Prof. Kumar has directly mentored 35 PhDs, 6 Postdocs, and 25 Masters (total of 66), out of which 27 PhDs, 24 Masters, and 6 Postdocs have already graduated/completed their term. Currently, Prof. Kumar is supervising 8 PhDs, 0 PostDoc, and 1 Masters. Among his 27 PhD graduates, 8 are in academia (1 in Iowa, 1 in Texas, 1 in Michigan, 1 in Florida, 2 in Kentucky, and 2 in Jordan), 2 PhDs have established their Start-ups, while the remaining 17 are contributing in Industrial R&D ranging from: Aeronautics (GE, Honeywell, Rockwell, SpaceX), Automotive and Robotics (GM, Bright Garden Robotics, Magnatech Inc.), Computing and Software (Adobe, Amazon, Microsoft, Simpli.fi, Advance Test Concepts), Bioinformatics (Anthem.ai), Hardware (AMD, Skyworks, Intel), Energy (California ISO, Eaton). 5 of his 6 Postdocs are his own PhD students, and a 6th Postdoc is now placed in Biodevices company (Medtronic).
PhD Students
Alumni
PhD Students
Ramij Raja Hossain
Currently: PNNL, WA
Thesis: Advanced Model Predictive Control Techniques in Real-time Operations and Control of Power Systems, ECE, ISU, Nov 2023
Soumyabrata Talukder
Currently: Eaton, CO
Thesis: Robust safety and stability of learning-based optimal controllers, ECE, ISU, Jul 2023
Souvik Kundu
Currently: Intel Corp., CA
Thesis: Opto-chemical biosensor development, and analytics for point-of-care applications, ECE, ISU, Jul 2023
Madhav Pathak
Currently: Faculty, IIT Kanpur, India
Thesis: Synchronous switched circuits for enhanced energy extraction from triboelectric kinetic energy harvesters, ECE, ISU, Dec 2022
Anupam Bhar
Currently: Center for Survey and Statistical Methods, Iowa State University
Thesis: Towards sustainable Food-Energy-Water security nexus of farms: Use of agriculture model for precision decision making, ECE, ISU, Mar 2021
Bhuwan Kashyap
Currently: Skyworks, Inc
Thesis: Sensing for sustainable agriculture with focus on developing technologies for monitoring plant stress, ECE, ISU, Jun 2021
Alaa T. Al-Ghazo
Currently: Faculty, University of Hartford
Thesis: A framework for Cybersecurity of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Systems and Industrial Control Systems (ICS), ECE, ISU, Nov 2019
Shawana Tabassum
Currently: Faculty, Univ. of Texas, Tyler, TX
Thesis: Nano-structure-based optical sensors fabrication and validation to gas sensing applications, ECE, ISU, Nov 2018
Zhen Xu
Currently: Bright Dream Robotics, a subsidiary of Country Garden, China
Thesis: High-throughput microfluidic assay devices for culturing of soybean and microalgae and microfluidic electrophoretic ion nutrient sensor, ECE, ISU, Apr 2018
Hao Ren
Currently: Honeywell Aerospace, Advanced Technology Division
Thesis: Model-based compositional verification approaches and tools development for cyber-physical systems, ECE, ISU, Mar 2018
Mariam Ibrahim
Currently: Faculty, German Jordanian University
Thesis: Metrics for Secrecy and Resilience in Cyber-Physical-Systems, ECE, ISU, Jun 2016
Kanishka Aman Singh
Currently: Founding member and COO, MCARTecg, Inc.
Thesis: A broadband bistable piezoelectric cantilever-based vibration energy harvester with nonlinear high power extraction, ECE, ISU, Dec 2015
Jun Chen
Currently: Faculty, Oakland University
Thesis: Failure diagnosis and prognosis in stochastic discrete-event and cyber-physical systems, ECE, ISU, Aug 2014
Gunjan Pandey
Currently: SpaceX, CA
Thesis: Development of impedance spectroscopy based in-situ, self-calibrating, on-board wireless sensor with inbuilt metamaterial inspired small antenna for constituent detection in multi-phase mixtures like soil, ECE, ISU, Feb 2014
Meng Li
Currently: GE Research, Schenectady, NY
Thesis: A model-based approach to automated test generation and error localization for Simulink/Stateflow, ECE, ISU, Nov 2013
Herman Sahota
Currently: NVIDIA
Thesis: Wireless sensor network for precision agriculture: Design, Performance Modeling and Evaluation, and Node Localization, ECE, ISU, Jul 2013
Songyan Xu
Currently: Microsoft, Redmond, WA
Thesis: Control and diagnosis of real-time systems under finite-precision measurement of time, ECE, ISU, Nov 2010
Wen Qin
Currently: Simpli.fi, Dallas, TX
Thesis: Fault-tolerant supervisory control of discrete-event systems, ECE, ISU, Mar 2009
Licheng Jin
Currently: California ISO, Sacramento, CA
Thesis: Reachability and model prediction based system protection schemes for power systems, ECE, ISU, Mar 2009
Jing Huang
Currently: AMD
Thesis: Directed control of discrete event systems, ECE, ISU, Feb 2009
Saayan Mitra
Currently: Adobe, San Jose, CA
Thesis: I/O-Automata based formal approach to Web Services Choreography, ECE, ISU, Jan 2009
Changyan Zhou
Currently: UIUC, Industrial and Systems Eng., Urbana-Champaign as Visiting Prof.; now with Magnatech Inc
Thesis: Supervisory control of discrete event systems for bisimulation or simulation equivalence, ECE, ISU, May 2006
Siddhartha Bhattacharyya
Currently: Faculty, Florida Institute of Technology
Thesis: HIERARCHICAL HYBRID-MODEL BASED DESIGN, VERIFICATION, SIMULATION, AND SYNTHESIS OF MISSION CONTROL FOR AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLES, ECE, Univ. of KY, Jul 2005
Wenbin Qiu
Currently: Founder, 3D Maker World, Overland Park, KS
Thesis: Decentralized/distributed failure diagnosis and supervisory control of discrete event systems, ECE, ISU, May 2005
Jeffrey Ashley
Currently: Univ. of Kentucky, ECE Dept. Lexington, KY
Thesis: DIAGNOSIS OF CONDITION SYSTEMS, ECE, Univ. of KY, Feb 2004
Zhongdong Huang
Currently: LHP Software, Indianapolis, IN
Thesis: RULES BASED MODELING OF DISCRETE EVENT SYSTEMS WITH FAULTS AND THEIR DIAGNOSIS, ECE, Univ. of KY, Aug 2003
Vigyan Chandra
Currently: Faculty, Eastern Kentucky University, Technology Dept.,Richmond, KY
Thesis: New formalisms for modeling discrete event systems and their interactions, ECE, Univ. of KY, Apr 2002
Shengbing Jiang
Currently: GM R&D, Warren, MI
Thesis: SUPERVISORY CONTROL AND FAILURE DIAGNOSIS OF DISCRETE EVENT SYSTEMS: A TEMPORAL LOGIC APPROACH, ECE, Univ. of KY, Apr 2002
MS Students
Souvik Kundu
Currently: Continued as PhD in ECE, ISU
Thesis: , ECE, ISU, April 2019
Shawana Tabassum
Currently: Continued as PhD student in ECE, ISU
Thesis: , ECE, ISU, June 2018
Lucas Wagner
Currently: Amazon Web Services
Thesis: SIMPAL: A Compositional Reasoning Framework for Imperative Programs, ECE, ISU, April 2017
Karen (Kim) Wang
Currently: works at Employers in Reno, NV
Thesis: A Soil Sensor Graphical User Interface, ECE, ISU, Dec. 2014
Daniel Humke
Currently: John Deere, Waterloo, IA
Thesis: Analysis of multivariable controller designs for diesel engine air system control, ECE, ISU, May 2013
Matthew Jeschke
Currently: Boston Scientific, Minneapolis, MN
Thesis: Modern Embedded Systems Design: Survey of Tools, Techniques, and Current Practices, ECE, ISU, Fall 2007
Gregory P. Stamp
Currently: Boston Scientific, Minneapolis, MN
Thesis: DECADA: tool for discrete-event control and diagnosis analyzer, ECE, ISU, Fall 2006
Joshua M. Olson
Currently: Raytheon, Tuscon, AZ
Thesis: Modeling of a discrete event manufacturing plant and design and implementation of controller using LabVIEW and programmable logic controller, ECE, ISU, April 2005
Vigyan Chandra
Currently: Eastern Kentucky Univ., Richmond, KY
Thesis: Automated Extraction of a Controller from a Supervisor in Discrete Event Systems, Mfg., Univ. of KY, August 2003
Zhen Yu
Currently: Ericsson, San Jose, CA
Thesis: Enhancements of CINET fuzzy classifier, ECE, ISU, April 2003
Siddhartha Bhattacharyya
Currently: KY State University, currently at Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, IA
Thesis: Discrete event approach to network fault management, ECE, ISU, April 2003
Huang Zhongdong
Currently: currently with LHP Software, Indianapolis, IN
Thesis: Coal Segregation Control for Meeting Homogeneity Standards, ECE, Univ. of KY, July 2002
Satya R. Mohanty
Currently: Cisco
Thesis: On the design of controllers for discrete event systems : an optimization based theory, ECE, Univ. of KY, January 1999
Siva Gopala Namburi
Currently: Array Networks, Milpitas, CA
Thesis: Design and analysis of multiprotocol converter for multiple flow control protocols : a discrete event systems approach, ECE, Univ. of KY, December 1998
Bharath Orunganti
Currently: VP, Q2, Austin, Tx
Thesis: A graphical user interface for discrete event control algorithms and their applications, ECE, Univ. of KY, October 1997
Vigyan Chandra
Currently: Eastern Kentucky Univ., Richmond, KY
Thesis: Design, discrete event modeling & control of a miniature "LEGO" assembly line, ECE, Univ. of KY, October 1997
Manoz G. Krovvidy
Currently: Qualcomm, CA
Thesis: Timed-automata based successive refinement of digital circuit design for hardware synthesis, ECE, Univ. of KY, October 1996
Zhonghui Luo
Thesis: Dynamic control for load-side electric demand management, ECE, Univ. of KY, December 1995
Sudhir Nelvagal
Currently: VP, Owl Cyber Defense
Thesis: Design of protocol converters : a discrete event systems approach, ECE, Univ. of KY, July 1995
Wai Kit Leong
Thesis: Autoplacement and autorouting in printed circuit board layout, ECE, Univ. of KY, June 1995
Steven Harris
Currently: at Lexmark, Lexington, KY
Thesis: Temperature control of a ceramic slab heater for a laser printer, ECE, Univ. of KY, April 1995
Ravichander Sekar
Thesis: Stability and Tolerance in Discrete Event Systems, ECE, Univ. of KY, September 1994
Hok M. Cheung
Thesis: Control of discrete event systems using limited lookahead based on estimation, ECE, Univ. of KY, December 1993
Haomin Li
Currently: Lexmark, Lexington, KY
Thesis: Optimization on electronic assembly machine, ECE, Univ. of KY, September 1993
Open Positions
We have open positions for fully-funded PhD in the broad research areas of the group that span Data-Analytics/ML, Security, CPS/Formal Methods, Controls, Sensors, Energy and Agricultural Systems, Bio-applications. Of special interest are research in the areas of Data-Analytics/ML with use in Controls, Security, Ambient Energy Harvesting and IoT Sensors, that will also engage in intellectual property endeavors, to cultivate an overall expertise in research as well as entrepreneurship. These works will build on our past research (see Patents/Publications).
Prospective PhD students are encouraged write to Prof. Kumar with their CV and a statement of interest/purpose at rkumar@iastate.edu to inform and discuss applying for admission and assistantship. Note the ISU graduate college deadline for applying for the Fall term (starting 3rd week of August) is usually Jan 15 and for Spring term (starting 2nd week of January) is June 15, but a later date can also be possible (you can just write to Prof. Kumar).