Umair Akram

Umair Akram

Machine Learning/AI/NLP/Computer Vision

I am a dedicated researcher and practitioner at the intersection of Natural Language Processing (NLP), Computer Vision (CV), and Machine Learning, with a strong emphasis on their applications in domains such as Education, Social Good, Law, Healthcare, Human-AI Interaction, AI Interpretability, Social Media Analysis, and Embodied AI. With over six years of diverse experience spanning both academia and industry, I have developed expertise in designing scalable AI systems, conducting applied and theoretical research, and contributing to impactful open-source projects that push the boundaries of AI innovation.

As an active member of the Python open-source community and a passionate writer on technical and societal topics, I strive to bridge the gap between theoretical advancements and real-world impact. My goal is to combine practical engineering expertise with rigorous research to address meaningful challenges in AI.

News

Publications

sym

UAV-based detection of landmines using infrared thermography paper
Muhammad Umair Akram Butt, Zaighum Naveed, Usama Javed
October, 2024

Articles

Education

Technical Skills

  • Programming: Python, C/C++, MATLAB, Assembly, Microcontroller Programming
  • ML and Data Science Libraries: TensorFlow, Keras, Transformers, Scikit-Learn, LangChain, ChatGPT, Claude, OpenCV, NLTK, NumPy, Pandas, Matplotlib, Seaborn, Plotly, Gradio
  • Cloud: AWS, Modal, FastAPI, REST API
  • ML Algorithms: XGBoost, CatBoost, Linear regression, Naive Bayes algorithm
  • Deep Learning Architectures: ANN, CNN, RNN, LSTM, Transformer, GPT, Llama, GANs, Diffusers
  • Database: MongoDB, PostgreSQL, SQL
  • Web Scraping: BeautifulSoup, Snscrape, yfinance
  • Embedded Systems: Arduino, Raspberry Pi, ESP32, Proteus, PSpice, PCB Designing
  • Environments/Technologies: Linux, Bash, Git, Git LFS, Google Colab, Kaggle Notebooks

Work Experience

  • Senior Machine Learning Engineer
    Depo IQ, USA (Remote)
    May/2024 - To Date

    • Develop RESTful APIs for experimental pipelines for efficient analysis of legal text using both the proprietary and open-source LLMs. Do research and development (R&D) to find new methodologies to address complex problems in the legal domain, and thus contribute to the advancements in NLP research.
    • Design and implement Python programs for parsing and preprocessing the legal and medical data for data analysis; develop Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) methods and semantic search algorithms to make information retrieval results more efficient.

  • Data Scientist
    aiGoT, Italy (Remote)
    Sep/2023 - Apr/2024

    • Developed cutting-edge end-to-end Machine Learning and Deep Learning workflows for NLP and computer vision applications using Python for the hospitality industry.

  • AI / ML Engineer
    Freelance
    Nov/2022 - Aug/2023

    • Provided end-to-end AI solutions for various problems like disease diagnostics, recommendation systems, image classification, and generative AI, among others to domestic and international clients

  • Machine Learning Engineer
    Future Analytica
    Aug/2021 - Oct/2022

    • Developed novel end-to-end Machine Learning and Deep Learning pipelines for NLP applications.

  • Lab Engineer
    National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, NUCES-FAST, Pakistan
    Aug/2018 - Jul/2021

    • Designed and delivered engaging lab courses to undergraduate engineering and computer science students through proper lecture delivery and hands-on learning experience.
    • Co-supervised and mentored students on their Final Year Research Theses, and promoted a culture of research and innovation in the university.
    • Founded and mentored the IEEE Electronics Club, a vibrant platform for student growth through the organization of technical workshops, hackathons, and coding competitions.
    • Overhauled the lab manuals to align with the outcome-based education (OBE) framework.

  • Teaching Asistant
    Linear Circuit Analysis, Prof. Dr. Syed Ali Mohsin, NUCES-FAST
    Aug/2015 – Feb/2016

    • Conducted engaging tutorials to elaborate complex mathematical and engineering concepts, and designed and evaluated assignments and quizzes to ensure better assessment of students’ progress.

Projects

sym

Stroke Prediction Using Machine Learning [project] [GitHub]

  • Developed a robust machine learning pipeline for the precise assessment of individual vulnerability to brain strokes, leveraging advanced predictive modeling techniques.
  • Performed comprehensive exploratory data analysis (EDA) to identify and prioritize critical features, enhancing the overall prediction accuracy of the model.
sym

Classification of Disaster Tweets With Transformer-Based NLP Model for Effective Disaster Relief Efforts [GitHub]

  • Developed a transformer-based NLP model from scratch for binary classification of disaster-related tweets.
  • The model can distinguish actual emergency tweets requiring immediate support from the non-emergency content with an accuracy of 98.99%.
sym

NewsGPT: A Web App for Summarizing News Articles [GitHub]

  • Developed and deployed a web app that automatically summarizes news articles through their web links using LangChain and FastAPI frameworks.
  • It employed the BART Large CNN open-source model for text summarization and also provided support to incorporate OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
sym

Curated a New Twitter Dataset Related to Climate Change for Sentiment Analysis [GitHub]

  • Curated a new dataset of 1.1 million tweets related to climate change by scrapping Twitter. Performed comprehensive data cleaning and preprocessing to ensure the relevance and accuracy of the generated dataset. The dataset is made publicly available for future research.
  • Developed an efficient pipeline for sentiment analysis of tweets related to climate change. Generated engaging graphs to highlight the general trend about this calamity among the masses.
sym

Breast Cancer Diagnosis Using CNN-Based Deep Learning Model [GitHub]

  • Designed and trained a CNN-based deep learning model to diagnose breast cancer using histopathological images of the patient.
  • Deployed the model on HuggingFace Spaces and created an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) using the Gradio library to enhance the accessibility of my research for other researchers and practitioners.
sym

Development of a Combat Robot Controlled via Arduino and Bluetooth [GitHub]

  • Designed a 17 kg dual-weapon combat robot with a grinder as a primary weapon to crush the enemy robot and a passive slider as a secondary weapon to turn the opponent robot upside-down.
  • It was built using the Arduino microcontroller that was integrated with an HC-05 Bluetooth module for wireless operation via a custom-built Android app.
sym

Published an Open-Source Python Package [PyPI]

  • Designed an open-source Python package for an ML classification pipeline and published it on the Python Package Index (PyPI) repository to ensure broader accessibility to researchers and developers.
  • This open-source package can be easily installed via a simple pip command and thus is a valuable contribution to the open-source machine learning community.

Teaching

  • University Laboratory Courses:
    @ National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, NUCES-FAST
    • Introduction to Computing (ITC) (Fall 2018, Fall 2019)
    • Signals & Systems (Spring 2020, Spring 2021)
    • Digital Signal Processing (Spring 2020)
    • Analog & Digital Communication (Fall 2019, Fall 2020)
    • Linear Circuit Analysis (Spring 2019, Summer 2019)
    • Digital Logic Design (Spring 2020, Spring 2021)
    • Physics for Engineers (Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020)
  • Supplementary Teaching
    • Python Programming for Kids (Undergoing initiative)
    • Introduction to Machine Learning (2023)
  • Teaching Assistant

Honors and Awards

  • Recognized with 2 Gold Medals (Spring 2017, Fall 2014), 1 Silver Medal (Spring 2015), and 2 Bronze Medals (Fall 2016, Fall 2017), for consistently ranking at the top of my class and demonstrating academic excellence in semester results at NUCES-FAST University.
  • Honored with the prestigious Dean’s List of Honors award five times (Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2014) in the recognition of my exceptional academic performance at NUCES-FAST University.
  • Served as Host and Chair of the Editorial Board for the esteemed IEEE Student Branch at NUCES-FAST University, where I led the editorial direction of key publications, and hosted a range of tehnical and social events.
  • Volunteered as an instructor, teaching C++ programming to underprivileged students at SOS Children’s Village, Pakistan, with valuable coding skills and an opportunity to build a brighter future through technology.