Student Spotlight: Sahithi Akundi

Sahithi Akundi received the American Society of Indian Engineers and Architects (ASIEA) Merit-Based Scholarship for 2024 and 2025, which supported her graduate studies. She also worked as an ADISE Intern at Dow as a Data Analytics & AI Intern, where she gained hands-on experience applying data analysis and machine learning tools to practical engineering problems in an industrial setting. Read further to learn about her PhD experience. 

What motivated you about your research?

What motivates me about my research is the chance to work on problems that connect theory with real systems. My work looks at how uncertainty and safety can be better considered in the control and optimization of energy and chemical processes. I find it meaningful to study methods that could eventually help engineers make more informed and safer operational decisions.

What is a highlight in your PhD experience and what did you take away from  the experience?

A highlight of my PhD experience has been learning to work through challenging problems alongside people from different backgrounds and areas of expertise. Through these collaborations, I’ve learned that progress often comes from asking questions, being open to feedback, and staying patient when things don’t work the first time. Another meaningful part of my PhD has been the opportunity to travel to different countries and destinations for conferences and research-related activities, which helped broaden my perspective both academically and personally.

What advice do you have for current graduate students?

My advice to current graduate students would be to take things one step at a time. It’s completely normal to feel unsure or stuck during your PhD—honestly, that feeling doesn’t go away, it just shows up in more sophisticated forms as a researcher. Asking for help, staying curious, and giving yourself time to learn makes the process a lot more manageable.

Please feel free to tell us a fun fact about yourself. 

My brain likes to solve research problems in my sleep, usually in my dreams, and then refuses to share the solution once I wake up.