Based in Aurora, Colorado, Muneeb Chawla is a tech entrepreneur with a background in areas such as machine learning, natural language processing, and statistics. In his work as a data scientist, Muneeb Chawla has also developed neural networks, which lie at the center of deep learning algorithms.
Also known as artificial neural networks (ANNs), these constructs have a structure that mimics the human brain in the way that neurons rapidly signal to each other within a complex environment.
Unlike the brain, ANNs are made up of node layers that have an input layer and a number of hidden layers, as well as an output layer. Every node connects to another node, with each possessing a specified weight and activation threshold. When a node surpasses the threshold value, it is activated and sends data to the network’s next layer.
Over an extended period, training data is used by neural networks to boost accuracy. Once the networks have been fine-tuned, they can be employed as AI tools that enable high velocity data to be clustered and classified. Practical uses of this include image and speech recognition. The search algorithm of Google is another example of a neural network that rapidly filters mass data and delivers relevant results.
Muneeb Chawla has served OPTUM in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, as a senior data scientist since 2021. When he is not developing machine learning solutions for the OPTUM information technology department, Muneeb Chawla enjoys leading an active lifestyle. His personal interests include hiking and playing badminton.
According to the Association of Tennis Professionals, the fastest serve in the history of the sport was recorded by American John Isner, who delivered a 157.2-mile-per-hour serve during a 2016 Davis Cup rubber match against Australian Bernard Tomic. While impressive, Isner’s serve pales in comparison to the world’s fastest racket sport – badminton.
Badminton is a racket sport with somewhat similar rules and equipment to tennis. However, while tennis players use a tennis ball, badminton players exchange rallies using a birdie, or shuttlecock. Birdies can be made of various materials, but they typically consist of a rounded cork tip with goose feathers attached.
Badminton rules dictate that serves must be delivered using an underhand motion, meaning serves typically travel at only a few miles per hour. However, overhead smashes can send the birdie traveling at speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour. In fact, Mads Pieler Kolding holds the record for the world’s fastest badminton smash at 264.7 miles per hour.
Drawing on more than 15 years of experience in engineering and data science, Muneeb Chawla is a senior data scientist with Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based Optum, a technology and data health care provider. Outside work, Muneeb Chawla is an avid biker and swimmer.
Besides working out the whole body, swimming affords multiple benefits. Most types of exercise fall into one of the two categories: highly intensive and strenuous on the joints or less intensive and gentle on the joints. Swimming, however, appears to unite the advantages of both. While it can be intensive enough, it spares the joints.
As reported by the American Council, the natural buoyancy of water holds the body up, thus reducing the moving body weight by 90 percent, which, in turn, also lowers the impact on the bones, joints, and muscles and minimizes potential injuries. By comparison, with running, people can experience short impacts of five to ten times their body weight on their hips, knees, and ankles.
Generally, all forms of exercise can aid in reducing stress, as they decrease the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline and produce endorphins, the body’s natural mood lifters. Multiple studies have demonstrated the calming effects of swimming too.
In 2012, Speedo commissioned an international study, which showed that over 74 percent of the participants felt less stressed after swimming, and 70 percent experienced a mental refreshment. Another study published in 2015 in the International Journal of Physical Education, Sports, and Health encompassed 101 people at a YMCA in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Nearly half of them stated they were stressed out and felt mildly depressed. After they swam, only eight reported continuing to feel the same.
A 2017 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine explored the relationship between specific physical activities and long-term health effects. It indicated that swimming regularly significantly lowers the possibility of dying from cardiovascular disease (over 40 percent) or any cause (almost 30 percent).
One of the world’s longest mountain ranges, the Rocky Mountains stretch from Alaska to the southern border of the US. Rocky Mountain National Park, located in Colorado, preserves part of the mountains’ ecosystem, and is a popular destination for adventurers. Everyday recreational activities that people enjoy in the park include hiking, camping, and viewing wildlife. In the winter, other recreation activities include cross-country skiing, sledding, and snowshoeing.
The Rocky Mountains’ elevations range from 7,800 feet to over 14,000 feet above sea level, which considerably influences winter conditions. For example, at locations above 8,000 feet, winter can begin in late September or early October and go through late May or early June. Therefore, those visiting Rocky Mountain National Park during the winter should expect some challenges and plan for them.
For instance, it is essential to prepare for driving in the park during winter. The park roads tend to become icy and packed with snow, so the recommendation is to slow down and keep a safe distance from other vehicles. Before leaving home, visitors can check if any of the roads are closed due to adverse conditions. Also, during the winter season, the Colorado Vehicle Traction law may become active for the safety of motorists. The law requires that all vehicles have a minimum of 3/16″ tread and be mud and snow, mountain and snow, or all-weather tires.
During winter, most park trails are also icy or snow-covered. Rocky Mountain National Park recommends bringing traction devices and hiking poles, as well as snowshoes, depending on the destination and whether recent snowfall has occurred. Although some lakes may appear frozen, ice may not be firm enough to walk on. There could be open water along edges, inlets, and outlets. When walking on park trails, one should also plan for windy weather with drifting or blowing snow.
Moreover, avalanches are expected in the park during the winter. For this reason, it is essential to visit the avalanche awareness web page at the National Park Service website and check the snow conditions and forecasts in the mountains before leaving the house. Some tips for avalanche safety include avoiding snowshoeing or skiing on unforested slopes, gullies, and under snow cornices where there is risk of an avalanche. Attending an avalanche training session before the trip to understand and identify the changing weather that can influence avalanche conditions and wearing an electronic transceiver when crossing avalanche terrain are also recommended.
Last, planning for recreational activities is fundamental for enjoying a winter visit to the park. Visitors can explore most park trails with snowshoes and a few other pieces of gear, such as waterproof boots, hiking poles, and waterproof pants or gaiters. From January to March, the park offers free ranger-led snowshoe hikes on both its west and east sides. Cross-country skiing is also popular in the Rocky Mountains, and one only needs skis and poles with large baskets to explore deeper snows and the terrain on the west side of the park. However, when it comes to sledding, the activity is only allowed at Hidden Valley, which is on the east side of the park, seven miles from the Beaver Meadows Entrance and the Fall River Entrance.
