The American Association of University Women (AAUW) has awarded a 2021-22 International Fellowship to Racheal Mukisa, a Ugandan native, who is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in computer science in the College of Arts and Sciences at Kent State University.
“The 21st century brought enormous advancements in computing and technology, yet females are still underrepresented in this field,” Mukisa said. “One of the reasons for undertaking an advanced career in computing is to build a sustainable pipeline for empowering more women into technology.”
Through this fellowship, Mukisa plans to leverage cutting-edge computational techniques to address prevailing challenges in developing countries. Prior to pursuing a Ph.D. in computer science, she worked for a decade in information technology-related functions, including building spatiotemporal models for biosurveillance (using smartphones) of crop transmittable diseases in Uganda while earning her Master of Science in Data Communications and Software Engineering at Makerere University.
Her current research is geared towards managing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) by building machine intelligence in echocardiography (ECG), a field where sound waves are used to capture heart images for diagnosing cardiac conditions.
“Recent advancements in ECG have led to generation of complex multi-dimensional echo data, which exceeds the capabilities of current statistical tools,” Mukisa said. “Applying machine learning (ML) is useful to analyze heart ultrasound data using signal processing, and such algorithms provide opportunities for developing automated echo analysis and interpretation systems. The automated approach can significantly assist in decreasing the variability and burden associated with manual image measurements.”
“We’re proud to support the work of these outstanding scholars,” said Gloria Blackwell, Executive Vice President and Chief Programs Officer. “This year’s recipients are making valuable contributions in a wide range of fields, but with a common goal of improving life for all of us. We’re impressed by what these scholars are doing and excited about the great things they’ll accomplish throughout their research and careers.”
To learn more about the Department of Computer Science at Kent State, visit: www.kent.edu/cs
About AAUW
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) is one of the world’s oldest leading supporters of graduate women’s education. Since 1888, it has awarded more than $115 million in fellowships, grants, and awards to 13,000 women from 150 countries. For the 2021–22 academic year, AAUW has awarded a total of an unprecedented $5 million through its fellowships and grants programs to 260 scholars as well as to community projects and programs that promote education and equity for women and girls. To learn more about AAUW, visit: https://www.aauw.org/.
# # #