About me
Nayan Patel is a high school senior from Raleigh, North Carolina passionate about integrating his AI research with his humanitarian interests. He has worked extensively at Duke to create a machine learning algorithm that can predict cell-service coverage in dense cities around the world, and experiment with robotic arms in simulation. At North Carolina State University, Nayan researched new semiconductors for the next generation of AI-based computer chips. He currently is working alongside researchers at MIT, where Nayan has created a machine learning model to find the best targets for asteroid mining with the goal of eliminating the environmental and humanitarian atrocities of terrestrial mining.
On the humanitarian front, Nayan serves as the Technology Specialist for the World Children's Initiative (WCI), a global nonprofit dedicated to improving surgical training and medical infrastructure in Madagascar. At WCI, Nayan developed 3D-printed modifications to intraoperative cameras as well as developed augmented reality solutions to help surgeons learn to master fundamental operations. Most recently, Nayan founded Refugee Assist, a nonprofit leveraging AI to improve the resettlement process for refugees and migrants in the US. He developed a conversational AI tool that helps refugees facing resettlement in over 20 languages. Refugee Assist has partnered with more than ten resettlement organizations around the country and reached over 600 refugees to date. In collaboration with researchers at Stanford, Duke, and Brown, Nayan hopes to expand his work to help the broader refugee community looking for a better life in the US.