An alumna in mechanical engineering from the University of Huddersfield has been recognised with the India UK Achievers award for her role in using science to create positive social impact.

 

Meghna Asthana graduated from the University of Huddersfield in 2015 with a Mechanical Engineering BEng (Hons) degree.  Earlier this year she was selected as one of the 75 India UK Achievers award winners. The awards recognise and celebrate the work of 75 Indian students and alumni who have pursued a British programme of study and marks the 75th anniversary of India’s independence.

 

The award is given to a current or former Indian student in the UK who has achieved excellence in their field, as well as inspired and encouraged others to achieve.

 

“This award is a special one for me as it signifies the strong bond between two countries I call home,” said Meghna.  “I believe, winning this award has propelled me to continue collaborating on more high impact and high stakes projects, changing lives around the world for the better.”

 

Meghna is currently based in York and is carrying out PhD research in the field of computer vision, an area of science that aims to further machine learning in the understanding or extraction of useful information from images.  Her expertise ranges from satellite imagery for climate change and surveillance, to ocean floor videography for species detection.

 

In addition to being a ‘Data Science for Social Good Fellow’ at The Alan Turing Institute, Meghna has also provided her expertise to non-for-profit organisations and government bodies in areas such as clean energy, climate change and public safety, which is crucial to creating an infrastructural shift from non-renewable to renewable energy as part of the Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener by 2050.

 

Meghna’s portfolio consists of a myriad of government, non-profit and academic projects, with partners including the German Centre for Artificial Intelligence, UNICEF, NASA, LSE, Data Science Institute, and the Sports Innovation Challenge at Imperial College London for Disability Sports & Paralympics.