Prof. Tharakeshwar Appala holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. He earned his B.Tech from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, and M.Tech from JNTU Hyderabad.

He currently serves as the Principal of the institution and previously held the position of Professor and Vice Principal. Over the course of his career, he has also served in various academic and administrative roles, including Head of Department, Associate Dean, Dean, Program Head, and Principal, as well as a member of several academic bodies such as the Board of Studies (BOS) and Academic Council.

He is a strategic planner and visionary academic leader who consistently benchmarks institutional practices with national and international standards. Under his guidance, the institutions has achieved significant milestones in areas such as NIRF rankings, Accreditation as NBA, NAAC, reflects his commitment to quality and excellence. He is pivotal in driving funded research and development projects, Incubation Centre, IDEA Lab, and other innovation-driven platforms that foster creativity, entrepreneurship, and interdisciplinary collaboration among students and faculty.

Dr. Appala’s expertise covers a wide spectrum of areas—Robot Kinematics and Dynamics, Mechanism Design, Mobile Robotics, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Underwater Robotics, Humanoids, ROS and Mechanisms for Societal Applications. He has been instrumental in developing curricula and laboratories for programs such as B.Tech in Robotics and Automation, B.Tech in Mechatronics, M.Tech in Robotics, M.Tech in Product Design. Dr. Appala has an extensive publication record, with several papers published in peer-reviewed SCI journals, and has presented his research at prestigious international conferences, including IEEE Robotics, NaCoMM, and IFToMM. He is also an active member of professional bodies such as RSI, AMM, and SAE.