Dr. Appa Anjanappa, Professor, obtained his BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from India and later obtained his Ph.D. specializing in Systems & Design from the University of Maryland, College Park, USA. He worked as a Design Engineer in India for five years before starting his Ph.D. program. After his graduation, he joined the University of Maryland faculty.

There, he developed an active research program in Mechatronics and simultaneously developed and taught courses primarily in the areas of design, controls, and manufacturing for more than 25 years. His primary research interests are in mechatronics [sensors, control, and actuators], smart materials, MEMS devices, and design. He has supervised over 10 doctoral students and over 30 master’s students. He has edited three books and has published over 100 technical papers in journals and conference proceedings. He has conducted research funded by National Science Foundation, Army Research Office, NASA, DARPA, MIPS, Black and Decker, Danaher, and many other entities. He holds over 20 patents with several of them resulting in commercial products.

He started a company, Creative Systems and Design, LLC, Baltimore, in the year 2004, leveraging his extensive experience in research and development of products from concept-to-market. Since then he expanded his entrepreneurship by setting up an Engineering Services company in India, and manufacturing companies in China and India. Currently he is the CEO across multiple partnering companies that focus on providing the shortest and most cost-effective path from concept-to-market. This is made possible through a seamless transition between all phases of development, one-point of contact for project management, leveraging of global presence, and adapting to changing needs with agility.