Dr. Praveen Kumar
Dr Praveen Kumar Pokala
Entrepreneur & Data Scientist
About
Dr. Praveen Kumar Pokala is a distinguished researcher and innovator in the fields of computer vision, machine learning, and signal processing. With a strong academic background and extensive industry experience, he has made significant contributions to the advancement of intelligent video analytics and image processing applications. Dr. Praveen's work reflects his expertise in developing cutting-edge solutions and his passion for bridging the gap between theory and real-world applications.
Academic Achievements
Dr. Pokala's academic journey stands as a testament to his unwavering dedication to excellence and continual intellectual advancement. His remarkable achievements include earning a distinguished Ph.D. with both the Gold Medal and the "Best PhD Thesis Award" in the Electrical Engineering department at the prestigious Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore. Dr. Pokala's doctoral research focused on the application of non-convex sparse priors for analyzing and synthesizing sparse models in inverse problems in imaging, delving into the complexities of convex/non-convex optimization and machine/deep learning techniques under the guidance of Prof. Chandra Sekhar Seelamantula. Additionally, he received the "Best Presentation Award of Session" at the EECS symposium, IISc Bangalore.
His academic prowess extends to achieving an impressive rank of 251 out of 216,367 participants in the all-India engineering competitive exam GATE in 2014. In pursuing his M.Tech program with a specialization in Signal Processing at IIT Guwahati, Dr. Pokala explored the intriguing field of secure biometric systems. Guided by Prof. Kannan Karthik, he showcased exceptional problem-solving skills, providing innovative solutions to real-world challenges within this domain.
Research Contributions:
Specialized in research, AI mentorship, and scientific advisory, my current focus is on intelligent video analytics with expertise in real-time motion video segmentation, Face/Object detection, and tracking. I secured project-based funding from the Department of Science and Technology (India) for my doctoral research, which was dedicated to tackling inverse problems, statistical signal processing, machine learning/deep learning, and optimization for image reconstruction across diverse domains.
Proficient in coding languages such as Python, Matlab, TensorFlow, and PyTorch, I successfully developed application-specific deep learning architectures. The outcomes of my research have been published in prestigious conferences and journals, including IEEE ICASSP, ISBI, ICIP, CVPR, IEEE TCI, and the renowned IEEE TPAMI.
Dr Praveen shares his insights into AI on his YouTube channel: Decipher -AI
Industry Experience:
Dr. Praveen boasts extensive industry expertise cultivated in prestigious organizations. Presently, he holds the position of Senior Research Scientist and Senior Data Science Manager at Jio-AICoE (Computer Vision Group) within Reliance, located in Hyderabad. In this capacity, his dedication is directed towards pioneering innovative, real-time AI solutions tailored for vision applications.
Before his current role, Dr. Praveen served as a Senior Lead Engineer at Qualcomm (Corp. R&D Group) in Bangalore. During this tenure, he played a pivotal role in the development of energy-efficient and swift camera models. His primary focus encompassed AI-driven face detection systems and gaze detection, specifically for screen on/off use cases.
Academic Experiences:
Dr. Praveen's enthusiasm for education and knowledge-sharing is palpable through his role as an Assistant Professor at both GITAM University and LPU University. In these positions, he has shared his wealth of expertise in subjects ranging from probability and random processes to statistical signal processing, electromagnetics, signals and systems, and digital signal processing with graduate and postgraduate students. Furthermore, he has contributed as a subject matter expert, actively shaping learning solutions for Thinkcell Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Workshops and Certifications:
"Dr. Praveen's dedication to remaining at the cutting edge of technological progress is evident in his active participation in workshops and the successful completion of various online certifications. His proficiency extends to deep learning frameworks, particularly TensorFlow and PyTorch, and he is well-versed in programming languages such as Python, MATLAB, and C/C++. Additionally, he adeptly utilizes tools like Git and GitHub. Dr. Praveen has pursued certifications in diverse areas including DevOps, MLOps, computer vision, and self-supervised machine learning, showcasing his commitment to continuous learning and staying abreast of emerging technologies.