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Aniirudh (Ani) Ramesh, a fourth-year PhD student studying mechanical engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, combines research with entrepreneurship in his work on SENTRY’s End-to-End Graph-Agnostic Real-Time Evacuation Routing to Protect Soft Targets During Active-Shooter Scenarios research project led by Principal Investigator, Subhadeep Chakraborty. With plans to graduate in Fall 2025, his thesis revolves around creating optimal decision-making models for complex networks. For Ani, his work with SENTRY goes beyond theoretical research; it’s about creating real-world solutions that protect soft targets and crowded places from active shooter threats.
He began working under the guidance of Chakraborty in his undergraduate years, participating in a National Science Foundation (NSF) project optimizing evacuations in active shooter scenarios. That project laid the groundwork for his current involvement with SENTRY, where his focus is on enhancing real-time threat detection through innovative computational algorithms. “Our main contribution is using computer vision and algorithms to detect gunmen in real time and then dynamically routing people to safety. It’s a decision support system that factors in metrics like room safety, capacity, and nearest exits—essentially, we’re working to guide people out of danger with the best possible strategies.”
His work with SENTRY has shaped his future aspirations of leading a security-focused startup after graduation. “I’m spinning off this work into a startup called ASTERS (Active Shooter Tracking and Evacuation Routing for Survival). It’s exciting to see how our research can transition from the lab into a real-world application,” Ani shares. ASTERS, an acronym rooted in his original NSF work, aims to commercialize the innovative algorithms he’s been developing. “We’ve already launched the startup and even gained attention from the local media. It’s been an exciting journey, transitioning from research to real-world application.”
Ani credits SENTRY for giving him the tools and support to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams. With the guidance of SENTRY’s Transition Liaison, Isaac Maya, he’s navigating the complexities of intellectual property and commercialization while building connections with investors and venture capitalists. Ani believes that partnership between research and industry is essential for innovation. “Startups don’t always have the bandwidth for deep, PhD-level research. My vision is to bridge the gap between academia and industry, taking the innovations we develop as researchers and integrating them into real-world products.”
Beyond his academic and entrepreneurial pursuits, Ani mentors undergraduate students, particularly from underrepresented backgrounds, through NSF’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. “It’s important to give back and help guide those just starting their journey in research and innovation,” he says.
Pictured: In the fall of 2024, Ani participated in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Vol Court competition. Vol Court is a four-week entrepreneurial speaker series culminating in a 90-second business idea pitch competition. The team of judges awarded ASTERS the first-place prize of $1,500. Click to learn more.
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