McNeese Senior Presents Capstone Project 

Amin Memon, McNeese State University senior, is currently working on SignLex – an AI- powered American Sign Language (ASL) learning application. SignLex uses real-time gesture recognition through a webcam to detect and score a user’s ASL signs from 0-100% and takes place inside a regular web browser with no downloads required.  

Memon, a computer science major, serves as the backend lead and systems architect on a three-person team. He built database models, an authentication system, a spaced repetition algorithm and a full gamification engine including streaks and achievement badges. The AI-side uses Google’s Media Pipe to extract 21 hand landmarks per frame, which are then fed into a custom TensorFlow.js neutral network trained on over 87,000 ASL images.  

“I have always been drawn to projects where technology creates real-world impact. The hard-of-hearing community faces a genuine accessibility gap when it comes to affordable ASL learning tools,” says Memon, from Karachi, Pakistan. “Beyond the social impact, this project sits at the intersection of machine learning, full-stack development and human-computer interaction and I enjoy multi-disciplinary challenges.” 

The project was offered as a senior capstone opportunity through the McNeese Department of Engineering and Computer Science under the guidance of Dr. Jennifer Lavergne, assistant professor of computer science. Memon actively sought out a project that would push him beyond typical coursework and SignLex stood out to him immediately because of the real-world application and technical depth.  

“After graduating this May, I plan to pursue a software engineering or machine internship role in the industry,” he explained. “Long term, I am open to graduate school, but my immediate focus is on building strong industry experience and continuing to grow as an engineer. 

“Being close to my extended family while completing my degree was important to me and Lake Charles made that possible. I am now appreciative of the smaller class sizes and direct access to professors,” added Memon. “At a bigger university, I would likely be just another student in lecture hall, but at McNeese I have been able to work closely with faculty, take on real research and genuinely stand out.” 

Memon recommends that students do not wait for opportunities to come to them but instead reach out to professors directly. He explains that most faculty are more than happy to involve motivated students in their work and recommends that students show up, ask questions and demonstrate that they are serious.  

He also encourages students to not be intimidated if they feel underqualified. “Half of research is figuring things out as you go and the willingness to learn matters more than previous knowledge,” Memon concluded.