopkar is focused on designing and governing algorithms in ways that are more fair, safe and accountable to the societies they impact.
These algorithms also shape Chitgopkar’s view of aesthetics and nature. He creates mathematically inspired art and was a lecturer for Harvard’s first January-term course on mathematical visualization.
He also stayed busy throughout his time in Athens, founding SolveUGA, the university’s foundational computational problem-solving group. He established the club to help break down the often inaccessible learning curve of computational problem solving.
In spring 2023, he was UGA’s undergraduate commencement speaker. The year before, he was one of two undergraduates — out of 100-plus applicants — selected to speak at TEDxUGA. His talk focused on the simple mathematical patterns that can be found in everyday situations and what they can teach about math’s origins.
Also at UGA, Chitgopkar was a member of the university’s Model United Nations team, traveling competitively and helping host one of the largest MUN conferences in the country. Through the UGA Arts Collaborative, he hosted the “Generative Garden” featuring algorithm-driven artwork. It was one of the organization’s biggest galleries to date with more than 300 attendees.
UGA’s Major Scholarships Office, housed in the Morehead Honors College, provides students across campus with assistance as they apply for national, high-level scholarships. For more information, contact Jessica Hunt at jhunt@uga.edu, or visit https://honors.uga.edu/scholarships/external-scholarships/.