For the autumn semester of 2023, the MIT-Pillar AI Collective has named three inaugural fellows. The graduate students, who are in their last year of a master’s or PhD program, will use program support to carry out research in data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence with the goal of commercializing their discoveries.
The MIT-Pillar AI Collective, established in 2022 by Pillar VC and the MIT School of Engineering, provides assistance to faculty, postdocs, and students engaged in AI, machine learning, and data science research. The program’s goal is to move research toward commercialization. It is funded by a gift from Pillar VC and run by the MIT Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation.
The MIT-Pillar AI Collective Fellows for fall 2023 are:
Artificial intelligence, deep learning, and computer vision are the three areas of study that Alexander Andonian, SM ’21, is interested in pursuing as a PhD candidate in electrical engineering and computer science. More precisely, his goal is to create a generalist, multimodal AI scientist powered by generative vision-language model agents that can conduct computational experiments, evaluate supporting data, make scientific hypotheses, and validate conclusions in a manner similar to that of a human researcher or reviewer. An agent of this kind may be taught to effectively summarize and convey its discoveries for human understanding. Andonian’s research has the potential to lay a solid basis for thoroughly developing and thoroughly testing the next generation of autonomous AI agents for scientific applications. Along with his research, Andonian is the CEO and co-founder of Reelize, a startup that was inspired by his business courses and backed by MIT Sandbox. Reelize is a generative AI video tool that easily converts long videos into short segments. Additionally, Andonian founded Poly AI, a YC-backed firm that develops AI design tools, as a founding AI researcher. Andonian received a BS in neurology, physics, and mathematics from Bates College and an SM from MIT.
Daniel Magley is a PhD candidate in the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology. He is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to a healthy, functional body and mind. The goal of his cutting-edge study is to create a wireless thermal imaging capsule that is ingested and can be used to treat and monitor inflammatory bowel disorders and associated symptoms, including Crohn’s disease. The pill offers enhanced sensitivity and removes the requirement for intestinal preparation, which could significantly enhance treatment effectiveness and the patient experience during routine monitoring. After completing experiments on animals, the capsule is now being studied in humans at Mass General Brigham, where Magley is in charge of an engineering team in the Tearney Lab, the hospital’s largest translational research facility. The biggest technological and legal risks will be removed before translation after the human pilot investigations. After that, with the goal of assisting patients all throughout the nation, Magley will concentrate on a multi-site study to introduce the gadget into clinics. At Caltech, Magley graduated with a BS in electrical engineering.
As a PhD candidate, Madhumitha Ravichandra is motivated to improve surface engineering and heat transfer methods to improve nuclear energy systems’ performance and safety while minimizing their negative environmental effects. Drawing on her extensive experience in combining explainable AI with high-throughput autonomous experimentation, she aims to revolutionize the creation of radiation-hardened (rad-hard) sensors—which may be able to endure and perform in radiation environments that would be fatal for traditional sensors. Her approach combines explainable AI with high-throughput autonomous experimentation to quickly iterate designs, test under many scenarios, and guarantee a robust and transparent end result. Her efforts in this area have the potential to revolutionize the development of rad-hard sensors, filling a clear need in the industry and redefining standards to guarantee safer, more effective, and state-of-the-art nuclear and space applications. At SASTRA University in India, Ravichandran obtained a BTech in mechanical engineering.
