Anuradha Annaswamy is a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. She has been at MIT since 1991 where she serves as the Director of the Active-Adaptive Control Laboratory. Her research interests pertain to adaptive control theory, control of embedded and cyber-physical systems, decision and control in electricity markets, and applications to aerospace, automotive, propulsion, and power systems.
Dr. Annaswamy received the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Yale University in 1985.  She has been a member of the faculty at Yale, Boston University, and MIT. She is the author of a graduate textbook, editor of two reports, and author of over a hundred journal publications and numerous conference publications.

Dr. Annaswamy has received several awards including the George Axelby and Control Systems Magazine best paper awards from the IEEE Control Systems Society, the Presidential Young Investigator award from the National Science Foundation, the Hans Fisher Senior Fellowship from the Institute for Advanced Study at the Technische Universität München, and the Donald Groen Julius Prize from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. Dr. Annaswamy is a Fellow of the IEEE and is currently serving as the Vice President for Conference Activities in the Executive Committee of the IEEE Control Systems Society. Her proudest accomplishment is the parenting of her triplet children, who are currently freshmen at MIT.

Could you tell us a little about your research area?
I work on automatic control technology, which regulates various systems such as  robots, automobiles, jet engines, airplanes, and power grids, so they automatically  correct themselves - think thermostats in  your home or cruise control in your car. As we go deeper into the 21st century, the footprint of this control technology will increase further – self-control of drones, driverless cars and automated highways, smart homes that regulate all of our appliances and provide us comfort and save money, the list goes on.

How does it feel to be one of the few woman researchers in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) world?
I don’t view myself as a woman researcher, but a researcher in this professional world where most of my colleagues happen to be men. I have been in this field for more than three decades and I have never felt discriminated in my profession based on either my gender or my ethnicity.

What is like to work at MIT, one of the greatest engineering schools?
Fantastic. Awesome. I love coming to work every day and enjoy all aspects of what I do. There is this love for all things science and math and engineering that unites everybody here – from the President to faculty to grad students to undergrads to technicians to staff, and that is heady! Students and colleagues challenge you to be the best you can be and vice versa. And that in turn brings innovation, new tools, new points of view, razor sharp focus, the list goes on!

What lasting impact do you expect your work to have on the world?
My first goal is the education and training of students – mostly graduate – I work with. I hope that they get a solid foundation in the research topic they have chosen to specialize in, and they take that with them and create new ideas and technologies wherever they go. This is what I always aim for.

At the next level, I would like the technologies that we develop in our lab here at MIT get used in many practical devices and make them better in some way – cheaper, smaller, safer, faster, efficient, or all of the above. Some of that is already happening; others will take longer. Everything we do in my lab is “Engineering Science.” So a lot of its impact is long term, sometimes even 20 years or more.

Why would you encourage women to take on a career in STEM? What makes STEM exciting?
Science and Technology have transformed our lives – I think, mostly for the better! The internet and cellular phones are prime examples. The impact they have had is huge, and will increase even more as we go deeper into the 21st century. To be in STEM is to be in the middle of this transformation. I cannot imagine anything more exciting than that. And when it comes to doing research in STEM, women are just as equipped to be pioneers, movers, and shakers as men. So the question I would pose to every young woman starting their college/graduate education is, what is stopping you?

No matter where you choose to make a STEM career, whether in academics or a research institution or a company, give it your all. It will not always be peaches and cream. There will be moments that will test you to the core. But you have to have an unshakeable confidence that you WILL come out okay at the end, and tell yourself that this too shall pass. My own journey in the STEM world has not been an exception to this. Carving out a niche for myself took a lot of time, effort, and heartache. It has not been easy. You have to publish, you have to write proposals and get grants, and you have to do it consistently, year after year. Publishing every paper is always a battle. What it takes is a lot of patience, a lot of stamina, the ability to have complete conviction in what you have to say and convince your peers to let that message be heard, and a constant push to be your own worst critique and to improve yourself. If you do this, in the end, the system will reward you. For me the best reward has been respect that I have earned from those in my research community whom I admire.

Is there a particular field you would encourage children to look at?
Anything in STEM is fantastic. I am a bit closer to the “E” and the “T”, so I’ll say more about that – just go to the McKinsey Report (http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/business_technology/disruptive_technologies) on top twelve disruptive technologies for the next decade – they say these technologies can have a potential economic impact anywhere between $14 trillion and $33 trillion a year by 2025. How cool would it be to be involved in something like that? And more importantly, these technologies are no longer restricted to the First world – but accessible to all global citizens!
 
What advice do you have for women who may want to move up the academic career path?
I would say the same thing as before – women can do all of the things that men can when it comes to being a researcher in STEM. The system, by and large, works, is fair, and rewards those that are talented and work hard. Never give up. Life gives you a lot of second chances. Believe in yourself.
 
You are married to a successful researcher and have triplets who got admitted to prestigious universities. What is the secret to the success?
Goodness, there is no secret. And whether or not I or my husband is successful is a matter of viewpoint, especially in a place like MIT which has Nobel laureates and MacArthur awardees and Pulitzer winners, and all that. We have given our best whenever we could, and accepted and made the best use of what came our way. We have tried to pass that on to our kids and so far, that has worked out in our favor. There is no formula.

Your children are also very talented in the arts and they speak Tamil and Sanskrit. How did you groom them to be so multifaceted? What is the secret to that?
We are very lucky. We are truly blessed. When the kids were born, we were fortunate to have of our parents move in with us and they still live with us for a significant part of the year. This has been a huge beneficial factor in our kids’ exposure to Indian languages and culture as well as Indian classical music and dance. Our kids were very fortunate to work with fantastic, generous, great teachers – Aparna Balaji and Neena Gulati – who guided them brilliantly. And we pushed them when they were young to be diligent about practice, but eased off (at least I would like think this – my kids may disagree) as they grew older – fortunately by then, they had bitten the music/dance bug and stuck with it. They all did their arangetrams last year – proudest moments of my life!

We have encouraged them always to speak in their mother tongue. Although they certainly are not as fluent as native speakers, this helped with their Tamil and Kannada pronunciation. We have taken them to Bangalore/Chennai every summer to spend time with our extended families. This helped as well, I think. They learned Sanskrit initially from their grandmother, and later continued to learn from a wonderful organization called Samskrita Bharathi (where my mother continues to play a very active role teaching Sanskrit). What the latter did was to expose them to a larger community where kids their own age were passionate about Sanskrit – and my kids fit right in and never wanted to leave. This is yet another proud moment in my life – when they spent two weeks in an immersive camp in Bangalore and came out speaking in Sanskrit! I think they really learned their roots very well by doing this – a huge education that is hard to obtain through any other avenue!

I would also like to say something about our children’s involvement with Balavihar conducted by Chinmaya Mission Boston, a fantastic organization that teaches Vedanta to children in K through 12. My kids spent most of their Sunday mornings during their entire school years there. I have been teaching there as well. The education, values, and spiritual guidance that they learned from Balavihar, in my opinion, has been precious. It has helped them understand their roots, where they come from, and most importantly how to be responsible, balanced citizens of this world. I have every expectation and hope that that will guide them through the right path throughout their lives. To have such organizations in our Greater Boston area has been a huge blessing for us.

What parenting advice do you have for parents of boys? Of girls?
I would not claim to know enough to give advice – far from it. I can only share what I have learned so far, which is, believe me, through trial and error, with lots and lots of mistakes, by talking to other parents, by watching the phenomenal network of the desi community and their growth during recent years, through incredible support from my husband, from my parents, from my family, from friends, from colleagues.

-    Treat your son and daughter alike.
-    Try to understand them – their passion, their strengths, their weaknesses, and suitably advise them.
-    What worked for you when you were growing up may not work for them. Their environment is different. Their challenges are different. Their experiences are different. There is however a core set of values. Pass that on to them.
-    Always remember this - They know more than what you think they know. They know less than what they think they know!

Could you tell us about your charitable interests?
My husband and I hope to do more than what we have been doing so far. Developing our careers and raising triplets left us with less time to spend on this aspect than we would have liked. Now that we are empty nesters, we are making a conscious attempt to pick a few charitable activities where we can make a difference.
 
Who are the people who you admire/ inspired /emulate, mentors, and role-models?
My grandfather, Pandit Narayan Jayaram Sharma, who was a mathematics professor in Bangalore, was a huge influence. The respect that he was shown by the extended community I come from was incredible. Later in graduate school, my Professor, Kumpati Narendra (PhD thesis advisor), was a huge influence. A lot of what I am able to do today in my work is what I learned from him.

That I could leave the comfort of my home and come to the United States for graduate school – I have a brilliant cousin who came to MIT a few years before me – he paved the way. He put the idea in my head – that I could make it here. I am always grateful for that.

My parents have been huge influences on my growth, both professionally and personally. They encouraged me always, never to give up, never to settle for anything, and have always had my back.

What kind of support have you valued most from your husband?  And vice versa?
This May will be our 27th wedding anniversary, and we have had a fantastic, magical journey so far! And God willing, I hope we will have just as many if not more. He has always been there for me. Always! He is the most secure person I know and to have him as that rock has been immeasurable!
Like any couple, we have our top twenty huge disagreements – what used to be fodder for huge arguments in the past, I see, has now evolved to “oh, No. 18! That’s what we are arguing about!” and we have a laugh about it.
We are getting used to our rather sudden empty nester status now. We find we have chunks of time we never had before and we are doing more activities together. People are telling us that these will be our golden years. I look forward to these years, and together hope to help our kids through their future adventures.

What is your personal philosophy of living life?
Try to live each moment as if on the one hand, it’s the one that matters the most and on the other, that it’s the least important in the larger scheme of things.

Do your best always – remember that “the Gods see everywhere”

Everything happens for a reason. There’s a larger force that guides us through it all.

Go to Satsang whenever you can. It helps you stay grounded, connected, and helps you gain the larger perspective.

What was your happiest moment in life?
When our kids were born.

When there were low points in your life what advice did you value the most to pull through?
Everything happens for a reason. There’s a larger force that guides us through it all.

Do you have a fitness routine that you would like to share?
I love dance. I try to squeeze in at least one day a week if I can.  If I were younger, I would go to dance class everyday! (I am terrible at it though)

Do you have a spiritual routine that you would like to share?
Meditate for 20 minutes a day.

Do you have a beauty routine that you would like to share?
You can never have enough moisturizer. That’s all you need.

Do you have favorite book/author?
I enjoy reading fiction. I don’t know if I have a favorite author – there are so many great ones. I belong to two bookclubs. Always look forward to those evenings. Recent ones that I enjoyed a lot – Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, and Where are you Bernadette?

Do you have a favorite song/ musician?
O.S. Thiagarajan, hands down! Sikkil Gurucharan is my recent favorite – what a voice! The younger generation in Carnatic music is fantastic. We have such gems even here in the Greater Boston area.
AR Rehman for movie pop-music; he’s brilliant.

Do you like to cook? What is your favorite dish to make?
I love to cook. A great change of occupation after a day full of technical discussions. Eggplant gojju is my favorite. I am trying to expand my portfolio to include non-Indian vegetarian dishes. Veggie moussaka and mushroom strudels were some of my recent (successful I think) experiments!

One fun fact about you
I am a movie buff – Every year, I like to watch all Oscar nominated movies and I enjoy the Oscar night from start to finish. I used to be able to recite whole dialogs from Sivaji Ganesan movies – I think I can do some even now.
 

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