Pavithra Prabhakar

Pavithra Prabhakar is a Professor of Computer Science and Peggy and Gary Edwards Chair in Engineering at Kansas State University (KSU). She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has held roles including postdoctoral positions at Caltech and directorships at the IMDEA Software Institute. Her research focuses on formal analysis of autonomous and cyber-physical systems, with applications in aerospace, automotive, and agricultural automation. She has authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles and received prestigious awards such as the NSF CAREER Award and ONR Young Investigator Award.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2011)
• M.S. in Applied Mathematics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2010)
• M.S. in Computer Science and Automation, Indian Institute of Science (2006)
• B.Tech. in Computer Science and Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal (2004)

Research Interests:

Her work emphasizes formal verification and synthesis of autonomous systems, integrating ideas from control theory, formal methods, and AI. Key areas include stability analysis of hybrid systems, safety-critical AI components, and applications in robotics and CPS. Recent projects involve robust analysis of systems with machine learning components.

Awards and Contributions:

In addition to her academic roles, Dr. Prabhakar serves as a Program Director at the NSF CISE Directorate, managing over $100M in CPS and AI-related grants. Her leadership in conferences like HSCC and FORMATS reflects her influence in the field. Her work has been funded by NSF, ONR, NASA, USDA, and industry partners like Amazon.

Advising and Grants:

She advises PhD and postdoctoral researchers, with notable student achievements like Ratan Lal’s Excellence in Research Award. Her grants include NSF core programs on formal methods and CPS, as well as NASA projects on certifiable autopilots.

Labs and Teams:

Her research group focuses on formal methods for CPS, with collaborations in robotics, aerospace, and agricultural automation. She leads initiatives like the Center for Trustworthy AI-enabled Robotic and Autonomous Systems at KSU.