New PhD student ‑ Saad Muhamad Shaikh
Meet our PhD student Saad Muhamad Shaikh. He will be working in the Milo project where he will develop algorithms to classify and characterize snow using multi-spectral vision sensors.
Can you tell a little about your background?
I did my Bachelor in Telecommunication Engineering from National University of Computers & Emerging Sciences (NUCES-FAST), Pakistan. After that I went to Sweden for higher studies. I completed my master's degree in Robotics & Intelligent Systems from Örebro University.
My MS thesis work was on Intelligent Flight Control System for Quadrotor UAV. After by degree, I went to Mexico to join The Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV) as research assistant. I worked on vision based guidance and control for humanoid walking using Conformal Geometric Algebra (CGA). After working one year in CINVESTAV, I joined Intel Corporation as Functional Validation Engineer. In Intel I worked both on pre-silicon validation and post-silicon. My responsibilities were to validate the design of Intel's coming generations of CPUs within all segments; Desktop, Server, Mobile and Automobiles.
What is your area of interest?
In general, I find myself interested in topics related to robotics. More specifically I have research interest in computer vision and visual servoing.
What will you be researching here at STC?
I am working under Milo project, where I will be focused on developing algorithms to classify/characterize snow using multi-spectral vision sensors. We will develop measurement techniques to characterize snow properties such as moisture content and grain size. There is an interest in manufacturers of snow cannons who want to monitor the process when water is converted to snow. They also want to know more about the properties of the snow produced. Winter sports arenas also have an interest in knowing more about the characteristics of the snow that covers the plant to feedback and control its operations.
Why did you choose Mid Sweden University?
The strong expertise of STC in embedded sensor technologies got my interest when I had been looking for PhD research opportunities.
How do you like it here so far?
So far so good 🙂. Sundsvall is a small town where everything is close to student residential areas. And as I like cold weather, I don't see I am going to have any difficulty here.
What do you do in your spare time?
These activities change from time to time. These days I am trying to enhance my cooking skills (one of my hobbies), trying different recipes. Sometimes I read different books on recent history or poetry/literature.