Indian-origin Prof. Svetha Venkatesh who is Australia’s leading computer scientists and researchers in the field of pattern recognition has been elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.
Prof. Svetha Venkatesh is Alfred Deakin Professor, ARC Laureate Fellow and Co-Director of Deakin University’s Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute (A2I2).
An alumni of IIT-Delhi (MTech), IIT-Roorkee (BTech) and the University of Western Australia (PhD), Prof. Venkatesh will become one of 22 scientists elected a Fellow of the prestigious Australian Academy of Science by her peers in 2021.
This latest honour follows Prof. Venkatesh’s appointment as a Fellow of both the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (2006) and the International Association of Pattern Recognition (2004).
Prof. Venkatesh’s contributions to her field have been internationally recognised and she is one of the top 15 women in the world in Artificial Intelligence.
She has high ranking and widely-cited publications, patents, establishment of an award-winning global security company, and the co-inventor of ASX-listed icetana – a start-up in security and surveillance.
Professor Venkatesh and her team also developed the TOBY Playpad for children with autism.
Regarding this first multimedia App to guide parents to deliver intensive therapy at home, Prof. Venkatesh notes:
“Children with autism need critical early intervention and delays severely impact cognitive development. Resource scarcity, however, causes long delays.”
The TOBY Playpad has helped more than 8,000 children and their families around the world.