The Paw Print met with Pine Crest junior, Neil Sachdeva to discuss his research on artificial intelligence. Neil is part of the Upper School Science Research class and began work on his project last December. For a year now, Neil has been working at a lab at Florida Atlantic University. The lab focuses on work surrounding artificial intelligence and machine learning. The main initiative is to investigate how machines and robots may be able to substitute in for traditional human tasks. 

Neil’s personal project focuses on applying artificial intelligence to robotic surgeries.  When explaining its benefits, he said, 

“My research centers on allowing robotic surgery systems to be operated remotely. A doctor in America would be able to do surgery on an overseas patient. ” 

This would allow surgeries to occur in places where doctors may not be present or as skilled, such as war zones or developing countries. The benefits are immense in terms of the potentially thousands of lives saved and what this means for the progress of the medical field. 

Neil’s work was recognized on November 16th, 2019, when he attended an intense and competitive science research competition in Madison, Wisconsin, known as SigmaXi. It is an international honor society of science and engineering that recognizes student work at their Student Research Showcase. Awards are given in multiple disciplines and Neil won the award for student research in the Math and Computer Science division.  

Neil plans to continue his fascinating research for the rest of his high school years and possibly into college. He has many upcoming competitions and is hopeful for more victories. Along with attending competitions, Neil is currently writing a research paper regarding his studies, and hopes to get it published in the near future. When asked his main purpose for doing this research, Neil said,

 “I really think that my research will be able to save many lives. And that is a really amazing thing.” 

Congratulations to Neil on his successes thus far and best of luck in the future!