Dr Sathiskumar Anusuya Ponnusami

MEng, PhD, FRAeS, FHEA

Senior Lecturer in Engineering AI

School of Engineering and Materials Science
Queen Mary University of London

s.a.ponnusami@qmul.ac.uk

Centre for Intelligent Transport

Research

Mechanics of Materials, Computational Mechanics, Scientific Machine Learning, Multiphysics and Multiscale Modelling, Applied AI for Materials and Structures Design and Diagnostics, Multifunctional Composites

Interests

Sathiskumar's research integrates materials engineering, computational mechanics, and data-driven methods to develop multifunctional composites and AI-driven computational frameworks for next- generation materials/structures design. His team develops AI-driven modelling and simulation tools for aerospace/mechanical/materials engineering problems ranging from structural control and failure predictions to health monitoring and materials design.

News

April 2026

Centre for Multimodal AI at ICASSP 2026

20 April 2026

On 4-8 May 2026, several CMAI researchers will participate at the 2026 IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing (ICASSP 2026). ICASSP is the leading conference in the field of signal processing and the flagship event of the IEEE Signal Processing Society. As in previous years, the Centre for Multimodal AI ... [more]

Vasileios Klimis presents paper on "Beyond Specification Conformance" in Rio de Janeiro

17 April 2026

Vasileios Klimis has presented a paper on "Beyond Specification Conformance" at the 48th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Software Engineering in Rio de Janeiro It introduces a new way, based on a mathematical logic, that complements specifications to take into account the needs of users to improve the quality of ... [more]

Vasileios Klimis presents paper on "Beyond Specification Conformance" in Rio de Janeiro

1st AI: Brains and Bits Symposium

13 April 2026

The first QMUL AI: Brains and Bits symposium was held on 13 April 2026. It brought together researchers from across Science and Engineering to discuss the Fundamentals of AI including issues of how AI works and how it should work. It included talks from investigators from Biology, the Blizzard Institute, Physics, Maths, ... [more]

Centre for Multimodal AI at ICLR 2026

9 April 2026

On 23-27 April, CMAI researchers will participate at the Fourteenth International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR 2026), taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ICLR is the premier gathering of professionals dedicated to the advancement of the branch of artificial intelligence called representation learning, but generally referred to as deep learning. ... [more]

March 2026

Raymond Hu awarded a grant to investigate Distributed Dynamic Software Updates worth £646,000 working with Monzo Bank and SAP

31 March 2026

Raymond Hu has been awarded a New Investigator research grant worth £646,000 by EPSRC. The project is called "DymSUM - Distributed Dynamic Software Updates using Multiparty Session Types" and investigates a theory-based approach to how distributed software can evolve while running. The project involves collaboration with industrial partners at Monzo Bank ... [more]

Raymond Hu awarded a grant to investigate Distributed Dynamic Software Updates worth £646,000 working with Monzo Bank and SAP

CMAI PhD Student Completes Research Fellowship at UK Parliament

30 March 2026

CMAI PhD student Alexander Williams recently completed a 3 month research fellowship at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) following a successful application to the UKRI Policy Internship Scheme. POST is an impartial research and knowledge exchange service based in the UK Parliament. They work to ensure cutting-edge research ... [more]

CMAI PhD Student Completes Research Fellowship at UK Parliament

QMUL joins the Einstein Telescope collaboration

21 March 2026

QMUL has joined the Einstein Telescope (ET) collaboration with a new ET Research Unit supported by School of Mathematical Sciences and the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences. ET is a European project, driven by an international collaboration, for an innovative gravitational-wave observatory. It will be part of a third-generation ... [more]

QMUL joins the Einstein Telescope collaboration

Søren Riis and Marc Roth are joint winners of "Humanity's Last Exam" Competition

20 March 2026

Søren Riis and Marc Roth are both joint winners of the SafeAI Benchmark Competition "Humanity's Last Exam". The linked paper "A benchmark of expert-level academic questions to assess AI capabilities", co-authored by FACT researchers Søren Riis and Marc Roth, has been published in Nature. This paper accompanies the ... [more]

Søren Riis and Marc Roth are joint winners of "Humanity's Last Exam" Competition

The effect of images on the ability of Large Language Models to predict human judgements of how acceptable sentences are.

19 March 2026

A new paper, "Predicting Sentence Acceptability Judgments in Multimodal Contexts", by a team including Shalom Lappin from the Centre for Fundamental AI and Computational Theory, explores the effect of images on the ability of Large Language Models (LLMs) to predict the ratings humans give to sentences over how acceptable they ... [more]

The effect of images on the ability of Large Language Models to predict human judgements of how acceptable sentences are.

First CNCS Industry Exhibition

17 March 2026

The Centre for Networks, Communications, and Systems successfully hosted its first Industry Exhibition, marking a significant milestone for the centre. The event welcomed over 30 attendees, and we had the pleasure of showcasing our research to industry partners and guests. It was a proud moment to see the quality of work ... [more]

Søren Riis and Bei Zhou show AI's game-playing still has flaws

13 March 2026

New research published in Machine Learning shows pattern learning is not enough to train AI to tackle games – and abstract representations or hybrid approaches may help. See full story at: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2026/science-and-engineering/se/ais-game-playing-still-has-flaws-research-shows.html

Søren Riis and Bei Zhou show AI's game-playing still has flaws

Dr Heli Hietala appointed as Guest Investigator on Mercury mission

11 March 2026

Dr H. Hietala, Senior Lecturer in Space Plasma Physics at QMUL, has been appointed a Guest Investigator on the BepiColombo mission. BepiColombo is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the planet Mercury consisting of two spacecraft. Launched on 20 October 2018, ... [more]

Dr Heli Hietala appointed as Guest Investigator on Mercury mission

Resolution of long-standing conjecture about dynamical systems published in Inventiones Mathematicae

11 March 2026

A team of researchers including Oliver Jenkinson, Professor of Mathematics in the Centre for Complex Systems, has recently published a breakthrough study in the highly renowned journal Inventiones Mathematicae. The paper, entitled Typical periodic optimization for dynamical systems: symbolic dynamics by Wen Huang, Oliver Jenkinson, Leiye Xu and Yiwei Zhang, ... [more]

Resolution of long-standing conjecture about dynamical systems published in Inventiones Mathematicae

Why averages fail for bacteria in the open ocean

10 March 2026

How can bacteria that forage on organic particles survive in vast ocean regions where such particles are extremely sparse? A new study by researchers from Queen Mary University of London and ETH Zurich shows that variability at the level of individual bacteria plays a central role. Using a probabilistic population ... [more]

Why averages fail for bacteria in the open ocean

QMUL Recognised for Industry-Led Innovation at The Engineer Collaborate to Innovate Award

4 March 2026

Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) has been recognised at The Engineer Collaborate to Innovate Awards, which celebrate projects where close collaboration between universities, industry and the NHS delivers real-world impact. Three QMUL-involved projects were in the finalist, with Prostate-AI receiving a Highly Commended award. This recognition highlights Queen Mary's ... [more]

QMUL Recognised for Industry-Led Innovation at The Engineer Collaborate to Innovate Award

Three women leading research in Science and Engineering

1 March 2026

To mark International Women's Day, we spotlight three women leading research in Science and Engineering. Meet Silvia Liverani (Head of the Centre for Probability, Statistics and Data Science) Mona Jaber (Head of the Centre for Networks, Communications, and Systems) and Ana Sobrido (Head of the Centre for Centre for Sustainable ... [more]

February 2026

Dr. Maged Elkashlan recognised as IEEE VTS Top Performing Editor 2025

27 February 2026

We are delighted to congratulate Dr. Maged Elkashlan on being recognised by the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society as a Top Performing Editor for his outstanding contributions as an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology in 2025. This distinction reflects his exceptional dedication, professionalism, and commitment to maintaining the highest ... [more]

Dr. Maged Elkashlan recognised as IEEE VTS Top Performing Editor 2025

Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainability presents at QMUL Climate Action Week

26 February 2026

In this year's university-wide climate action week, the Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainability (CBS) represented the Faculty of Science and Engineering through the exhibition From London to the White Continent: Cooperation, Science and Climate Action in the Graduate Centre Foyer. The exhibition featured posters of CBS science highlights, various items ... [more]

Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainability presents at QMUL Climate Action Week

Queen Mary Experts Chosen to Help Drive Forward UK Science Policy in Prestigious Government Fellowship

25 February 2026

Two senior academics from Queen Mary University of London — Professor Akram Alomainy from the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and Professor Jan Mol from the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences — have been selected as Fellows in the highly competitive Expert Exchange Programme led by the Department ... [more]

Queen Mary Experts Chosen to Help Drive Forward UK Science Policy in Prestigious Government Fellowship

New journal Advances in Pollinator Research launched by Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainability member Rachel Parkinson

19 February 2026

Pollinators comprise a taxonomically diverse group – including insects, mammals, birds, and more rarely, amphibians, reptiles, and even gastropods – that support wild plant communities and underpin global food production systems. Today, a new journal has been lauched dedicated to the study of this essential ecosystem compoment: Advances in Pollinator Research. CBS ... [more]