PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

P. Rajalakshmi

Also known as Rajalakshmi Pachamuthu, Rajalakshmi P

P. Rajalakshmi is a professor of electrical engineering at IIT Hyderabad, affiliate faculty in its Department of Artificial Intelligence and Director of the NMICPS TiHAN Foundation, with research interests in AI for the Internet of Things, embedded systems and autonomous navigation. At IEEE Healthcom 2018, she received an Outstanding Paper Award for a deep-learning framework that classifies fatty liver disease in ultrasound imaging, and she holds a PhD from IIT Madras. In March 2020, she became Project Director of the Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation (TiHAN), where a team of over 100 engineers built India's first 14-seater and 6-seater driverless shuttles, launched in August 2023. She was the first appointee to the Cyient Chair in Future Communications in 2021 and won the FTCCI Excellence in Science and Technology (Individual) Award in 2025.

Now at
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad and NMICPS TiHAN Foundation

Timeline

  1. 2009

    An IETE-M N Saha Memorial Award

    Her journal paper "Analytical Performance Computation for the Optical Networks with Wavelength converters" receives the IETE-M N Saha Memorial Award for the best application-oriented paper of 2009.

  2. 2016

    Young Faculty Fellowship and IoT medal

    In January 2016, she begins a five-year Young Faculty Research Fellowship under the Visvesvaraya PhD scheme for Electronics and IT of DeitY. Her Ultra Compact IoT Enabled Power Monitor Device wins a bronze medal at the Seoul International Invention Fair in 2016.

  3. 2018

    Deep learning for fatty liver

    At IEEE Healthcom 2018, she receives an Outstanding Paper Award for a computer-aided diagnosis framework that uses deep learning to classify fatty liver disease in ultrasound imaging.

  4. March 2020

    Project Director of TiHAN

    In March 2020, she becomes Project Director of the Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation (TiHAN) at IIT Hyderabad, funded for eight years by the Department of Science and Technology under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems. The hub works on autonomous navigation and data acquisition systems such as UAVs and RoVs.

  5. 2021

    Cyient Chair in Future Communications

    In June 2021, Cyient announces an endowed chair in new-age communications at IIT Hyderabad, and she is selected as its first appointee. The Cyient Chair in Future Communication runs from April 2021 for three years.

  6. 2022–2023

    TiHAN chair and driverless shuttles

    TiHAN establishes a chair in autonomous navigation in 2022, with Srikanth Saripalli of Texas A&M University as its first appointee, and she welcomes the appointment as Project Director. In August 2023, the 14-seater and 6-seater driverless shuttles built by the team of over 100 engineers she leads begin carrying people around the IIT Hyderabad campus.

  7. 2025

    FTCCI science award, ICRAS prize

    In July 2025, she wins the Federation of Telangana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI) Excellence in Science and Technology (Individual) Award. At the 9th International Conference on Robotics and Automation Sciences in Osaka in June 2025, a paper on real-time path planning and obstacle avoidance for dynamic objects wins a Best Paper Award.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor and TiHAN Foundation director

    She is Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Hyderabad, affiliate faculty in its Department of Artificial Intelligence, and Director of the NMICPS TiHAN Foundation. She holds a PhD from IIT Madras and lists AI for the Internet of Things and embedded systems among her research interests. She joins the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society's Committee on Drones in 2022.

Career

  1. Since 2020Indian Institute of Technology HyderabadProfessor, Cyient Chair in Future Communication
  2. NowNMICPS TiHAN FoundationDirector

Education

  1. IIT MadrasPhD

From the biography.

  1. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes P. Rajalakshmi. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  3. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIIncludes IIT Madras. We estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes IIT Madras. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of P. Rajalakshmi yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. P. Rajalakshmi, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Hyderabad people.iith.ac.in. Checked 22 October 2026.
  2. P. Rajalakshmi | IEEE Vehicular Technology Society vtsociety.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  3. IIT Hyderabad’s Technology Innovation Hub establishes TiHAN chair in autonomous navigation news.careers360.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  4. Cyient establishes new-age communication chair at IIT-H - Telangana Today telanganatoday.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  5. IIT Hyderabad Pioneers Driverless Vehicles | TiHAN Project samayajyothi.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  6. Rajalakshmi P. | IIT Hyderabad iith.ac.in. Checked 22 October 2026.
  7. P. Rajalakshmi, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Hyderabad people.iith.ac.in. Checked 22 October 2026.
  8. Faculty – Department of Artificial Intelligence ai.iith.ac.in. Checked 22 October 2026.