Nishanth Gadiyar, assistant professor of electrical engineering at the University of Notre Dame, has been awarded the 2026 Andrew W. Smith Outstanding Young Member Achievement Award by the IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS).
The award recognizes Gadiyar for his “contributions to advancing electric machines and electro-mechanical systems through multi-physics optimization, harmonic control, and modern manufacturing techniques,” according to the IAS citation.
Gadiyar’s research focuses on the design, analysis, and control of high-performance, sustainable electromechanical systems. By integrating electric machine design, power electronics, and control, his research group advances the performance and energy efficiency of next-generation electrified platforms.
Gadiyar joined the Notre Dame faculty in July 2026 after working as an R&D staff member at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he held the Alvin M. Weinberg Distinguished Staff Fellowship. He earned his Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2023. Throughout his career, he has worked closely with leading industry and academic partners, including the GE Aerospace Research Center, Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP), and the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC).
Read more about the award here.
—Karla Cruise, Notre Dame Engineering. Photo by Wes Evard, Notre Dame Engineering.