Home Institution USA: University of Florida

Meera Sitharam

Dr. Meera Sitharam is professor of computer science and affiliate professor of mathematics at the University of Florida in Gainesville. After her BTech from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, she completed her doctoral studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in computer science and held positions at Kent State University and Purdue University. She was an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Bonn, a Fields Institute Fellow, and an ICERM Fellow. Her research and over 100 peer-reviewed publications range from pure mathematics (discrete geometry) and theoretical computer science (algorithmic foundations and complexity theory) to the development of open source mathematical software (computational geometry) and geometric modeling in the natural and social sciences and engineering (soft-matter and biophysical modeling, algorithmic game theory, computer-aided mechanical and microstructural design). Her research group’s alumni include at least 15 doctorate holders now in academia, industry and entrepreneurial positions. As a vocal advocate for public higher education, Dr. Sitharam is currently chapter president and chief negotiator for the United Faculty of Florida at the University of Florida. Her academic outreach activities include: faculty advisorship of the Asha for Education chapter, where she works closely with grassroots partners in Tamil Nadu working toward education access and quality; and founding STEM women researchers’ development (Steward@IITM) to mentor and address the barriers faced by women researchers.

She is a graded All India Radio veena artist and engages with a broad range of music.

Dr. Sitharam’s Fulbright-Nehru project, “Exploring Connections: Rigidity, Flexibility, Complexity, and Applications of Geometry Constraints”, aims to leverage the host institution’s unique combination of expertise – on parameterized complexity and derandomization of algorithms, configuration space topology, and soft-matter modeling – to conduct research on Geometric Constraint Systems (GCS), a vibrant, intuitively accessible area that bridges mathematical communities. The GCS lens also intends to spur progress on fundamental theoretical science at the host institution. The expected project outcomes include several peer-reviewed articles, an international workshop, grant proposals for joint US–India programs, seminar series at the host institution, and addressing of research underrepresentation.

Joseph Meert

Dr. Joseph Meert, originally from Jackson, Michigan, completed his bachelor’s (1986) and master’s (1988) in geology from the University of Florida. He got his PhD in geology from the University of Michigan in 1993. The focus of his doctoral work was on Precambrian tectonics and paleogeographic reconstructions. Dr. Meert completed a short (eight-month) postdoctoral fellowship at the same institution before assuming an assistant professorship at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana, until 2001. Following a one-year sabbatical to Norway and France, he moved to the University of Florida in Gainesville where he is currently a professor and undergraduate coordinator in geological sciences. Dr. Meert and his wife are celebrating their 30th year of marriage and are proud parents of Joseph, Brian, and Alex. They enjoy raising butterflies and bluebirds in their garden.

Dr. Meert’s research on Earth’s paleogeography has continued apace with a focus on the assembly of Peninsular India between 2.3 to 0.5 billion years ago. He has worked on five continents and published more than 170 articles and book chapters. His research in India has garnered international press attention. Most recently, he was featured in New York Times (Forget the Fossil Error It isn’t the First) and the French magazine Science & Vie (“ERREUR sur les fossile!”). Dr. Meert is also a fellow of the Geological Society of America and has served as president and vice president of the International Association for Gondwana Research.

Dr. Meert’s Fulbright-Nehru project in India is examining the Vindhyan sedimentary basin in both Rajasthan and the Son Valley region to solve a long-standing conundrum regarding the age of the rocks and their role in India’s geological history. His research is using the study of fossil magnetism to determine their past location and geochronology to provide a temporal framework. He is also teaching a short course in paleogeography and paleomagnetism at his host institution and hopes to generate student interest in these fields.

Jasmeet Judge

Dr. Jasmeet Judge received her BS in physics from Stillman College, Alabama, and her MS in electrical engineering, and PhD in electrical engineering and atmospheric, oceanic, and space sciences from the University of Michigan. She is a professor in the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department at the University of Florida, where she is also the director of the Center for Remote Sensing.

Dr. Judge’s research interests include microwave remote-sensing applications to terrestrial hydrology, crop development, and crop growth; electromagnetic models for dynamic agricultural terrains; and machine learning (ML) methods for spatio-temporal scaling and data-model fusion. For her research projects, she has received grants from NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She has led many field experiments with active and passive microwave sensors to develop/improve remote sensing, crop growth, hydrology, and ML algorithms. Dr. Judge has also won NASA Group Achievement Awards for interdisciplinary field campaigns. She has over 70 journal publications, three co-authored books, and numerous conference and invited presentations to her credit.

In addition to research, Dr. Judge has been active in advocating for the protection of the EM spectrum as the past member, vice chair, and chair of the National Academies Committee on Radio Frequency. She is also a member of the American Geophysical Union and a senior member of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society, where she has served in different roles on many committees for the past three decades.

Dr. Judge’s Fullbright-Kalam project is being carried out in collaboration with researchers in the Interdisciplinary Center for Water Research at the Indian Institute of Science in utilizing data from the upcoming NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission for the availability of timely soil and crop information in India. In addition, she is training the next generation of Indian scientists in microwave remote sensing.