Biography
Dr. Sumit Dutta obtained his SM and PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, and his BS in Electrical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sumit's interest in the applied sciences grew when he was in high school. Inspired to apply computer science to astronomy and space science, Sumit developed his scientific programming abilities when interning at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and the US Naval Observatory. His enthusiasm for science and engineering grew when leading FIRST Robotics Team 1111 at South River High School in Edgewater, Maryland.
By the end of high school, Sumit earned the distinctions of becoming a Maryland Distinguished Scholar, Capital-Gazette Academic All-Star, a National AP Scholar, and a Board of Education Scholar in Anne Arundel County's Scholarships for Scholars.
Through the National Space Club Scholars Program, Sumit had the chance to work with NASA's astrophysicist Fred Espenak for two summers at the Goddard Space Flight Center. There, he “got his feet wet” in writing Internet applications for the scientific community. It was his second summer at NASA when he realized the scientific and societal impact he could have with his computer science strengths. Seeing that the technologies built for NASA missions often impact society in the years that follow, Sumit realized that it would be worthwhile to pursue a career in aeronautics.
Sumit's experience in space science was further enhanced when he interned for two summers at the US Naval Observatory. There, he wrote highly efficient programs to identify minor planets and double stars in the extensive USNO CCD Astrograph Catalog (UCAC).
When Sumit joined the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2007, he began investigating novel electronic devices with Professor Eric Pop's research group and realized the societal impact of physical electronics research. Thus, he directed his scientific programming knowledge toward nanotechnology studies.
Despite being a student in electrical and computer engineering, Sumit spent much of his life developing Internet applications and websites. He is the author of five active open source software projects that he initiated while in high school and Illinois. He has also written software in the corporate setting. He developed an enterprise application prototype that realized a service oriented architecture for State Farm Insurance Companies Research and Development Center. Websites developed by Sumit include Cosmos Gaming, Engineers without Borders at UIUC, and the Yamuna Foundation for Blue Water.
In his electronics coursework and research studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Sumit investigated the properties and potential applications of novel transistors, because their low power dissipation allows for many cutting-edge applications. While he initially assisted graduate students in electrically characterizing carbon nanotube transistors, he grew his responsibilities to set up additional instruments with LabView and perform data analysis with Matlab. His findings were presented at the 2009 Device Research Conference. Sumit has continued integrating his computer science abilities and solid-state electronics knowledge to publish other studies, including his own study that he presented and published at the ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition.
When Sumit joined MIT in 2011, he began by continuing research on nano-electromechanical (NEM) relays with Professor Vladimir Stojanovic in the Integrated Systems Group. There he is designing and testing energy-efficient digital circuits based on NEM relays.
Sumit aspires to further advance the nanoelectronic technologies used in integrated circuits and bring noteworthy innovations to the semiconductor industry, while actively maintaining experience with information technology as a cornerstone. As a hobby, Sumit enjoys playing the violin and appreciates Western classical and traditional Indian music. If you feel like getting to know me better, contact me or read my blog!