Triple Gold Medalist to Participate in the First HLF - Global Math and Computer Science Forum
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 | USP Representative to the first HLF, Ashna Sharan, as a triple gold medalist at the 2012 Medals and Prizes ceremony |
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A USP triple gold medalist in 2012 during her undergraduate years, and now having just completed her Masters thesis in one year at USP, Ashna Sharan from Nadi, has once again achieved another milestone by being selected to be one of only 20 participants at the first Heidelberg Laureate Forum (HLF) to be held in Germany, from 22 to 27 September this year.
The HLF holds similar significance to the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings that have been taking place since 1951 between the best scientists and researchers in Physics, Chemistry and the Life Sciences to discuss the findings of Nobel Prize Winners and potential Nobel Prize Winners.
An excited Ms Sharan attributed her achievement of being selected to participate in the forum, to her Masters’ thesis supervisor and Director Research, Dr Jito Vanualailai.
“The HLF is a meeting of the best scientist minds in two fields. We will be having lectures, workshops and informal discussions. Basically the forum helps to identify the promotion of mathematics and computing science,” she said.
She said she hopes to learn from all the renowned researchers who will be present at the forum, as well as share her own understandings and ideas.
Ms Sharan said she is currently in the registration process, sorting out accommodation and travel itinerary.
Dr Vanualailai, in congratulating Ms Sharan, said, this was a wonderful achievement not just for Ms Sharan but for the University.
“The first meeting of the Heidelberg Laureate Forum has selected our triple gold medalist Ashna Sharan to this meeting to also discuss the work of potential Fields Prize and ACM Turing Award candidates,” he said.
“She has in record time, within a year, just completed an excellent Master of Science thesis, titled Swarm Model for Planar Formations of Multiple Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) under my supervision (and Bibhya’s, as co-supervisor).”
“Her groundbreaking work is in the broad area of Swarm Intelligence, which is essentially a combination of physics, mathematics, engineering and computing science,” he added.
The primary aim of Ms Sharan’s project was to develop a model of a population of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with the ability to self-configure themselves spatio-temporally. This field of study is motivated from the swarming behavior apparent in nature and emerging in populations of insects and animals.
USP Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Rajesh Chandra, expressed his delight at Ms Sharan’s achievement, and said the University community was proud to be represented by Ms Sharan at the HLF.
“This is an excellent achievement. I would like to congratulate Ms Ashna Sharan on her excellent thesis as well as for being invited to this very prestigious event,” Professor Chandra said.
“Congratulations also to Dr. Vanualailai as the supervisor and Dr. Bibhya Sharma as the co-supervisor. This is the kind of achievement that should give all graduate students confidence in the abilities of both our students and supervisors,” he added.
Ms Sharan aspires to continue with research work, and pursue doctoral studies.
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