People

Joshua Genova

PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Houston, Spring 2026 (expected)
MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Houston, Spring 2022
BS, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, 2018

Joshua is an PhD student with a focus on developing robotic systems for infrastructure maintenance. He received is Bachelors from UT Austin and enjoys mentoring the next generation of Engineers. Joshua is a UH Presidential Fellow 2022-2024. In his free time, Joshua enjoys playing basketball and volleyball, social dancing, and cooking different kinds of foods for his friends and family.

Subin Varghese

PhD, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Houston, 2025 (Expected)
MS, Engineering Data Science, University of Houston, 2021
BS, Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, 2018

Subin Varghese is a PhD student in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He received in Masters in Science in Engineering data science program at the University of Houston in Fall 2021. Subin has professional experience as a field engineer in the petroleum industry, designed medical devices, and worked as a consultant in remote patient monitoring. His research interest is in the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning in engineering and the medical field. Subin was a prize winner for the best paper award at the ASCE EMI Conference SHMC competition in 2023.

Mary Bittar

Mary Bittar is pursuing her Master’s of Science in Engineering Data Science at the University of Houston. She has previous internship experience as an ML/AI intern in tech consulting and as a chemical engineering R&D intern in the oil & gas industry. Her research interests center around deep learning and reinforcement learning in engineering applications. In her free time, she enjoys painting, sewing, or spending time outdoors.

Deepank Singh

Deepank completed his bachelor’s of technology in Civil Engineering from the National Institute of Technology in Jaipur, India. During his internships at IIT Delhi and IIT (BHU), he conducted research on machine learning and digital image processing applications in civil engineering. His research interests are in structural health monitoring and machine learning applications in structural engineering.

Jasleen Kaur

Jasleen Kaur is a master’s student in the University of Houston’s Mechanical Engineering department. She is pursuing a dual degree program in Aerospace Engineering and Space Architecture. Her interests focus on deep space colonization, intelligent structure systems, Astro materials, human factors, spacesuits, human-system integration, space physiology, artificial gravity, and human health countermeasures. With an aim to expand the human understanding of space, she aspires to solve space exploration problems that effectively utilize her multidisciplinary experience and expertise, including designing, operations, management, and leadership skills. Her objective is to put forward a diligent endeavor and conquer the heights in the chosen field of space exploration by contributing to the human research program (HRP) that has already commenced exploring the depths of a highly challenging field. She is currently working on identifying parameters for integrating the self-healing materials into inflatable structures for structural health monitoring.

Asad Rahman

Asad graduated from the National University of Sciences and Technology in Pakistan in 2020. Prior to coming to the University of Houston Asad conducted research on probabilistic seismic hazard assessment of structures. In his free time, Asad enjoys playing badminton.

Zainab Zikar

Zainab’s main focus is mechanical design and autonomous systems. After her bachelors in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Houston, Zainab worked at NOV as a mechanical engineer for subsea systems, working on designing, testing and analyzing materials and prototypes of subsea blowout preventers. Zainab enjoys being challenged and learning new things.

Abdul Wahid Mangi

Wahid received his bachelors in Civil Engineering from Pakistan in 2019. He has research experience in the design, fabrication, and testing of civil infrastructure. After his bachelor’s degree, Wahid also worked in a web application and data integration company to streamline processes in geosensing-based infrastructure assessment.

Blessed Sungisai

Blessed is pursuing a master of science degree in Electrical Engineering with a specialization in Controls and Robotics at the University of Houston. He received a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 2018, and is currently working on research in developing robotic systems for infrastructure maintenance. Blessed holds 3 years of professional experience as a manufacturing process engineer.