Across the board, implementing technology in global industries is changing how the world works; automation can be used to streamline human interactions and improve customer support processing speeds, data lakes enable heightened data processing capabilities and boost analytical insights, and artificial intelligence makes it possible to train technology to improve over time. While it's not uncommon to see industry specialists become experts in technology and how it applies to their specific niche, it is uncommon to see a technology specialist apply technological solutions to solve problems across industries, but that's exactly what Dr. Nikhitha Yathiraju has spent her career doing.

Dr. Nikhitha Yathiraju
Dr. Nikhitha Yathiraju Dr. Nikhitha Yathiraju

Dr. Yathiraju graduated with a degree in electronics communication and engineering from a university in her home country of India before making the jump to the United States to further her education. While obtaining a master's degree in computer science, she worked as a teaching assistant at Silicon Valley University. Her first exposure to being on the other side of higher education, this experience ignited a passion in her to conduct research, inspire researchers coming up behind her, and build the foundation for the researchers of the future.

Authoring a number of research papers, filing patents, and applying technology to unique use cases have been the consistent aspects of Dr. Yathiraju's professional journey, but the industries where her work is used vary widely. For instance, one of her proudest career moments was when she successfully patented automation technology to be used in agricultural irrigation settings. Irrigation is a major challenge for farmers and food producers all over the globe, but by applying technology like Dr. Yathiraju's, the pain points associated with efficient irrigation are mitigated.

Very far outside the scope of farming and agriculture, Dr. Yathiraju's recent research paper focuses on the use of federated learning in blockchain-based networks to boost the privacy protections of user information. With the Internet of Things (IoT) growing, it's important to ensure robust security measures are taken, and Dr. Yathiraju's research provides a revolutionary way to think about data privacy and solve for it in complex digital ecosystems. With multiple / considerable / substantive citations in the last year, this specific research paper has served as a launchpad for spinoff projects and further research on the topic.

Considering cybersecurity and data privacy in a different setting, Dr. Yathiraju delved into cybersecurity in developing nations and how cybersecurity attacks in these countries contribute to global security challenges. Examining social engineering attacks, which involve human involvement in the deceit of other humans in order to damage technical systems, Dr. Yathiraju published common types of attacks and methods of avoiding the fallout from these attacks. By making people aware of what to look out for, she's not only making developing nations safer but boosting global security levels that impact all of us.

At the beginning of 2023, Dr. Yathiraju published a solo research paper that looked at the impact the Internet of Things will have on today's healthcare industry in a post-Covid-19 environment. Her detailed understanding of the IoT and its capabilities allows her to apply that knowledge in different settings, including healthcare, with specific context, Covid-19 in this case. She argues that IoT can enable personalized diagnostics, reduce treatment times, and battle ever-rising healthcare costs. In a time when healthcare is a widely contested resource, Dr. Yathiraju illustrates how technology can resolve many challenges.

As an Information Technology expert, specialized in AI in Cloud Technologies and Cybersecurity, Dr. Yathiraju works as a lead automation engineer at Pacific Gas & Electric, where she has helped change the energy industry through the use of technology for nearly 5 years. Her research, as discussed above, was largely conducted during her Ph.D. studies at the University of Cumberlands, which she finished while working in a professional setting. Dynamic, bold, and innovative, Dr. Yathiraju has an impact on every space she sets foot in. She's committed to changing the world and continuing to prove the importance of research along the way.