Dean Research
PES University — guiding research excellence across engineering, science, and beyond.
Dean of Research at PES University, heading the Crucible of Research and Innovation (CORI) and Centre for Research in Space Science and Technology (CRSST). Prior to academia, he served as Scientist 'B' & 'C' at ADA, DRDO Labs, and Project Trainee at ISRO — bringing nearly 6 years of defence and space industry experience.
Dr. J. Manikandan is currently the Dean of Research at PES University, Professor with the Department of ECE, and heads the research wing — Crucible of Research and Innovation (CORI) and Centre for Research in Space Science and Technology (CRSST) at Ring Road Campus.
He received his B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Thanthai Periyar Government Institute of Technology (TPGIT), Madras University. He completed his M.E. in Communication Systems and Ph.D. in Pattern Recognition from NIT Trichy. Prior to his Ph.D., he served as Project Trainee at ISRO and as Scientist 'B' and 'C' at the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), DRDO Labs, Bangalore for nearly 6 years.
He has worked on several funded projects and consultancy projects to the tune of ₹1.75 Crore, spanning Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Electronic Nose, Digital Twin, Autonomous Vehicle Technology, Embedded System Design, Reconfigurable Computing, Underwater Wireless Power, Wireless Sensor Networks and more. He has been honoured with several prestigious awards including the Young Engineers Award from the Institution of Engineers, Best Ph.D. Thesis Award from BITES, IETE Biman Behari Sen Memorial Award, and Best M.Tech Project Supervisor from ISTE. He has received six Indian patent grants, with five more filed and under examination, and has published 125+ research papers with ~1100 citations.
CRSST leads FPGA-based systems for space and reconfigurable computing for naval applications with active ISRO RESPOND projects.
FPGA and C-based embedded systems integrating ML algorithms — from autonomous vehicle platforms to AI-based sorting machines.
Contactless underwater battery charging for naval vehicles and wireless sensor node design, funded by the Naval Research Board.
AI-driven electronic nose systems for early fire detection — developed in partnership with ISRO for safety and space applications.