91探花

May 13, 2015

Undergrad sees change in the palm of her hand

Innovating for real-world problems

When a communal water pump breaks it can dramatically impact a community. But in places where cell phone connectivity is sporadic, like rural India, it is that much harder to get the help to fix it. Enter 91探花 junior聽and 2014-15 Levinson Scholar Krittika D鈥橲ilva, who envisioned and developed an app for that during her internship at Microsoft Research in Bangalore in the summer of 2014. It was considered so innovative and effective that ran a story about it at the end of the summer.

D鈥橲ilva personally conducted pilot testing of the app to improve its usability and worked with small groups from surrounding villages to teach them how to use it.

鈥淢ost of the people I worked with had never seen a smartphone before, so after watching them use the app I was able to learn what changes to make so that it was as intuitive as possible,鈥� she says.

Designed to work with CG Net Swara, a mobile phone-based reporting platform, the app automatically pushes community-recorded audio messages to a server where activists can use the information to notify local officials and advocate for help.

Becoming a Levinson Scholar

Studying computer engineering and programming was not D鈥橲ilva鈥檚 original aim; she planned to major and conduct research in bioengineering at UW. However, exposure to computer engineering in Joan Sanders鈥� Prosthetic Science and Technology Lab sparked her interest during her sophomore year and today she pursues an Honors degree in both fields. She hopes to combine them in the future to use software as a tool to develop solutions in healthcare.

Her interdisciplinary research interests, aspirations to seek a computer science Ph.D., and desire to participate in future research projects made her a strong candidate for the , a scholarship funded through a generous gift from Art (鈥�72) and Rita Levinson. Art Levinson is the founder and CEO of , chairman of Apple and former chairman and CEO of , one of the world鈥檚 leading biotech companies.

Designed to encourage talented undergraduates to pursue advanced research in science and engineering fields, Levinson Emerging Scholars undertake independent projects of their own design with support from mentors and members of their lab, much as Art Levinson did when he was a 91探花undergrad.

Building research experience at UW

Interested in math and science since her high school years in South Surrey B.C. (her family moved to Canada from Goa, India, when she was six years old), D鈥橲ilva was drawn to the UW鈥檚 strong bioengineering department and its reputation as an innovative research university.

Though she found it intimidating to reach out to prominent researchers with her high school resume, she was persistent and eventually earned a spot in Joan Sanders鈥� lab. There until partway through her junior year, she worked on a project that used sensors within prosthetic sockets to collect data as individuals sit, stand and walk. The findings have the potential to improve prosthetic socket fit and ultimately reduce discomfort for individuals with lower limb amputations.

鈥淸The Sanders Lab] was a great first research experience for me,鈥� says D鈥橲ilva. 鈥淭he part that I loved most was building the software, but I had never taken a computer science class before. It seemed useful, so I signed up for an intro CS class, and couldn鈥檛 stop taking classes after that.鈥�

Exploring the tech frontier in health care

Shortly thereafter, she applied for a major in the computer science department and transferred to Gaetano Borriello鈥檚 lab. There, under the tutelage of Dr. Borriello (1959-2015), whom she fondly regards as a major influence, she helped develop hands-free smart phone technology capabilities for health care purposes.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e dealing with blood samples or chemicals, you don鈥檛 want to be touching your phone,鈥� she explains. Her team worked on programs to enable phone cameras to recognize hands-free gestures, allowing health care professionals who handle聽potentially infectious material to access health records, diagnostic tools or manuals without having to touch their phone. The obvious real-world connection resonated with D鈥橲ilva. 鈥淎fter working [in the Borriello lab], I decided: This is what I want to do.鈥�

She currently works in the Yager Research Lab to develop small, portable diagnostic kits for MRSA, a bacterial infection prevalent throughout the world. The output for the tests is a paper strip that is too detailed for the eye to read. With the help of an Android application installed on a mobile device, health workers can obtain an objective diagnosis at the point of care.

鈥淔rom a computer science point of view, if we can do this for one disease, we can do it for other diseases,鈥� explains D鈥橲ilva, excited for the potential to replicate the test.

Discovering the intersection of her majors in the context of a budding research career was a powerful time for her to join the , which is comprised of similarly motivated students engaged in their own unique research projects.

鈥淩eceiving the award was validation in a way. It meant that someone believed in the work I was doing and believed it was important,鈥� she reflects.

What鈥檚 next?

This summer D鈥橲ilva will put her programming prowess to work as an intern for Google in Mountain View, CA, working on a team that develops Android infrastructure for Google+. And after that, though the appeal of getting a job after she graduates in 2016 is undeniable, D鈥橲ilva envisions continuing to do research that has the potential to impact the developing world.

鈥淚n the long run, I would love to be a tech lead for PATH or the head of mobile health for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,鈥� she reflects. 鈥淚 want to be in positions that are both interesting and fulfilling.鈥�