News

The Yardi School of Artificial Intelligence is proud to announce that Ritik Kumar Das, a Ph.D. researcher at ScAI, has been awarded the Best Paper Award at the IEEE International Conference on NextGen Data Science and Analytics (ICNDSA-2026).

The conference, organized by Christ University (Delhi NCR), took place from April 10–11, 2026, bringing together global experts to discuss the future of data-driven technologies.

Research Highlight

The award-winning paper, "Satellite-based Detection of Plastic Waste in Indian Urban Environments using Sentinel-2 and Spectral Index Fusion," addresses critical environmental challenges using advanced Computer Vision and Earth Observation techniques.

• Objective: Leveraging Sentinel-2 satellite imagery to monitor and detect plastic waste accumulation in dense Indian urban areas.
• Methodology: The research utilizes Spectral Index Fusion, a method that enhances the accuracy of waste identification by combining different light wavelengths to distinguish plastic from other urban materials.
• Impact: This work provides a scalable, AI-driven solution for municipal waste management and environmental conservation efforts.

Mentorship & Collaboration

Ritik conducts his research under the supervision of Dr. Sudipan Saha. This achievement underscores ScAI’s commitment to applying AI for social good and environmental sustainability.

"I am humbled to receive this recognition and incredibly grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Sudipan Saha, for his constant guidance and support throughout this work."

— Ritik Kumar Das

Keywords: AI for Earth Observation, Computer Vision, Urban Sustainability, IEEE ICNDSA, IIT Delhi ScAI