About
Dr. Niharika Sravan was awarded a PhD in Physics and Astronomy and a graduate certificate in Integrated Data Science from Northwestern University in 2018. Dr. Sravan was a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue University and California Institute of Technology before she moved to Drexel as an Assistant Professor in Spring 2023.
Professor Sravan is an expert in the use of machine learning methods for solving problems in astronomy. She has pioneered the development of the autonomous agents for strategizing real-time observations of astronomical transients. These systems enable us to constrain the physics of supernovae and discover elusive electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave sources. Her efforts leverage advances in reinforcement learning algorithms, specialized hardware for deep learning including TPUs and FPGAs, and data from astronomical surveys such as the Rubin Observatory and NASA’s current and future space facilities. Sravan is a member of the Zwicky Transient Facility collaboration.