Prasanth Murali

Education

• BTech in Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology - Tiruchirappalli, India

Biography

• Hometown: Chennai, India
• Field of Study: Human Computer Interaction
• PhD Advisor: Timothy Bickmore

What are the specifics of your graduate education (thus far)?

As a first year PhD student, I am looking to develop my technical acumen through my coursework. On the research front, I have been actively involved in efforts for development of face to face conversational agents, primarily to help with public speaking anxiety.

What are your research interests?

I am interested in leveraging the power of Artificial Intelligence in the heath care field. Specifically, while AI’s influence is bound to reach far and wide, I believe it is the medical industry that will reap the most benefits from AI in the near future. The opportunities in the healthcare field - in diagnosis, patient experience, care coordination- and the challenges in making them a reality excite me, from both a technological and societal standpoint.

What’s one problem you’d like to solve with your research/work?

My goal is to identify and leverage advancements in technology to solve problems in healthcare

What aspect of what you do is most interesting?

I am interested in exploring the idiosyncrasy in gesture use for conveying information and developing generative frameworks and computational models for the same.

What are your research or career goals, going forward?

I want my career to involve industry-oriented research and teaching. I wish to take up projects relevant to the needs of the industry, that have a tangible impact on the society. Given the opportunity, I would like to teach at the university-level some day.

Where did you grow up/spend the most defining years of your childhood/young adulthood?

I grew up in Chennai, on the east coast of India, a hub of educational, technology and a place that has historically been a very good sporting city (very similar to Boston on all counts). I grew up playing cricket professionally and am an ardent follower of the game and my team (Chennai Super Kings) even now.

Recent publications