IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2008 - 9

In the meantime, Zayed University is
adopting a new paradigm of graduate
study and research: collaborative Ph.D.
programs in which students work toward
their doctorate from a larger university
while at Zayed. The information technology curriculum is expected to be the first
collaborative effort. This paradigm benefits students-in particular, women
researchers-because they can take
advantage of the greater resources of a
large institution without leaving a familiar and convenient environment. At the
same time, the collaborating university
benefits from the larger pool of research
talent that becomes available.
-Lilia Kakaradova is an
assistant professor in the College of
Information Technology,
Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

◗ helping children to learn new skill

sets
◗ using technology to improve the
quality of life for children with special needs
◗ aiding women from low income
groups by counseling them and
helping them set up their own
businesses to support their families
◗ motivating students to take up
careers in engineering.
The Brahmam model demonstrates
how engineers can select societal problems and apply their skills to provide a
technological solution that benefits all
of society. This model emphasizes social
responsibility, which ties in perfectly
with IEEE's core value of service to
humanity-leveraging technology and
engineering to benefit human welfare.

Following the Brahmam Model

Brahmam's Benefit
Indian engineers
serve the disadvantaged

As a young engineer who frequently visited a school in Chennai, India, for children with developmental disorders such
as autism, Down syndrome, and cerebral
palsy, I saw firsthand the difficulties
these special children face. I thought of
how technology could help them and
marveled that it had not been brought to
bear on their problems.
And I vowed to do something about it.
My experience at
Chennai inspired me to
organize a group that I
called "Brahmam" (Hindi
for "knowledge"). Brahmam's mission is to
apply technology to
improve the lives of disadvantaged members of
society. The group aims
to achieve its mission by
pursuing diverse goals:
◗ providing education
for children from
underprivileged
groups

One of the most significant products of
following this model is a software-based
screener for evaluating developmental disorders such as autism in children. I developed the screener with my physician
friend (and member of Brahmam) Karthik
Srinivasan. The screener's software framework comprises three components:
1) an automated screener system
2) a gaming system
3) a report generator.
The automated screener system is a
simple software tool that can be used by
a parent or other primary caretaker of

the child. Using the responses given by
the primary caretaker, the screener evaluates the child in the areas of fine and
gross motor skills, social development,
and language skill.
At the end of the screener sessions,
the screener generates a comprehensive
report stating whether the child demonstrates any symptoms of developmental
disorder. A medical team will investigate
any coexisting medical disorders
(seizures, tics, depression), perform a
complete assessment of the child, and
plan a treatment strategy involving both
medication and nonmedical therapy
(artificial intelligence gaming).

Training by Gaming
The AI gaming system gives the child
valuable training by using the agent
model, to which neural net and positive reinforcement agents are
attached. It shows the child images of
family members and helps them to
improve eye contact and verbal and
nonverbal communication with people
the child knows. The child's development is assessed by a scoring system
both before and after game training.
After training, the medical team does a
similar assessment every three months
to track the child's progress and plan
the future course of therapy.
The screener has increased the efficiency and reduced the workload of the
medical team caring for these special

Sampathkumar
Veeraraghavan
(center)
received IEEE's
Region 10
GOLD award
and Regional
Activities Board
GOLD
achievement
award in 2007
for his work in
autism
diagnosis.

SUMMER 2008

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2008