Sundaraja Sitharama Iyengar (born 26 August 1947) is an
Indian-American
Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, who are also referred to as "Indians" or "Am ...
computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who specializes in the academic study of computer science.
Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation. Although computer scientists can also focus their work and research on ...
and
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
recognized for his pioneering contributions to
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
,
sensor networks
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) refer to networks of spatially dispersed and dedicated sensors that monitor and record the physical conditions of the environment and forward the collected data to a central location. WSNs can measure environmental ...
,
robotics
Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots.
Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...
,
cybersecurity
Computer security (also cybersecurity, digital security, or information technology (IT) security) is a subdiscipline within the field of information security. It consists of the protection of computer software, systems and networks from thr ...
, and
digital forensics
Digital forensics (sometimes known as digital forensic science) is a branch of forensic science encompassing the recovery, investigation, examination, and analysis of material found in digital devices, often in relation to mobile devices and com ...
. He is currently
Distinguished University Professor
Professors in the United States commonly occupy any of several positions of teaching and research within a college or university. In the U.S., the word "professor" is often used to refer to anyone who teaches at a college of university level at ...
and Director of the Center of Excellence in Digital Forensics at
Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...
(FIU) in
Miami, Florida
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
. Iyengar is widely known for co-developing the
Brooks–Iyengar algorithm
The Brooks–Iyengar algorithm or FuseCPA Algorithm or Brooks–Iyengar hybrid algorithm is a distributed algorithm that improves both the precision and accuracy of the interval measurements taken by a distributed sensor network, even in the presen ...
, a foundational method in
fault-tolerant
Fault tolerance is the ability of a system to maintain proper operation despite failures or faults in one or more of its components. This capability is essential for high-availability, mission-critical, or even life-critical systems.
Fault to ...
sensor fusion
Sensor fusion is a process of combining sensor data or data derived from disparate sources so that the resulting information has less uncertainty than would be possible if these sources were used individually. For instance, one could potentially o ...
, and has authored over 650
scholarly publications and more than 32 books. He was honored as the ‘Founding Father of AI Science in Digital Forensics’ by the Soft Computing Research Society in February 2025.
Early life and education
Iyengar was born in
Hemmige, a village by the
Kaveri River
The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari and Krishna.
The catchment area of the Kaveri basin is estimated to be and encompasses the states o ...
in
Karnataka, India
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
, and moved to
Bangalore
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
with his family in 1949. He received a
Bachelor of Engineering
A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a college graduate majoring in an engineering discipline at a higher education institution.
In the United Kingdom, a Ba ...
degree in
Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...
from
University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering
UVCE (University of Visvesvaraya College of Engineering) is a premier public university under the Govt of Karnataka, at Bangalore. The Government of Karnataka, Govt of Karnataka has declared it as an Institution of State Eminence for its contri ...
(UVCE) in 1968 and a
Master of Engineering
A Master of Engineering (abbreviated MEng, ME, M.E. or M.Eng.) is a Professional degree, professional master's degree in the field of engineering.
International variations
Australia
In Australia, the Master of Engineering degree is a research ...
from the
Indian Institute of Science
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a Public university, public, Deemed university, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The ...
(IISc) in 1970. He earned his
Ph.D. in Engineering from
Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...
in 1974. He has also received several honorary doctorates, including D.Sc. degrees from
Siddhartha University
Siddhārtha is the male given name of the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha.
Siddhartha, Siddartha, or Siddharth may also refer to:
Books
* ''Siddhartha'' (novel), about a fictional contemporary of the Buddha, by Hermann Hesse
* ''Siddhartha ...
(2024),
Poznan University of Technology (2023), and
Techno Global University (2010), and a Ph.D. (honoris causa) from
Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications (2017).
[Curriculum Vita of Dr. Iyengar](_blank)
Florida International University, USA, 13 Nov 2016.
Career
From 1992 to 2011, Iyengar served as the Roy Paul Daniels Professor and Chair of the Department of Computer Science at
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
(LSU), where he also founded the Robotics Research Laboratory. At FIU, he has served as Ryder Professor and Director of the School of Computing and Information Sciences (2011–2020) and Distinguished University Professor since 2018. He currently directs the Discovery Lab and the U.S. Army-funded Center of Excellence in Digital Forensics.
He also holds honorary Distinguished Chair Professorships at
National Forensics Sciences University,
Jain University
Jain (Deemed-to-be University), is a deemed university based in Bengaluru. In August 2019, Jain (Deemed-to-be University) opened its off campus in Kochi, Kerala.
History
Jain (Deemed-to-be University) originates from Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jai ...
,
PES University
People's Education Society University (PESU), is a private university in Bengaluru, India. Established in 1988, it is focused on the following educational areas: Engineering, Management, Law, Economics, Commerce, Architecture, Design, Psycholog ...
, Chanakya University, and Acharya Patashala in India. He played a key role in establishing a $2.25 million US Army Funded Digital Forensics Center of Excellence in collaboration with several Universities globally.
In addition to his academic work, Iyengar has served as a technical adviser for several startups, including Assurgent Aerospace, IYENTECH Inc., Xpay Life, and Sunplus Software Technologies. He is President for Technology at Noetic Nexus. He also played a role in establishing FIU’s Tech-Station and Discovery Lab to promote research translation and entrepreneurship.
Research
Iyengar’s research spans artificial intelligence, distributed sensor networks, robotics,
bioinformatics
Bioinformatics () is an interdisciplinary field of science that develops methods and Bioinformatics software, software tools for understanding biological data, especially when the data sets are large and complex. Bioinformatics uses biology, ...
, cognitive systems, and
parallel computing
Parallel computing is a type of computing, computation in which many calculations or Process (computing), processes are carried out simultaneously. Large problems can often be divided into smaller ones, which can then be solved at the same time. ...
. He is the co-inventor of the Brooks–Iyengar algorithm, a method for fault-tolerant distributed sensor fusion widely cited in the literature. His work on grid coverage algorithms, cognitive information processing shells, and
complex event processing Event processing is a method of tracking and analyzing (processing) streams of information (data) about things that happen (events), and deriving a conclusion from them. Complex event processing (CEP) consists of a set of concepts and techniques de ...
has had broad applications in defense, healthcare, and environmental monitoring.
He has authored or co-authored more than 659 peer-reviewed publications and 32 books published by
MIT Press
The MIT Press is the university press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT Press publishes a number of academic journals and has been a pioneer in the Open Ac ...
,
Springer
Springer or springers may refer to:
Publishers
* Springer Science+Business Media, aka Springer International Publishing, a worldwide publishing group founded in 1842 in Germany formerly known as Springer-Verlag.
** Springer Nature, a multinationa ...
,
John Wiley,
CRC Press
The CRC Press, LLC is an American publishing group that specializes in producing technical books. Many of their books relate to engineering, science and mathematics. Their scope also includes books on business, forensics and information technol ...
, and others. His work has been funded by major agencies including the
National Science Foundation
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...
(NSF),
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adva ...
(DARPA),
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
,
Department of Energy
A ministry of energy or department of energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rela ...
(DOE),
Office of Naval Research
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan ...
(ONR), and the
U.S. Army Research Office. As of 2025, his h-index is 68, and he ranks among the top 2% of most-cited scientists worldwide.
Honors and recognition
Iyengar has received numerous prestigious honors, including the 2025 Distinguished Career Award from the Washington Academy of Sciences, the 2024 Karnataka Ratna Award, the 2023
Karnataka Rajyotsava Award, and the 2022
INTERPOL
The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
Lifetime Achievement Award for Digital Forensics. He received Four (4) honorary Doctorates, most recently from Poznan University of Technology,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
in May 2023. He has also been awarded three (3) Lifetime Achievement Award (INTERPOL, BHU and IEEE). He received the
IEEE
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines.
The IEEE ...
McCluskey Technical Achievement Award in 1998 and the IEEE Cybermatics Test of Time Award in 2019. Other recognitions include the Times Network NRI of the Year Award (2017), IBM Distinguished Faculty Award, and the Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Samman Medal at the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
(2013).
Iyengar is a Member of the
European Academy of Sciences
European, or Europeans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...
, Member of the European Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Life Fellow of the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines.
The IEEE has a corporate office ...
(IEEE), a Fellow of the
Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), a Fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
(AAAS), a Fellow of the Society for Design and Process Science (SDPS), a Fellow of the
National Academy of Inventors
The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) is a US non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging inventors in academia, following the model of the National Academies of the United States. It was founded at the University of South Florida in 201 ...
(NAI), Fellow of the Washington Academy of Sciences (WAS), and a Fellow of the
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) is a non-profit organization founded in 1991, and headquartered in Washington, D.C. It represents 50,000 medical and Biomedical engineering, biomedical engineers, and academic i ...
(AIMBE). He has served on editorial boards of leading journals and on review panels for NSF, NIH, and the
U.S. National Academies.
Books
* ''Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Theory and Applications for Cyber Security and Forensics'' (Springer, 2025)
* ''Mentoring Beyond AI'' (Quest Publications, 2024)
* ''Deep Learning Networks: Design, Development and Deployment'' (Springer, 2023)
* ''Oblivious Network Routing: Algorithms and Applications'' (MIT Press, 2015)
* ''Mathematical Theories of Distributed Sensor Networks'' (Springer, 2014)
His research has been published in ''
ACM Computing Surveys
''ACM Computing Surveys'' is peer-reviewed quarterly scientific journal and is published by the Association for Computing Machinery. It publishes survey articles and tutorials related to computer science and computing. The journal was established i ...
,
IEEE Transactions
The publications of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) constitute around 30% of the world literature in the electrical and electronics engineering and computer science fields, publishing well over 100 peer-reviewed journal ...
, Sensors,'' and ''Quantum Information Processing.''
Publications
* Mario Mastriani, Sundaraja Sitharama Iyengar,"Satellite quantum repeaters for a quantum Internet", Willey, pp. 113, 2020.
* Mario Mastriani, Sundaraja Sitharama Iyengar, K. J. Latesh Kumar, "Bidirectional teleportation for underwater quantum communications", Springer Nature 2021, pp. 113, 2020.
* Kianoosh G. Boroojeni, S. S. Iyengar, "Smart Grids: Security and Privacy Issues", Springer Verlag, pp. 113, 2016.
* Buke Ao, Yongcai Wang, Lu Yu, Richard Brooks, S. S. Iyengar, "On Precision Bound of Distributed Fault-Tolerant Sensor Fusion Algorithms". ACM Comput. Surv. 49 (1): 5:1–5:23. May 2016.
* S. S. Iyengar, Kianoosh G. Boroojeni, "Oblivious Network Routing: Algorithms and Applications", MIT Press, pp 200, March 2015.
* S. S. Iyengar, Kianoosh G. Boroojeni, N. Balakrishnan, "Mathematical Theories of Distributed Sensor Networks", Springer, pp 240, December 2014.
* S. S. Iyengar, S. Mukhopadhyay, C. Steinmuller, and X. Li "Preventing Future Oil Spills with Software-Based event Detection", IEEE Computer, pp: 76–78, August 2010.
File:Test of time award certificate.png, Award Certificate
File:Iyengar Gandhi Medal 550Wide.jpg, NRI Mahatma Gandhi Award, House of Lords, London
References
External links
Dr. Iyengar's web page, Florida International University, USADr. Iyengar's web page, Louisiana State University, USA*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iyengar, Sundaraja Sitharama
Living people
University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering alumni
Indian Institute of Science alumni
Mississippi State University alumni
Indian computer scientists
American computer scientists
Computer science writers
American people of Kannada descent
Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
2001 fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery
Fellows of the IEEE
Louisiana State University faculty
Florida International University faculty
1947 births
Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
Indian emigrants to the United States
American people of Indian descent
People from Mysore district
American people of Indian Tamil descent