New Faculty Spotlight: Sanmukh Kuppannagari

Assistant Professor
Department of Computer and Data Sciences

At 6 years old, Sanmukh Kuppannagari used twigs to build bridges over water filled holes in the garden so that ants and other insects could cross. As he got older and started learning more about computers, he realized he could apply his love of engineering to computer engineering and pursued a bachelor's degree and PhD in the field. 

His current research focuses on using heterogeneous computing systems, which he will apply in the classroom during a course on designing high performing AI systems, covering the computational aspects of widely used machine learning algorithms. 

"My teaching style is inspired by my experience in improv theater," he said. "I want my classes to be interactive and steered in different directions based on discussions and feedback from the students."

Learn more about Kuppannagari through the questions below. 

What is your favorite thing about engineering?

Engineering is an integral part of our lives and its manifestations are so clearly evident in our daily lives. This enables a continuous learning process that can go way beyond the boundaries of a classroom. This potential to infinitely increase my knowledge is what excites me the most.

What are you most looking forward to at Case Western Reserve University?

To work with the very talented students and faculty here to apply my research to impactful real world applications such as healthcare.

If you’re a Cleveland local, what is your favorite thing to do in Cleveland? If you’re new to Cleveland, what’re you most looking forward to exploring?

I am moving from Los Angeles and I really want to explore the Cleveland Metroparks system.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Be grateful. It works wonders for mental health. 
My favorite quote, that I came up with "Problems have their own sense of humor".