Luis Antonio Vela
he/him/his
Texas A&M Interational University
Psychology and Communication
Biography
I am an undergraduate student at Texas A&M International University seeking a degree in Psychology, with a minor in Computer Science, who has an intense motivation to solve scientific problems. To this end, I have worked as a research assistant in the school of engineering under my mentor, Dr. Mustafa Al-Lail, since December 2024. In this position, I am currently researching a solution to warehouse safety that incorporates artificial intelligence and drone-robot collaboration. In the future, I aspire to attend graduate school in Fall 2025 and use my motivation to solve real world problems in fields that interact with computational science and cognitive science. By utilizing insights from these fields, I seek to understand the brain and human psychology in order to innovate psychiatry, education, and human computer interfaces.
Academic Information
Status: Undergraduate Student
Year in Program: 4th
Major/Specialty: Psychology and Computer Science
Degrees: Bachelor of Arts in Psychology 2025
Research Areas
Computer Science; Data Science; Engineering; Machine Learning/AI
Research Interests
I am extremely motivated to solve scientific problems in the fields of machine learning and cognitive science. I seek to use machine learning and computational methods to model aspects of cognition and develop a greater understanding of the brain and human psychology in order to improve the prospects of both psychiatry and learning. Lastly, I also seek to use the research and design to improve or innovate human computer interfaces.
Topical Areas
Applied Computer Science; Applied Mathematics; Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems; Clinical Medicine; Computer Science; Educational Sciences; Health Sciences; Media and communications; Psychology Sociology; Visualization and Human-Computer Systems
Relevant Coursework
Fundamentals of Programming, Object Oriented Programming, Algorithms and Data Structures, Software Engineering, Undergraduate Research in Computer Engineering, Calculus 1, Calculus 2, Calculus 3, Discrete Mathematics, Linear Algebra, Statistical Analysis
Publications & Research Projects
Research Paper: Title - Integrating Collaborative Ground-Aerial Robotics for Enhanced Safety and System Optimization in Automated Warehouse Environments Description - I co-authored this paper as a research assistant under the guidance of my mentor, Dr. Mustafa Al-Lail, for the Texas A&M International University department of engineering. More specifically, we focused on creating a system that incorporates AI and collaboration between an autonomous aerial vehicle and an autonomous ground vehicle in indoor warehouse environments and the improvement of an object detection model. This project addresses the issue of safety in warehouses by providing information to the ground vehicle so that it can respond to obstacles it cannot see ahead of time. Additionally, this project has also been accepted to the AHFE 2025 Hawaii International Conference, a conference that focuses on human factors and engineering projects. Software Engineering Project: Title - City of Laredo Health Department Interactive Map Description - In this project, I lead the development and design of a website application during my software engineering course at TAMIU. The project was in collaboration with the City of Laredo Health Department. Our team used the Agile process to gather user requirements and create an interactive map where the users could select their desired program or location. After, the app would display the proper route to get to the desired location. This project addressed the issues of lost and confused clients created by the complex layout of the health department by making the navigation of the building more intuitive and ergonomic.