Preetham Manjunatha

Preetham Manjunatha

Research Scientist

Teaching

Mentoring

Mentoring, University of Southern California, Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2022

Mentored forty Master of Science students from the USC Viterbi Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science and Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering during 2013 to 2022 on various computer vision, image processing and machine learning related projects. As a mentor, I thorougly enjoyed sharing the experience on solving a problem from the first priniciples and it was a bi-directional learning (learning from the students as well). I always enjoy sharing my knowledge and to mentor juniors to conduct quality research from bottom-up. As a mentor, I was responsible for:

  • Help define a clear project/research topic, scope, milestones, and success criteria
  • Guide literature review: what to read, how to summarize, how to position the work
  • Advise on technical approach: architecture/design choices, algorithms, modeling, or hardware/firmware strategy
  • Support implementation: code quality, version control, reproducibility, testing, and debugging practices For Electrical Engineering (hardware): safety, lab practices, measurement plans, instrumentation use, calibration, and experimental setup
  • For Machine Learning systems: data collection/cleaning, baselines, evaluation metrics, ablation studies, and error analysis
  • Review deliverables: reports, thesis drafts, posters, presentations, and documentation
  • Run regular check-ins: set agendas, track progress, unblock issues, and adjust scope/timeline
  • Ensure research integrity: proper citations, no plagiarism, ethical data use, and (if applicable) IRB/compliance awareness
  • Coach professional development: communicating results, teamwork, and preparing for internships/jobs/PhD (as appropriate)

Teaching Assistant of Mechanics and Thermodynamics (PHYS 151Lg)

Undergraduate course, University of Southern California, Department of Physics and Astronomy - Dornsife, 2019

Teaching assistant of laboratory course AME 341aL, Mechanics and Thermodynamics during the Fall and Spring semesters of 2019 to 2021. As a TA, I am responsible for:

  • Assisting professors in instructing the laboratories, grading course assignments and exams, and exam proctoring.
  • Assisting students to understand theoretical principles related to the laboratory assignments.

Teaching Assistant of Mechoptronics (AME 341aL)

Undergraduate course, University of Southern California, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, 2018

Teaching assistant of laboratory course AME 341aL, Mechoptronics during Fall 2018. As a TA, I am responsible for:

  • Assisting professors in instructing the laboratories, grading course assignments and exams, and exam proctoring.
  • Assisting students to understand theoretical principles related to the laboratory assignments.

Teaching Assistant of Finite Element Analysis - Linear (CE 529a)

Graduate course, University of Southern California, Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2017

Teaching assistant of CE 529a, Finite Element Analysis during Fall 2017. It is a challenging, interesting, and self-learning job. As a teaching assistant, my responsibilities are included below:

  • Assisting professors in the design of the assignments and project work, instructing the laboratories, grading course assignments and exams, and exam proctoring.
  • Assisting students to understand theoretical and project concepts.
  • Assisting students in structural design concepts.

Teaching Assistant of Finite Element Analysis - Non-linear (CE 529b)

Graduate course, University of Southern California, Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2017

Teaching assistant of CE 529b, Finite Element Analysis during Spring 2017. It is a challenging, interesting, and self-learning job. As a teaching assistant, my responsibilities are included below:

  • Assisting professors in the design of the assignments and project work, instructing the laboratories, grading course assignments and exams, and exam proctoring.
  • Assisting students to understand theoretical and project concepts.
  • Assisting students in structural design concepts.

Teaching Assistant of Computer Methods in Engineering (CE 402)

Undergraduate course, University of Southern California, Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2015

Teaching assistant of CE 402, Computer Methods in Engineering during Spring 2015, 2016 and 2018. As a TA, I am responsible for:

  • Assisting professors in the design of the assignments and project work, instructing the laboratories, grading course assignments and exams, and exam proctoring.
  • Assisting students to understand theoretical and project concepts.
  • Assisting students in structural design concepts.

Teaching Assistant of Reinforced Concrete Design (CE 457)

Undergraduate course, University of Southern California, Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2014

Teaching assistant of CE 457, Reinforced Concrete Design during Spring 2014. As a TA, I am responsible for:

  • Assisting professors in the design of the assignments and project work, instructing the laboratories, grading course assignments and exams, and exam proctoring.
  • Assisting students to understand theoretical and project concepts.
  • Assisting students in structural design concepts.

Teaching Assistant of Introduction to Design of Structural Systems (CE 207L)

Undergraduate course, University of Southern California, Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2013

Teaching assistant of CE 207L, Introduction to Design of Structural Systems during Spring 2013. As a TA, I am responsible for:

  • Assisting professors in the design of the assignments and project work, instructing the laboratories, grading course assignments and exams, and exam proctoring.
  • Assisting students to understand concepts and design principles of structural entities.
  • Instructing a dual session laboratory on using the Computers and Structures, SAP2000 for structural analysis and design of systems.

Teaching Assistant of Dynamics of Structures (CE 541a)

Graduate course, University of Southern California, Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2012

Teaching assistant of CE 541a, Dynamics of Structures during Fall 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016. It is a challenging, interesting, and self-learning job. As a teaching assistant, my responsibilities are included below:

  • Assisting professor in inventorying the course-related documents.
  • Assisting students to understand highly challenging and arduous concepts of structural dynamics.
  • Assisting students to assimilate the programming procedures of dynamic problems.