About me

I am a Principal Research Scientist and the founder of the Computational and Mathematical Sciences (CMS) group at SRI International. My team and I work at the intersection of algorithm development and artificial intelligence (AI). My research focuses on the scientific foundations of AI and its applications to challenging computational problems in classical and quantum settings. I particularly enjoy working at the interface of multiple disciplines and finding common themes and connections. Prior to joining SRI International, I spent 15 years at Raytheon/United Technologies Research Center (RTRC/UTRC), ultimately serving as a Technical Fellow (the highest technical rank). I earned my Ph.D. in January 2008 from Cornell University, where I was a McMullen Fellow and won the H.D. Block Teaching Award. I received my master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in 2002.

Honors and awards

• Keynote speaker for Workshop on Mathematical and Computational Foundations of Digital Twins, CIRM, Marseille, France, 2025
• Keynote speaker National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Section-9 Minisymposium Event, 2025
• Invited Expert at the DARPA ISAT study group, 2025
• Invited Talk at the Quantum Tech Congress, Boston MA, 2019
• 2014 Grainger Award by the Grainger Foundation and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE)
• Invited to the Frontiers of Engineering (FOE) Symposium 2013 by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE)
• Technical Excellence Award, United Technologies Research Center, 2012. Highest Individual Award at UTRC for contributions to science and technology
• H. D. Block Teaching Award, Cornell University, 2007
• McMullen Fellow, Cornell University, 2002 - 2003

Press coverage for my work

• Interview on Quantum Computation and Communcation in the Aerospace Industry
• Coverage of work under DARPA EQUiPS: Release 1, Release 2
• Grainger Award: Release 1, Release 2, Release 3
• Frontier of Engineering
• Coverage of work on flight control

Further details about my research and related publications can be found here

Projects

In addition to leading multiple projects at the Research Center, it has been my privilege to serve as a PI on several DoD funded projects.

Current Projects: DLA project on AI-based discovery of alternate manufacturing pathways, DARPA DIAL project on AI-based algorithm generation, DARPA TRS program on automated generation of custom Neural Architectures, and NSF NQVL (quantum virtual lab) on quantum algorithms and control.

Past Projects: DLA project on Advanced Modeling and Optimization of Supply Chains, DARPA Project on scalable optimization of supply chains and wargaming, AFRL Rare events in aerospace systems, DARPA EQUiPS on rare event prediction, DARPA Lagrange for scalable optimization of complex supply chains, DARPA N7 on optimal sensor placement, AFOSR CCMI on human queueing models, and DARPA GUARD-DOG on scalable graph analysis.

Contact information

Mailing address: SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Ave, EL192,
Menlo Park, CA 94025.
Email: [firstname].[lastname] [at] gmail.com