SRL@FIT Learning Community

Anand Balu Nellippallil is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Civil Engineering at Florida Institute of Technology. Anand received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, working with Professors Farrokh Mistree and Janet K. Allen in the Systems Realization Laboratory at the University of Oklahoma (OU) in 2018. After his Ph.D., he worked as a Research Engineer II at the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS), Mississippi State University. Anand’s current research interests are focused on the integrated realization of engineered materials, products, and associated manufacturing processes with emphasis on systems-based robust design, design decision-making under uncertainty, and cloud-based design decision support. In addition to several journal and conference publications, he has co-authored two books (research monographs) published by Springer. He is passionate about a career in academia focused on creating, transmitting, and sharing knowledge, but more importantly, empowering students to develop the ability to learn how to learn and rise to their full potential.

Email: anellippallil@fit.edu

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H M Dilshad Alam Digonta is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Mechanical and Civil Engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology. Dilshad completed his B.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh, in 2019. After his B.Sc., he worked as an Assistant Engineer at Energypac Engineering Ltd. in Bangladesh for 2 and a half years. After gaining real-life work experience, Dilshad started his graduate studies and completed his M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Memphis, USA, in 2023. He is currently a Graduate Research Assistant in the Systems Realization Laboratory @ FIT. Dilshad's current research interests focus on decision support in designing the materials, products, and manufacturing processes to address the history-dependent linkage between the processes, visualizing the multilevel design space simultaneously to ensure performance under uncertainties.  He is a recipient of several awards and honors that include: Graduate Student of the Year Award for 2025 at Florida Tech, ASME CIE 2025 Graduate Student Poster Session Award, and 2024 NSF/ASME Design Essay Contest Winner. 

Email: hdigonta2023@my.fit.edu

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Mathew Baby graduated with a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering in Spring 2025. He holds a B.Tech Degree in Production Engineering from the University of Calicut, India, in 2011 and an M.Tech degree in Production Engineering from the University of Calicut, India, in 2013. After his M.Tech, he worked as an Assistant Professor at the Rajagiri School of Engineering in India for 8 years. During his doctoral studies at FIT, he worked as an Instructor and Graduate Student Assistant in the Department of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, handling various undergraduate-level courses in Mechanical  Engineering. Mathew’s research interests are focused on decision support in the design of manufacturing systems characterized by distributed decision-making, to ensure performance under conditions of uncertainties and disruptions. He is a recipient of several awards and honors that include: University ranks for B.Tech and M.Tech degrees (Second and First, respectively), Graduate Student of the Year Award for 2023 and 2024 at FIT, Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant for 2024-2025 at FIT, Paper of Distinction Award at ASME IDETC 2022,  ASME CIE 2022 Graduate Student Poster Session Award, and 2021 NSF/ASME Design Essay Contest Winner. He is passionate about continuing his career in academia and is currently employed as Postdoctoral Associate in the Manufacturing Optimization, Design, and Engineering-Education Lab (MODEL) at the University of Georgia.

Email: mbaby2021@my.fit.edu or Mathew.Baby@uga.edu

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Pooja Mukundan graduated with her MS in Mechanical Engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology, specializing in design and manufacturing. In her MS thesis, she explored alternate robust design formulation and solution space exploration strategies to manage uncertainties. She obtained her bachelor's degree in electrical and electronics engineering from APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University in India in 2020. Before starting her master's degree, Pooja worked as a test automation specialist for two years at IBM. Her research utilizes compromise Decision Support Problems (cDSP) to address the multi-level design of systems. She aspires to integrate the knowledge and skills acquired during her Master’s program into the automotive, biomedical, and manufacturing sectors of the industry.

Email: poojamukunda2023@my.fit.edu

Niharika Balaji graduated with her master's degree in Mechanical Engineering in Fall 2023. She received her bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 2019 from S J C Institute of Technology, India. After her bachelor's, she worked as an Assistant System Engineer at Tata Consultancy Services, India, for two years. Her research interests are focused on robust design methods, visualization, and exploration of design space. After MS, she intends to use her knowledge in the aerospace and automotive industries.

Email: nbalaji2022@my.fit.edu 

Danielle Garceau is an aerospace engineering student with an interest in astronautics. She is passionate about robotics, and materials science. She is a strong advocate for inclusivity in STEM fields. Her research interests include studying material behavior during manufacturing processes, with specific interests on the hot rolling and cooling processes of aluminum alloys, and observing other modifications of materials.

Email: dgarceau2021@my.fit.edu 

Emmy is a sophomore/junior in Mechanical Engineering and will be graduating in the Spring of 2025. She is currently an Undergraduate Research Assistant at SRL@FIT, working on design space visualization and exploration.  Once she receives her graduate degree, she hopes to work in the theme park industry as an engineer and designer at either Universal Creative or Walt Disney Imagineering.  She is excited to learn new skills in the lab that can eventually help in the industry.

Email: estevens2022@my.fit.edu 

Akshay Guptan is a Senior studying Mechanical Engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology. He is currently an Undergraduate Research Assistant at SRL@FIT, working on robust space exploration using decision-support constructs and tools. Akshay is looking forward to completing his undergraduate degree and pursuing higher studies in the mechanical engineering field. Following graduate school, he plans to apply his knowledge in the space, automotive and biomedical industries.

Email: aguptan2021@my.fit.edu

Jacob Broussard is a Sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology. He is currently an Undergraduate Research Assistant at SRL@FIT, working on robust design space exploration using decision support constructs and tools. Jacob is looking forward to completing his Undergraduate degree and pursuing higher studies in the Aerospace field. Following graduate school, he plans to apply his knowledge and enter the Space Industry.

Email: jbroussard2021@my.fit.edu