Posted on January 31, 2025 by College of Sciences
#AwesomeAlum
Ahmer Patel
By Ryan Schoensee
When Ahmer was first researching universities to attend, he learned that UTSA is one of the highest-rated for Cyber Security and Computer Science which helped him decide on becoming a Roadrunner. UTSA's vibrant culture and nationally recognized faculty also made the university an easy choice for Ahmer.
"All of the most memorable aspects of my time at UTSA came from the people. The UTSA community and its professors really helped me gain extensive knowledge in my field."
Ahmer has a passion for creating innovative technologies that improve lives. He believes he can solve the difficult problems faced by the industry today by expanding his knowledge in the fields of mathematics, logic, and its connections with other disciplines, which inspired him to earn an M.S. in computer science at UTSA last year.
Ahmer's academic journey at UTSA included many experiential learning opportunities. Under the guidance of Sushil Prasad, professor of computer science, Ahmer developed skills in artificial intelligence, data visualization and product development. Ahmer is a member of the Parallel Computing and Data Intelligence Lab (ParInt Lab), where he’s responsible for developing and implementing parallel algorithms using GPUs and comparing results. The lab is led by Prasad and focuses on developing cutting-edge algorithms and software to tackle real-world challenges.
Currently, Ahmer is collaborating with UT Health San Antonio to develop an innovative health AI Agent which helps young adults in Texas with addictions such as smoking and vaping. Ahmer is also a researcher for the NSF-funded Scooter Lab at UTSA. The Scooter Lab is led by Murtuza Jadliwala, associate professor of computer science, and focuses on integrating sensor technology into e-scooters to analyze usage patterns and improve urban mobility.
"The Scooter Lab was an eye-opening experience that taught me how to bridge research and product development," added Ahmer.
Ahmer recently won CoinDesk web3 hackathon with his team from UTSA. The hackathon, the first and largest hackathon offered by CoinDesk, was hosted in Austin in 2023. For Ahmer, the hackathon also sparked a new interest in blockchain, a secure, decentralized database technology and solidity, a programming language used extensively for blockchain development.
Ahmer's career path has been shaped by his entrepreneurial spirit. As a previous founding engineer at the venture-backed startup Expertia AI, Ahmer played an integral role in securing $1.2M in funding and worked directly with MIT alumni Akshay Gugnani and Kanishk Shukla and earned recognition from Google for Startups in 2023. Expertia AI was also named a top 10 AI startup by JioGenNext, a startup accelerator platform for young entrepreneurs working in tech. Ahmer worked under the guidance of Akshay Gugnani, who encouraged him to pursue an M.S. in the United States. Ahmer hopes to continue learning all he can in venture capital, incubators and scaling a product, and hopes to one day move to Silicon Valley and curate his own start-up.
To Future Roadrunners considering a major in computer science at UTSA, Ahmer offers the following advice, "Find joy in learning, network with your community, and read deeply to understand concepts. Also, don’t be afraid to ask your UTSA professors to help guide you through tasks and projects."
As Ahmer continues to innovate and pursue his entrepreneurial dreams of developing new technology to improve lives, he will always remember his roots at UTSA and remain a proud #AwesomeAlum of the College of Sciences.
— College of Sciences
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