IIT Delhi Awards Neilom Prize 2021 to Graduates for their Work in Empowering People with Disabilities

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi on Monday awarded the Neilom Prize to recent graduates for contributing to the space of assistive technology to empower people with disabilities. This year, the award was jointly presented to Dr Richa Gupta and Girish Yadav for their works in the relevant field.

The award, which carries a cash prize of one lakh rupees, is given every year to the best outgoing student(s) of IIT Delhi for their contribution to the area of assistive technology.

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Dr Gupta’s doctoral research at IIT Delhi sheds light on the idea of novel design strategies that can aid the retention of tactually acquired graphical information. Her work involved extensive experiments working closely with organisations that excel in accessibility initiatives and inclusion of blind and visually impaired in India (National Association for the Blind) and the USA (Indiana School for the Blind & Visually Impaired).

Dr Gupta is an assistant professor in human-centered design at IIIT-Delhi. She completed her PhD from Khosla School of Information Technology, IIT Delhi after obtaining her BTech in Mechanical Engineering from IIITDM, Jabalpur and MDes from IIT Bombay.

Yadav is the co-founder of Flexmo, an assistive technology product design, and manufacturing company focusing on solutions for the elderly and people with locomotor disabilities. He was involved in the successful design, development, and deployment of multiple assistive technology devices, which include flexmo crutches, transito sit-stand device, and elderly canes and walkers. He did his BTech in Production and Industrial Engineering from IIT Delhi and recently completed his MDes degree also from the institute.

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Speaking of Dr Gupta and Yadav’s works, Prof M Balakrishnan, Founder, Assistech Laboratory, IIT Delhi said, “Successive generation of students and research staff who have worked in this space with passion and commitment are responsible for whatever success ASSISTECH has got in the last 15 years of its existence. We are thankful to Prof. Anand for establishing the Neilom prize, which recognizes the work done by these young graduates.”

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