International Spotlight: Muneer Khan, Graduate Student in Electrical Engineering at SEAS

Which program/department are you in?

I'm pursuing my graduate studies in Electrical Engineering at SEAS.

Which country (or countries) do you come from?

I was born in a small village, Gauriya, district Lakhimpur Kheri Uttar Pradesh, India. It's more than 400 km (~248 miles) away from the national capital, New Delhi.

How long have you been in the U.S.?

I moved to the United States during the first week of September 2021 from Lakhimpur Kheri (Lucknow), India. I'm so grateful to be in this vibrant city.

Tell us about how your past experiences led you to Columbia.

I completed my undergraduate degree from Birla Institute Bhimtal, India. During my undergraduate studies, I had the chance to do multiple research internships in France, Russia and Indian research Labs. During my second year, I went to the XLIM Research Institute France to conduct my summer internship on Collaborative Robotics. Soon after, I came back to India where I started another project under the guidance of Professor Durgesh Pant on Smart Water Quality Assessment System based on Internet of Things (IoT). I accomplished it with great results, filed for a patent, and published a research paper in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

During my second year I went to Russia for my internship where I worked on Wideband Balun for Mixers and Amplifiers based on SiGe BiCMOS (Silicon-Germanium) Technology. I participated in different competitions and won prestigious awards such as Emerging Scientist Award 2019 during the State Science Conclave 2019 in Dehradun, India.

During my final year, I worked on a soil fertility measuring device which was filed for a patent and also won the International Emerging Scientist Award 2020 in Kolkata, India.

To explore the pioneering innovations, I applied to a few Universities in the US and UK but I decided to join Columbia University to further my research.

Tell us a bit about your projects/studies.

When I first joined in person classes at Columbia, it was an amazing experience. I found some exciting professors and colleagues and started my projects on IoT devices. I started a project called "Homie Hydro - A Smart Water Bottle," where I worked to determine the several parameters such as Ph, TDS and temperature of the water. This information helps access the availability of drinkable water resources around us. This project won the Best Project Award in Fall '21. 

I, along with my friends, started a startup in India called "Institute of Technical Training and Development Pvt Ltd” (ITTD Pvt Ltd) to provide the technical training and counseling for those underprivileged students who have faced the challenges during this unfortunate pandemic. ITTD offers the best in online-classes, live project based classes, and skill-based training programs. I have a long term goal to be an educationist in my area of interest.

Connect with Muneer on Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

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