- anagaraj@ucsd.edu
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Department: Cognitive Science
Akshay Nagarajan
Course Title: Introduction to Cognitive Science
- Professional Background
- Education
- Teaching and Work Experience
- Awards and Notable Projects
Professional Background
Akshay Nagarajan is a Ph.D. student in Cognitive Science at the University of California, San Diego. He has a Masters in Robotics from Amrita University. Akshay has extensive experience in designing autonomous robots, delivery drones, haptic and virtual reality simulators, and in human robot interaction. His research focuses on investigating cognitive skill development in children and he hopes to use his research to create equitable learning environments in classrooms.
Education
Ph.D. in Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego (in process)
M. Tech. In Robotics and Automation, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University (2017)B.E. Instrumentation Engineering, University of Mumbai, India (2008)
Teaching and Work Experience
Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of California, San Diego (2021-present)
Graduate Research Assistant, University of California, San Diego (2021-present)
Assistant Professor of Robotics, Amrita University (2017-2020)
Technical Lead (R&D) – Haptic Interface design group, Ammachi labs (2009-2015)
Awards and Notable Projects
Japanese Macaque Project: Designing sensor-based manipulable devices for primate research (2021-ongoing)
Invisible Wall: Real-time marker-free human motion capture in naturalistic environments (2021-2022)
Social cognition research with children in urban and rural non-WEIRD communities (2021-ongoing)
The 2nd Foundation: Maker Workshops for school children in rural India (2016-2019)
Received the Stanford University FabLearn Global Excellence Practitioner’s Award (2018)
A StereoEEG apparatus for neurosurgery (Masters thesis 2017)
Water carrying robot in rural India (2017)
Virtual Reality Bar Bending Simulator for Vocational Skills Training (2017)