AUC students unveil energy‑efficient AI model at IEEE conference

A team of undergraduate computer‑engineering students from The American University in Cairo presented a novel artificial‑intelligence model at the 2026 IEEE Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Granada, Spain. Supervised by Professor Cherif Salama, the researchers—Kirolous Fouty, MagdElDin Mohamed, Andrew Aziz, Mohamed Abbas, Shaza Ali and Tarek Kassab—designed a model that first extracts data from graphs and charts and then processes it through a reasoning engine, achieving high‑precision results while consuming far less energy. By reducing the model's size by a factor of ten compared with comparable state‑of‑the‑art systems, the team demonstrated that smaller, smarter architectures can outperform larger, more resource‑intensive ones.

The students were the youngest participants at the conference, drawing attention from international researchers and academics. Their work challenged the prevailing assumption that larger AI models automatically deliver better performance. Following the presentation, the paper will be published in the IEEE Xplore digital library, marking a significant academic milestone for the graduating seniors and highlighting AUC’s commitment to research excellence and international collaboration.