Aparna Varde

Dr. Aparna Varde is a tenured Associate Professor in the School of Computing at Montclair State University (MSU), NJ. She also serves as Associate Director of the Clean Energy and Sustainability Analytics Research Center (CESAC) and previously held roles as Inaugural Associate Director for Graduate Studies and Research in SoC. She has conducted research visits at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Germany and holds degrees from the University of Bombay (BE), Worcester Polytechnic Institute (MS/PhD).

Her research focuses on AI, Machine Learning, Data Mining, Environmental Computing, and Robotics. Notable projects include GreenDSS (green data center decision support), CSK-based robotics (e.g., CSK-Detector and Robo-CSK-Organizer), and offshore wind energy analysis. She has secured over $2M in grants from PSE&G, NSF, NOAA, and NJEDA. Dr. Varde advises PhD students (e.g., Xu Du, Michael Pawlish) and serves on editorial/review boards for IEEE/ACM journals. She has received 9 best paper awards at IEEE conferences and is recognized as an outstanding researcher by USCIS.

• Education: BE (University of Bombay), MS/PhD (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)
• Awards: 9 best paper awards at IEEE conferences, NSF/NOAA grants, Fulbright mentorship
• Key Projects: Smart Cities policy analysis, autonomous vehicle CSK integration, drone-based environmental monitoring

Her work spans 150+ publications in IEEE/ACM venues and addresses UN Sustainable Development Goals through smart living apps (e.g., food donation platforms, hydro-climate tools). Collaborations include MPII Germany, IBM Research, and Queensland University of Technology.