Unmesa Ray is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). She earned her Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering from Heritage Institute of Technology in West Bengal, India.

Unmesa’s research lies at the intersection of construction safety and artificial intelligence (AI). She explores how machine learning, natural language processing, and large language models can transform information contained in accident reports and safety documents into actionable knowledge for preventing injuries and improving safety decisions. Her work spans automated accident analysis, hazard identification, regulatory compliance, and the reliability of AI in safety-critical applications, with the broader goal of developing AI systems that can responsibly support real-world engineering decisions. She has received several recognitions for her research and research communication. She received First Place in her departmental category at the 2026 UNLV Graduate Symposium and has twice been recognized at the Graduate & Professional Student Association (GPSA) Research Forum, earning Second Place for her podium presentation in 2025 and First Place in her session in 2026. She was also selected as an invited speaker for the UNLV Graduate College’s Inspiration, Innovation, Impact (I³) event. Her research on construction safety management received Editor’s Choice recognition from the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Journal of Management in Engineering in 2025. She is also a recipient of the UNLV Graduate Student Research Award and the Summer Doctoral Research Fellowship. 

Beyond her research, Unmesa is actively involved in mentoring and research engagement within the UNLV community. She supports undergraduate interns and junior graduate researchers, helping them develop research skills and explore applications of emerging AI technologies. Through mentoring, research communication, and professional service, Unmesa enjoys helping other students engage with research and contributing to a collaborative academic community. Beyond UNLV, she contributes to the broader research community as a student reviewer for international conferences. Looking ahead, she is particularly interested in advancing technologies that are not only innovative, but also reliable, responsible, and capable of meaningful real-world impact. What motivates her most is the opportunity to continually learn, explore new ideas, and translate technological advances into solutions that can improve safety and well-being.

Watch Unmesa’s talk: “AI That Reads Accident Reports and Reveals the Science of Risk.”