Aditya Sundararajan

Born in Hyderabad, India, Aditya Sundararajan developed a passion for writing, starting with small journal entries at the age of 10. He always admired his father and sister, both Ph.D.’s. Obtaining a bachelor’s degree in computer science with aspirations to pursue a career in animation, he moved to the U.S. for research opportunities and to earn a doctorate in engineering.

At FIU, Aditya met Arif Sarwat, associate professor and director of the FPL-FIU Solar Research Center. Sarwat’s area of research is in artificial intelligence and machine learning applications for the nation’s critical infrastructure of smart power grids. Aditya saw an opportunity to apply computer science to smart grids and began conducting research in the Energy, Power & Sustainability Group (EPS), led by Sarwat.

Since then, Aditya has authored and co-authored 42 technical papers, and a U.S. patent to maximize renewable energy production in a cost-efficient manner.

He was instrumental in the partnership between FIU and FPL, primarily in the solar power plant installation project at FIU’s Engineering Center, where he served as a project lead. Through advanced research, Aditya provided recommendations to FPL for their future solar projects. He also contributed in expanding the EPS Group.

Aditya interned at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), where he provided utility companies with assessments to evaluate existing security controls and improve cybersecurity for the smart grids.

Aditya has received multiple offers from federal labs, and, in his spare time, he writes thrillers. 

By Diana Hernandez-Alende
Account Manager
College of Engineering & Computing