Smitha Rao

Smitha Rao is an accomplished academic and researcher with extensive experience in the field of biological sciences and engineering. At Michigan Technological University since August 2015, Smitha holds the position of Affiliated Associate Professor and serves as co-lead for the Women in Academy initiative and co-leader of the Advocates and Allies Advisory Board. Previous roles include Associate Professor and Assistant Professor, in addition to a tenure at UT Arlington from January 2012 to July 2015 as a Faculty Associate-Research, where Smitha instructed courses on Advanced Microelectromechanical Systems. Early career contributions include serving as Principal Investigator at Med-Worx, developing innovative sensing systems, and conducting research as a Graduate Research Associate at both the University of Texas at Arlington and the Automation & Robotics Research Institute, focusing on MEMS devices and implantable systems. Smitha earned a PhD and MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington.