Our Team
Curious Minds. Bold Ideas. Real Impact.
Meet the people behind COSMIC Lab! We are a team of researchers, students, and innovators exploring the frontiers of ultra-low-power circuits, secure connectivity, and intelligent sensing.
From first-time researchers to experienced chip designers, we bring together diverse perspectives and a shared passion for turning ambitious ideas into working hardware.
Principal Investigator
Ankit Mittal, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor | Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Cincinnati
Dr. Ankit Mittal leads COSMIC Lab, advancing ultra-low-power, secure, resilient, and spectrum-aware wireless systems through RF and mixed-signal integrated circuit innovation.
He received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Northeastern University in 2024 and his B.Tech. from Dayalbagh Educational Institute, India, in 2014, where he received the Director's Gold Medal.
Before joining UC, he was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Northeastern University and a Senior Design Engineer at NXP Semiconductors, contributing to five memory test-chip tapeouts. His recognitions include NXP's Bingo Award and Northeastern's 2024 Outstanding Graduate Research Award.
Ph.D. Students
Bustana Teene
Ph.D. Student | Electrical and Computer Engineering
Bustana's research explores hardware security and trust in ultra-low-power RF and analog/mixed-signal integrated circuits for IoT applications.
Before joining UC, she worked as an RF/AMS IC Design Engineer at Neural Semiconductor Limited in Dhaka, supporting GlobalFoundries projects. She contributed to mm-wave and RF front-end IC development and participated in more than 10 tapeouts.
She earned her B.Sc. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Dhaka.
Undergraduate Researchers & Co-op Students
Chi Thanh Tran
Undergraduate Researcher | URCF & Co-op 2026
Chi is a Computer Science student at the University of Cincinnati. His work focuses on low-power sensing systems for IoT applications, including research conducted through UC's Undergraduate Research Co-op Fellowship (URCF) program and senior design.
Jackson Pawlowicz
Computer Engineering | Co-op, Summer 2026
Jackson is a fifth-year Computer Engineering student at UC. His research focuses on developing educational resources for CMOS analog IC design and automated design workflows supporting chip tapeouts.
Outside his research, he explores analog electronics through personal projects, including an analog synthesizer and drum machine.
Anay Sehgal
Electrical Engineering | Co-op, Summer 2026
Anay is a third-year Electrical Engineering student at UC, pursuing minors in Mathematics and Nanotechnology.
He brings practical experience in sensor technologies from the Ross Lab and board-level design and diagnostics from GE Appliances.
Le Anh Hung
Electrical Engineering | Prodigy Program, Summer 2026
Hung is a first-year Electrical Engineering student with a strong interest in physics, mathematics, and embedded systems.
His hands-on experience includes designing and building wireless electronic drumsticks. He also brings experience in teamwork, technical communication, and musical performance.
Nikhil Patil
Electrical Engineering | Co-op, Summer 2026
Nikhil is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Engineering in Sustainable Energy at UC.
His research focuses on the characterization and automation of photovoltaic (PV) and organic photovoltaic (OPV) systems for energy-efficient agricultural sensing applications.
Toby Townsley
Electrical Engineering | Co-op, Summer 2026
Toby is an Electrical Engineering student at UC. His research focuses on designing and optimizing analog computing architectures, particularly for solving differential equations using hardware.
Bao Dang
Electrical Engineering | Co-op, Fall 2026
Bao is a second-year Electrical Engineering student at the University of Cincinnati who joined COSMIC Lab as a research co-op student in Fall 2026.
High School Researchers
Cary Rericha
Summer Researcher, 2026
Cary is a graduate of Norwood High School, with plans to attend The Ohio State University. Her research explores plant diseases and their early symptoms in crops found across Ohio.
Visiting Students
Aarushi Bajpai
Visiting Undergraduate Researcher | Summer 2026
Aarushi is a Computer Science and Engineering student at The Ohio State University, pursuing a minor in Mathematics.
Her research focuses on software development, debugging, and autonomous drone control for sensing applications.