Visiting Fulbright Scholar researching computer’s understanding of graphics

Pavel MyznikovPavel Myznikov loves artificial intelligence; it’s a passion that’s brought him all the way from Russia to Texas. The computer science and engineering doctoral student joined UNT Engineering this fall as part of the Fulbright program, which provides students the opportunity to study and conduct research at a university outside of their home country.

Under the leadership and guidance of Yan Huang, senior associate dean for the College of Engineering and professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Myznikov is exploring new and exciting ways to help computers better understand graphics and images and to automate the development speed.

“I want to make it possible for a computer to recognize the logic of elements and why and how they’re arranged the way they are,” he said. “Specifically, I want to write a code that automates the computer’s understanding of a bitmap picture without its metadata. I want to make it so the computer could generate code on its own or emulate how a human would write the code.”

Myznikov says that so far all the research within the field is devoted to unstructured pictures like photos and art. It makes sense in a time where social media dominates much of the public’s interest. His focus, however, is on structured pictures like research posters or presentations, helping to further advance the needs of the academic and research-intensive fields.

As part of his time here, Myznikov will also have the opportunity to attend conferences in the U.S. that pertain to his field of study.