Winner. Scientist of the Year 2025

Vigneshwaran Jagadeesan Pugazhenthi

Academic title, degree: Bachelor's in Computer Science and Engineering
Fields of science: Intelligent Contact Center Systems and Automation
Research interest: Artificial Intelligence in Contact Center Systems, Robotic Process Automation, Automation Scripting and Framework
Career Development: Experienced
Organization: Cognizant Technology Solutions
Position: Technology Architect
City: Henrico, Virginia
Country: USA

Vigneshwaran Jagadeesan Pugazhenthi is a distinguished Technology Architect at Cognizant Technology Solutions, with extensive expertise in Contact Center Technologies, including IVR systems, chatbots, email automation, and predictive dialers. With a solid background in software engineering and over a decade of professional experience, he has consistently delivered transformative solutions in the customer engagement domain.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the College of Engineering, Guindy, one of Tamil Nadu’s most esteemed engineering institutions. This academic foundation equipped him with strong computational and analytical skills, enabling his success in highly technical and innovative roles.

Vigneshwaran began his career at Accenture in 2013, where he worked with a leading U.S.-based healthcare client. His responsibilities included software development, automation scripting, systems integration, and full-cycle project management. His ability to align technical solutions with business goals led to the successful delivery of scalable and efficient contact center systems.

In 2025, he transitioned to Cognizant, taking on a senior architectural role. At Cognizant, he led the design and implementation of a next-generation conversational IVR platform, leveraging advanced generative AI technologies such as Amazon Lex and IBM Watson X. The solution markedly improved customer experience while enhancing operational efficiency through automation of voice-based interactions.

He has also architected several Robotic Process Automation (RPA) frameworks for production monitoring and system health diagnostics. These implementations have proven critical in minimizing the risk of P0 outages by enabling early detection of system anomalies and ensuring continuous service availability.

Vigneshwaran has successfully delivered modernization and migration projects involving industry-leading platforms such as Genesys, AVAYA, AWS, and IBM Watson. His strategic contributions have led to improved automation in IVR testing, optimized call routing, and enhanced proactive monitoring systems.

Vigneshwaran is a recognized contributor to the scientific community, with research publications focusing on the application of Artificial Intelligence and RPA in contact center environments. His work explores AI-based solutions for intelligent testing of automated speech recognition (ASR) systems, smart routing algorithms, and advanced automation frameworks.

His recent research, presented at the IEEE SouthEastCon 2025 and published in IEEE Xplore, evaluates Digital Voice Assistants (DVAs) against conventional IVR systems to benchmark the performance of speech recognition models under various conditions, offering actionable insights for practitioners and researchers alike.

Beyond research, he actively engages with the academic and professional community. He serves as a technical program committee member for several leading conferences, has chaired sessions, and frequently reviews and evaluates manuscripts for IEEE and Springer Nature journals.

He is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and a Fellow of both the Soft Computing Research Society and Raptors Dev — recognitions that reflect his technical excellence, leadership, and sustained contributions to the field.

Through a combination of deep domain knowledge, innovative thinking, and a commitment to quality, Vigneshwaran continues to shape the future of contact center technologies and enterprise automation.