FACULTY FEATURE: ANANYA SEN GUPTA

FACULTY FEATURE

Ananya Sen Gupta Joined ITI in 2019 Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Working in a unique sector of the signal processing field where computational algorithms intersect with underwater acoustics, Ananya Sen Gupta has formed an environment of inclusion and innovation in her research group.

“As a professor, I feel that my best ‘products,’ so to speak, are my students,” said Sen Gupta, a University of Iowa assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and an Iowa Technology Institute faculty affiliate. “Papers and grants are very important, but the reason I chose to become a professor is not only to teach science but to train scientists.”

Since 2015, Sen Gupta has received more than $2 million in grants and research funding, primarily from the Department of Defense and National Science Foundation. These grants help fund research ventures and opportunities carried out by her cohort of student scientists.

Her research group is made up of six undergraduates, three PhD students, and one master’s student. Postgraduate students have primarily been funded by the Office of Naval Research. There is a successful pipeline of students transitioning from Sen Gupta’s group to defense- and militaryrelated research at organizations around the country.

Sen Gupta’s contributions to student development have garnered UI’s Career Kudos award and the Excellence in Teaching and Dedication to Student Learning award. More recently, Sen Gupta has been invited to mentor doctoral students at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and other premier international academic institutions.

Sen Gupta’s mentorship can be seen in the success of her students. PhD candidate Bernice Kubicek recently was awarded the prestigious National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship.

Her work has also been included in NASA’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) book that is distributed to Congress.