Adjunct Faculty
International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems,
Western Sydney University, Australia

Biography

Dr. Chetan Singh Thakur (Senior Member, IEEE) received his Ph.D. in neuromorphic engineering from the MARCS Research Institute (Brain, Behaviour, and Development), Western Sydney University in 2016, under the guidance of Prof. André van Schaik. He completed his M.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 2007 and later worked as a research fellow at Johns Hopkins University with Prof. Ralph Etienne-Cummings and Prof. Ernst Niebur for a year before joining IISc as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Thakur also has extensive industrial experience, having worked for six years at Texas Instruments, Singapore, as a Senior Integrated Circuit Design Engineer, designing IPs for mobile processors. Trained by world leaders in neuromorphic engineering, his research expertise includes neuromorphic computing, mixed-signal VLSI systems, computational neuroscience, probabilistic signal processing, and machine learning. His primary interest is in understanding the brain's signal processing and using that knowledge to develop novel intelligent systems.

Associated with the following research clusters at IISc

• Brain, Computation, and Data Research Group
• Initiative on Quantum Technologies
• Artificial Intelligence Group (AI@IISc)
• Microelectronics & VLSI Design

Awards and Recognition

• Young Investigator Award – Pratiksha Trust
• Early Career Research Award – Science and Engineering Research Board, India
• Inspire Faculty Award – Department of Science and Technology, India
• Abdul Kalam Innovation Award – Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE)

Editorial Roles

• Editorial Board Member – Neuromorphic Computing and Engineering (IOP Publishing)
• Associate Editor – Frontiers in Neuroscience (Neuromorphic Section)

Subhojit is an Electrical Engineer by training, an Embedded Systems Leader by profession and a tinkerer by habit. He holds a Dual Degree [ B.Tech (H) + M.Tech ] from IIT Kharagpur [2004] and is an Indian National Mathematics Olympiad Awardee [1998]. He has special interest in mathematics , particularly Geometry , Algebra and Calculus. He has designed a variety of systems including Swarm Robotic Toys, Low Power Wide Area Network nodes, Wifi scanner, Telematics for Automotive , Head Unit for Automotive, Robotic Storage system , Brain Computer Interface and a Myoelectric Prosthetic Arm. He has special interest towards low power , constrained systems design. Subhojit is also a startup enthusiast having attempted starting up multiple times. He actively mentors and collaborates with young startups presently. Subhojit also actively consults startups with Electronic System Design requirements.

Kalipatnapu Shantharam is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the NeuRonICS Lab, Indian Institute of Science (IISc). He completed his Ph.D. in the Department of Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, where he specialized in the development of VLSI architectures for error correction decoders. His doctoral research addressed critical challenges in designing hardware-efficient decoding algorithms for next-generation communication systems. Apart from his expertise in VLSI architectures, Shantharam's research contributions extend to advanced signal processing systems and machine learning applications in hardware. He has published multiple papers in reputed journals and conferences and is passionate about bridging the gap between theoretical algorithms and their practical VLSI implementations. At the NeuRonICS Lab, IISc, he continues to focus on innovative hardware design for signal processing and machine learning, contributing significantly to the lab's vision of developing brain-inspired and energy-efficient electronic systems.

Banhimitra Kundu is currently pursuing his PhD at the NeuRonICS Lab, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), where he is working on neuromorphic computing and its hardware implementations. He holds a B.Tech degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) from the West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT). Prior to joining IISc, he gained a decade of extensive industry experience at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), where he was involved in the development of mission-critical systems for military aircraft, including mission computers and control computers. His work at HAL spanned across hardware design, analog sensor conditioning systems, single board computers using SoCs, and software development for RTOS and non-RTOS environments. Currently, Banhimitra's research is focused on the development of a handheld ultrasound device, exploring novel beamforming algorithms aimed at advancing portable ultrasound technology.

Ankita Nandi is a PhD student at the NeuRonICS Lab, Indian Institute of Science (IISc). She completed her B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Meghalaya in 2018, earning both the President's Gold Medal and Institute Gold Medal for her academic excellence. She further pursued her M.Tech at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar, where she was a part of the nanoDC lab, working on approximate computing for energy-efficient image processing circuits. Ankita's research interests are centered around low-power circuit design for neuromorphic systems, mixed-mode computing, and in-memory computing architectures. She is proficient in MATLAB, Verilog, and C programming, and continues to develop innovative design techniques for efficient neuromorphic hardware.

Madhuvanthi Srivatsav R is a PhD student at the NeuRonICS Lab, IISc Bangalore. She completed her B.Tech (Hons.) and M.Tech in VLSI and Electronics Systems Design from the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design, and Manufacturing (IIITDM) Kancheepuram. She was the recipient of the Institute Gold Medal for being the All-Rounder of her graduating batch. After her academic achievements, she gained practical industry experience at SiFive, Bangalore, working in physical design. Her research interests include low-power VLSI design, neuromorphic computing, and hardware implementation of machine learning algorithms. She is passionate about developing energy-efficient circuits that bridge the gap between software intelligence and hardware constraints.

Ketan Sanjay Chaudhari is a PhD student at the NeuRonICS Lab, Indian Institute of Science (IISc). He completed his B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati in 2021. Proficient in Matlab, Verilog, VHDL, and Python, Ketan's research interests span across Digital VLSI design, Neural Networks, and the hardware implementation of brain-inspired algorithms. His research aims to develop highly optimized and efficient hardware systems capable of running complex neural network algorithms for edge computing applications.

Shankaranarayanan H is a PhD student at the NeuRonICS Lab, IISc Bangalore. He completed his B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT), Surat, and his M.Tech in VLSI and Embedded Systems from the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), Pune. During his undergraduate studies, he and his team were awarded the TEQIP-III grant for developing an Autonomous Agricultural Robot. For his M.Tech dissertation, he worked at the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), Calicut, focusing on developing beamforming algorithms for Ultrasound Imaging Systems. His current research focuses on Digital VLSI design, signal processing, and implementing FPGA-based hardware accelerators for machine learning applications.

Pradeep Kumar Gautam is a PhD student at the NeuRonICS Lab, IISc Bangalore, and a Scientist at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). He holds a B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering from NIT Jaipur. With his extensive experience at DRDO, including his work at the Processor Design Center (ANURAG) and Centre for Artificial Intelligence (CAIR), Pradeep specializes in processor architecture customization and multi-core network processor design. His current research is focused on developing hardware-accelerated machine learning architectures for embedded and edge computing systems, targeting faster and energy-efficient inference.

Satyapreet Singh Yadav is a PhD student in the Brain and Artificial Intelligence program at the NeuRonICS Lab, IISc Bangalore. She completed her Master's from IISc and her B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Calicut. Before joining IISc, she worked for eight years as a Scientist at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), where she was involved in projects related to aerospace and space applications. Her research focuses on brain-inspired computing, machine learning, radar signal processing, and embedded system design for real-world edge intelligence solutions.

Muthiah S is a PhD student at the NeuRonICS Lab, IISc Bangalore. He completed his B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, and his M.Tech in Electronics Systems Design from the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design, and Manufacturing (IIITDM). Muthiah was the recipient of the Institute Gold Medal for best postgraduate student and the Institute Silver Medal for highest CGPA at IIITDM. Before joining IISc, he worked at HP Inc. in the Analytics and Advanced Computing Lab. His research interests include low-power analog and mixed-signal VLSI design, neuromorphic computing, and the hardware implementation of machine learning algorithms for edge devices.

Saptarshi Maiti is a PhD student in the Brain, Computation, and Data Science program at the NeuRonICS Lab, IISc Bangalore. He completed his M.Tech in Microelectronics and VLSI Design from IISc in 2024 and his B.E. in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. Prior to his PhD, he worked as a Junior Research Fellow at the NeuRonICS Lab, contributing to the design of a Neural Decoder SoC for brain-computer interfaces. His research interests include neuromorphic engineering, brain-inspired computing, hardware-software co-design, and analog/mixed-signal IC design for low-power and high-performance edge devices.

Adithya Krishna is currently pursuing a Ph.D. jointly with the International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems (ICNS), Western Sydney University, Australia, and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, India, under the supervision of Prof. André van Schaik, Dr. Chetan Singh Thakur, and Dr. Mahesh Mehendale. His doctoral research focuses on developing energy-efficient hardware architectures that facilitate neural network processing in edge computing environments. As part of this, he developed the RAMAN Accelerator, a specialized neural engine designed for edge intelligence. His research interests span digital VLSI system design, computer architecture, stochastic computing, neuromorphic engineering, and hardware for machine learning. He was a recipient of the Summer Research Fellowship 2016 under the Indian Academy of Sciences. He has authored and co-authored multiple papers in reputed international journals and conferences. His broader vision is to design novel and efficient hardware architectures that leverage machine learning to address real-world problems across diverse domains, while building energy-efficient systems inspired by principles of brain computation.

Asutosh Ratha is a PhD Student at the NeuRonICS Lab, IISc Bangalore. He completed his B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur in 2024. Previously, he interned at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) as an EV-Powertrain intern, working on power converter design for HVDC systems. His research interests lie in analog and mixed-signal circuit design, where he focuses on building energy-efficient and innovative circuit solutions for neuromorphic applications.

Chetan P H is a Ph.D. student in the Brain, Computation, and Data Science program at the NeuRonICS Lab, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. He completed his M.Tech. in Microelectronics and VLSI Design from IISc in 2021. Prior to his doctoral studies, he worked for four years at Texas Instruments as an analog design engineer. His research interests span neuromorphic engineering, in-sensor computation, sparse sensing, and low-power analog/mixed-signal integrated circuit design.

Gitesh Kulkarni is a Masters Research Student at the NeuRonICS Lab, IISc, and a Senior Scientist at TCS Research. He completed his M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Colorado State University and his Bachelor of Engineering from Pune University. He is a passionate embedded systems designer and has several patents in edge computing and wearable devices. Gitesh led the design of the world's first industrial safety watch for the Tata Group and has worked on various innovative projects in embedded systems, computer architectures, and sensing technologies. He is an IEEE and ACM member and an active Ham radio operator, with a passion for making, tinkering, and philosophy.

Guha H is a Master's Research Student at the NeuRonICS Lab, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore. He holds a B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Ramaiah Institute of Technology. Before beginning his Master's, he worked at the NeuRonICS Lab as a Research Assistant for a year, where he was involved in digital design for hardware acceleration of neural networks. During his undergraduate studies, he developed a non-intrusive apiary management system for predicting beehive conditions using sensor data and machine learning techniques, resulting in publications at ICDSIS-2022 and ICARES-2022. Currently, Guha is working on the design and development of embedded Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (eFPGAs), with a focus on their integration into custom System-on-Chip (SoC) architectures. His research interests include digital VLSI design, FPGA architecture, and hardware acceleration.

Gurjot Singh is an M.Tech Research Student (2024-26) at the NeuRonICS Lab, IISc Bangalore. He completed his B.E. (Hons) in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from UIET – Panjab University, Chandigarh. He gained practical experience as an Analog Design Intern at SAC, ISRO, working on ultra-low-noise PLL design for NavIC integrated circuits. His research interests include neuromorphic and non-Von Neumann processor architectures and exploring alternative computing paradigms.

Sayantika Roy is currently pursuing her M.Tech in Microelectronics and VLSI Design at the Department of Electronic Systems Engineering (DESE), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. She received her B.Tech in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), Shibpur, in 2024. Her current work focuses on hardware-software co-design approaches for solving large-scale Combinatorial Optimization Problems. Her broader research interests include RTL design, FPGA/ASIC based system development, hardware accelerators and neuromorphic computing. She is particularly enthusiastic about bridging theoretical algorithms with efficient hardware implementations for real world applications.

Debasmita Deoghuria is an M.Tech student in Microelectronics and VLSI Design at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore (2024–26). She completed her B.Tech in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from Jadavpur University, Kolkata (2020–24). She is currently working under the guidance of Prof. Chetan Singh Thakur on the development of a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) Neural SoC and the design of a high-speed Neuromorphic Sampler. Her research interests include analog and RF IC design. She is skilled in Verilog, Python, and analog/RF circuit design using Cadence tools.

Hemanth is pursuing an M.Tech in Electronic Systems Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru (2024–2026). He is working on a project in the area of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) under the guidance of Dr. Chetan Singh Thakur. He completed his B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the National Institute of Technology Calicut (NITC) in 2022. Following his graduation, he worked as a hardware design engineer in the R&D division at Ola Electric, where he contributed to the design and development of vehicle control units for various electric vehicle projects. His areas of interest include digital and analog circuit design, embedded systems, and system-level design of electronic systems.

Tanisha Bhatia is currently pursuing M.Tech in Microelectronics and VLSI Design at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore (2024–2026). She holds a Bachelor's degree in Avionics from the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST). With over 12 years of experience as a scientist at ISRO, she has contributed to the design and development of digital systems for key missions, including lunar landers and space docking systems. Her research interests lie in RTL design, SoC architectures, embedded systems, and FPGA-based implementations.

Dayasagar Sahu is currently pursuing his MTech in Microelectronics and VLSI Design at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore (2024–2026). He holds a B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering from NIT Bhopal (2018–2022) and has professional experience as a Senior ASIC Physical Design Engineer at Synopsys Inc. At IISc, Dayasagar is working under the mentorship of Prof. Chetan Singh Thakur and Prof. Mahesh Mehendale on developing Compute-in-Memory SoCs tailored for neural network applications. His research interests span neuromorphic hardware and the design of AI/ML accelerators. He is proficient in Verilog, C, and Python, and has hands-on expertise in physical design using industry-standard tools from Synopsys and Cadence.

Srija Kethiri is an M.Tech student in Microelectronics and VLSI Design at the Department of Electronic Systems Engineering (DESE), Indian Institute of Science (IISc). She received her B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Osmania University in 2022. Prior to joining IISc, she worked as a Software Engineer at MathWorks. Her research interests include RTL design and ASIC/FPGA implementation of digital systems. She is proficient in Verilog, Xilinx Vivado, Cadence tools for digital circuit design, as well as C and MATLAB.

Adithya MD is a Senior Project Associate at the NeuRonICS Lab, IISc Bangalore. He focuses on developing embedded systems optimized for TinyML applications, enhancing machine learning capabilities in resource-constrained devices. Adithya co-founded IXE Tronics Private Limited, where he leads the development of embedded electronic solutions aimed at improving post-harvest crop management in processing industries. His expertise lies in hardware prototyping, firmware development, and microprocessor architecture, with proficiency in assembly and C/C++ programming. He has worked extensively with AVR, ARM, and PIC architectures, specializing in microcontroller systems, communication protocols, and user interface design.

Deependra Singh Sinsinwar is a Research Assistant at the NeuRonICS Lab, Indian Institute of Science (IISc). He earned his BS-MS integrated degree from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal (IISER-B), in 2024. During his MS thesis, he worked on developing an FPGA-based proof of concept for a neural network classification problem. His research interests focus on the design of analog and mixed-signal circuits for emerging computing systems. Currently, he is involved in designing circuits that support novel algorithms, contributing to the advancement of next-generation hardware technologies.