Dr. Rahat Rafiq is the graduate program director for artificial intelligence and a faculty member in the College of Computing. His research lies at the intersection of natural language processing, computer vision, machine learning, applied computing, and social computing. Dr. Rafiq is deeply engaged in industry and community collaborations, including projects with Array of Engineers, Procter & Gamble, the Michigan DNR, and more. He’s leveraging AI to address real-world challenges such as forest health, wellness tracking, oral care, and software automation.

TSN Conference 2026

January 23rd, 2026 (Friday) // 10:00 am – 11:00 am // Room 103 // Keeping Pace with Forest Health Pests // Oak wilt and forest health diseases and pests continue to spread and impact our natural areas, often outpacing the capacity of field crews. Ground detection methods for oak wilt have remained largely based upon chance and aerial surveys with fixed wing aircraft remain out of reach for many land managers. With other threats, such as hemlock woolly adelgid and beech leaf disease, threatening forest communities, new techniques are needed to keep pace with the rapid changes to forest health. By adding UAV surveillance powered by machine learning at select sites, teams can nimbly respond using rapid response techniques and increase the likelihood of successful management.