A University of the Pacific student’s artificial intelligence research is forecasting underwater ocean debris, tackling an environmental threat to marine ecosystems that is nearly impossible to monitor with traditional tools.

Computer science major Abdullah Tariq Choudhry ’25 is leading Neural Oceans, a research initiative that harnesses AI to tackle the challenge head-on. Choudhry began working on the project as part of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship at Pacific.

“For me, when it comes to exploring research or artificial intelligence, it's always about trying to do things that haven't been done before,” Choudhry said.

With guidance from Vivek Pallipuram, an associate professor in the electrical and computer engineering department, Choudhry developed a physics-informed deep learning model to detect ocean debris and predict its movement over time, an approach Pallipuram says will one day aid in debris collection efforts.

Focused on the Mediterranean Sea, the project combines ocean physics, artificial intelligence and data visualization to support and monitor sustainability and global marine health in real time.

Their research has been accepted into the 2025 International Conference on Machine Learning and Applications where they are scheduled to present later this year.

Learn more about the ongoing research.