Aug 2026–Present
Postdoctoral Research Associate · Baylor University
Mechanical Engineering · AVIA Lab
Researcher · Baylor University
About Kamal Acharya
I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Mechanical Engineering at Baylor University and a member of the Advanced Vehicle Intelligence and Autonomy (AVIA) Lab. My current work connects Advanced Air Mobility demand forecasts with aircraft assignment and scheduling, distributed optimization, and simulation to study energy-aware fleet operations and infrastructure planning.
My doctoral research at UMBC focused on data-driven and neurosymbolic approaches to AAM demand modeling. Moving from demand prediction toward the operational decisions those forecasts inform continues to shape my work.
Alongside research, I bring more than a decade of university teaching experience and have mentored students in research and engineering projects.
Research Experience
Aug 2023–May 2026
Graduate Research Assistant · University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Aug 2022–Aug 2023
Research Assistant · Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Research on air mobility prediction and learning-based optimization for emergency transportation planning.
Education
May 2026
Ph.D. in Information Systems
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Dissertation: Enhancing Demand Modeling for Advanced Air Mobility Using Data-Driven Learning and Neurosymbolic AI
2019
M.Sc. in Information System Engineering
2011
B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering
What guides my work
Research Philosophy
I value AI systems that can be understood, tested, and connected to real decisions. I combine data-driven learning with domain knowledge, then evaluate methods under uncertainty and operational constraints so that predictions can better support planning.