Schools
UCS senior publishes and presents AI research at international symposium
Stevenson/MST senior is presenting his paper at a workshop at the IEEE International Conference on Data Mining in Washington, D.C.
Like all successful research projects, Dron Datta’s project started with a question: how will the rise of Artificial Intelligence affect computer science jobs?
“As an avid coder building software-engineering projects like my Google Extension WebBarrier, which is now used in 80 countries worldwide, I was very intrigued about the future of the field that I am currently working in,” he said.
What makes this research standout is that Dron is publishing and presenting his findings at a major conference symposium as a senior at Stevenson High School and the Utica Center for Mathematics, Science and Technology.
Datta’s research paper is titled Evaluating the Code Generation Capabilities of Popular Large Language Models for Front-End Web Development using Neighborhood Pixel Similarity. As a sole author, he is publishing and presenting his paper at a workshop at the IEEE International Conference on Data Mining in Washington, D.C.
In addition to his research success, Datta currently works as a software engineer and writes code for a company in Novi.
His teachers are not surprised by his accomplishments.
“Dron is one of the hardest working and most dedicated students I have had the pleasure of teaching,” said Stevenson teacher Michael Macleod. “I've taught Dron in Honors 10, AP Research, and now in AP European history. Dron holds himself to the highest standards of excellence, and his continued success is hallmark of his dedication, effort, and abilities.”
Datta began his project over a year ago in his Advanced Placement Research Class. His first step was to look at the research in the field and conduct more than 200 tests with six of the most popular “Large Language Models (LLMs)” - artificial intelligence tools that generate code. The six models were ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, Pixtral, and LLaMa.
As part of his study, Datta created his own algorithm to accurately evaluate how well LLMs can generate code.
“A feat, usually expected by a collegiate researching student with advanced mathematical notations, complex understanding in image processing and in computer science, took enormous planning, hours of testing, and multiple accounts of trial and error, but ended with a magnificent research paper,” he said.
Datta hopes his research project inspires other UCS students to follow his path.
“I hope my story and achievements in my early computer science career inspires the next generation of students in this district to continue furthering the STEM fields and generating knowledge that advances society,” he said.
He also believes his algorithm can make a difference by speeding up website development and allowing companies to more effectively evaluate the AI they use for code generation.
Datta plans to pursue a career in the field of computer science with a goal of becoming a research scientist or professor of science.
He said his experiences in UCS have been instrumental in his success, particularly his classes with Mr. Macleod and computer science courses offered at MST with Rebecca Watterson.
“The experiences I have had in UCS district have definitely helped inspire by journey with my study.”
Source: Utica Community Schools
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