For the second consecutive year, Dr. Felipe Tobar, researcher at the Advanced Center for Electrical and Electronic Engineering (AC3E) and an academic at Universidad de Chile, together with student Victor Caro, won the Lara Award (Latin America Research Award), which was given for the ninth time. Their project “EEG seizure detectors: towards generalization and interpretability,” helping with the analysis of electroencephalograms of newborns, was recognized.

Google gives the award to outstanding research in the fields of Covid, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Machine Learning applied to health, language processing, privacy and climate change, among others, to promote innovation and science in the region. The award comes with an US$18,000 research grant.

Twenty-four projects submitted by 700 applicants were selected; three projects were from Chile. Dr. Tobar’s project involves creating a model that can assist in the monitoring of neonates with potential seizures through machine learning algorithms that detect abrupt changes in the electroencephalogram (EEG) signal, and notify health personnel at the time of seizure.