The prestigious award is presented annually to recognise an exceptional paper published in the journal that has demonstrated outstanding technical quality and significant research impact after publication. The award was presented at the IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence (WCCI 2026), held in Maastricht, the Netherlands, in June 2026.
Published in IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence in 2023, the award-winning paper was the result of an international collaboration between Professor Dipti and researchers from Australia.
The research introduces SpinalNet, a novel deep neural network architecture inspired by the human spinal cord and somatosensory system. Unlike conventional neural networks that process all input data simultaneously, SpinalNet gradually feeds information through successive layers, reducing computational complexity while improving learning efficiency.
This biologically inspired approach enables artificial intelligence models to achieve higher accuracy with lower computational cost, making them more efficient for a wide range of AI applications. The architecture demonstrated state-of-the-art performance across multiple benchmark image recognition datasets and has since been widely adopted by researchers around the world, underscoring its broad impact on the development of efficient and scalable deep learning systems.
Professor Dipti’s Outstanding Paper Award reflects the significance of this research contribution and its lasting influence on the field of artificial intelligence. The recognition further highlights NUS ECE’s commitment to advancing impactful research that pushes the frontiers of AI and intelligent systems.
