MIT and Accenture Convergence Initiative for Industry and Technology Announces New Research Fellows
The MIT and Accenture Convergence Initiative for Industry and Technology has chosen five research fellows for the 2023-24 program. This initiative, now in its third year, highlights the collaborative efforts between industry and research to drive technological innovation.
What is the MIT and Accenture Convergence Initiative?
The MIT and Accenture Convergence Initiative is a partnership that awards five annual fellowships to graduate students. These fellowships aim to generate valuable insights on the intersection of business and technology, with the potential to transform society. The selected fellows for 2023-24 will focus on research areas such as artificial intelligence, sustainability, and robotics.
Meet the 2023-24 Accenture Fellows
Yiyue Luo is a PhD candidate working on integrating tactile sensing, haptics, AI, digital fabrication, and smart wearables. Her goal is to create innovative devices that revolutionize interactions between humans and their environment. Her research has promising applications in areas like smart textiles, healthcare, virtual reality, human-machine interactions, and robotics.
Zanele Munyikwa is a PhD candidate studying foundation models, which are crucial for transformative technologies like GPT4. Her research aims to understand the impact of these models on work tasks in industries such as marketing, legal services, and medicine. Additionally, she explores how foundation models are driving the convergence of creative and technological industries, opening doors for cost-effective content generation and educational tools.
Michelle Vaccaro is a PhD candidate focusing on human-AI collaboration. She aims to deepen our understanding of AI-based technologies and steer their development towards beneficial applications, such as climate change mitigation. Vaccaro’s research explores the synergies between humans and AI to design effective human-AI systems and forecast technological change in renewable energy.
Chonghuan Wang is a PhD candidate working with statistical learning and experimental design. His research focuses on conducting efficient and reliable field experiments in various domains. Wang’s work could have significant impacts in healthcare by optimizing treatments and interventions. Additionally, his research could be applied to businesses to optimize user engagement and pricing strategies.
Aaron Michael West Jr. is a PhD candidate studying human motor control and robotics. His research aims to improve rehabilitation technologies and prosthetic devices while enhancing robot dexterity. West’s work explores the human ability to extract information visually and applies these insights to develop software applications and enhance robot control. His research has the potential to advance robotics and rehabilitation technologies, benefiting human health and well-being.
The Accenture Fellowship program supports these promising researchers in their pursuit of groundbreaking advancements in technology and its applications. By collaborating with MIT, Accenture aims to drive innovation and solve important challenges in various industries.