Faculty Profile: Adyasha Mohanty

Assistant Professor of Engineering Adyasha Mohanty has been at Harvey Mudd for less than one year. She co-teaches Introduction to Engineering Design and Manufacturing Class (E4) and State Estimation for Robotics (E205). She also directs the Machine Learning and Autonomy for Diverse Domains Lab at Mudd, where she and her students design algorithms for safe perception and localization of ground, air and space robots. Find out more about Adyasha’s work, hobbies and the best advice she’s ever received in this Q-and-A.

What is your favorite part about your job and why?

I love that I get to interact with and mentor students across multiple class levels in various forms, by teaching, doing research and mentoring Clinic teams. I also love that my job is very dynamic! No two days look alike and no two semesters look alike! I love being surrounded by such a close-knit and supportive community of faculty, staff and students who care a lot about progress and growth, which enables me and other members of the community to take bold risks in our teaching pedagogies as well as in research.

What is something people don’t understand about your job that you wish they did?

Being a new faculty member can be a very emotional experience. I am surprised by how much my profession helps shape me in other aspects of life.

What’s your favorite food/dish in the Hoch-Shanahan Dining Hall?

The salad.

What is your favorite hobby, activity or creative outlet?

I have an AMC movie membership, and I love watching movies with my husband. I also like going dancing, getting ice cream/boba, playing board games and reading and researching about startups, finance and investments.

What is the best piece of advice someone has given you, either in life or at work?

Advice from my PhD advisor: “Success in anything should be measured by high velocity and not high progress.” This means showing up everyday, putting in the effort with the best of intentions and keeping an internal conviction that I am learning and growing every day rather than focusing on concrete outcomes. It might seem counterintuitive but it has worked really well for me professionally.

What is your most effective strategy for dealing with stress?

I channel my inner thoughts and fear into words. I find writing to be a powerful outlet. It calms me down and also gives me purpose on a day to day basis. I am multi-lingual, and I find writing thoughts in languages other than English to be more powerful. I also go on 20 minute walks every day which is a great stress reliever.