Neel Adwani - ECE PhD Student of the Month - December 2024
Neel Adwani is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Helen and John C. Hartmann Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He works at the Controls Automation and Robotics Lab (CAR Lab), advised by Dr. Cong Wang. He is also a teaching assistant for the ECE Department, currently teaching ECE 294 Analog and Digital Circuits Lab. His current research is based on end-effector fabrication for robots using LLMs and VLMs, where his goal is to leverage models like GPT for designing and prototyping robot end-effectors for performing domestic services like cooking. Aside from teaching and research work, he is also an experienced hiker and a novice rock climber who can only be found in the mountains on weekends.
What do you think will be the next big move in your field of study?
With the increasing hype for AI and Robotics, I believe that the next big move would be prototyping models backed by Generative AI, that could not only design the mechanics, but also simulate them to evaluate their reliability. It may still seem a bit fictional, but it would be a major breakthrough in the fields of manufacturing and robotics.
Please share your experience of using the NJIT Makerspace to help with your projects.
The NJIT Makerspace has been a valuable resource for my projects, especially since the time I joined Flylanders (NJIT’s SAE Aero Design Team). Their wide range of training courses for 3D Printing, Laser Cutting and Woodshop Machinery have been useful for me, some of which I have been using in my research projects. The Makerspace staff is really knowledgeable and helpful in terms of prototyping and operating complex machinery.
How does it feel taking courses in other departments? How does interdisciplinary study help with your research? Please share some experience.
Taking courses in other departments has been a great experience for me, I took a course on Robotics in the Mechanical Engineering Department with Dr. Swissler. The course turned out to be really helpful for me while working on the kinematics of a robot arm for my research project. I’m also planning to take a course on Computer-Aided Design (Mechanical Engineering Department) in Spring 2025 with Dr. Moon, which I believe will be essential for optimizing the prototypes for my further research projects.