Biography

Dr. Smriti Nandan Paul is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. He is the director of “Dynamics, Control, and Computer Vision for Space Sustainability and Missions (DCV-Space)” group, which focuses on (Astro)dynamics, GNC (Guidance, Navigation, and Control) for space autonomy, Computer Vision, Space Weather, and applications of Machine Learning Techniques for space sustainability and missions. The work consists of computational and experimental efforts focusing primarily on applications in the near-Earth and cis-lunar space environment

Before joining Missouri S&T, Dr. Paul was a post-doctoral research fellow at West Virginia University (WVU). Before his position at WVU, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Purdue University. His internship experience in the aerospace industry includes Planet Labs (Attitude Determination and Control System Team) and IN Space LLC (Space Debris Re-entry Policy Analyst).

Paul earned his Dual Degree (integrated B.S. and M.S.) in Aerospace Engineering from IIT Bombay and his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University. He is the recipient of the Purdue AAE Teaching Scholarship 2019, AAE Teaching Fellowship 2020, and AAE Teaching Assistant Award 2019.

Research Interests

(Astro)dynamics, space domain awareness (SDA)/space situational awareness (SSA), space traffic management (STM), space weather, stochastic machine learning techniques, GNC (Guidance, Navigation, and Control) for space sustainability and missions, computer vision, and space autonomy. 

Education

• 2020 – Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University
• 2015 – Dual Degree (integrated B.S. and M.S.) in Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India