Graduate Student Highlight: Jiteshri Dasari
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Jiteshri Dasari ’26 PhD came to UMass Amherst to pursue deeper research in formal verification of digital hardware, building on both her previous master’s degree experience at UMass and her time working in the semiconductor industry. As a doctoral student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, under the guidance of Professor Maciej Ciesielski, her research focused on developing scalable methods to mathematically prove the correctness of complex hardware circuits used in processors, cryptographic hardware, and other high performance computing systems.
During her time at UMass, Dasari authored six first author papers and presented her research at leading international conferences, including the Design Automation Conference (DAC), the International Conference on Computer Aided Design (ICCAD), and Design, Automation and Test in Europe (DATE) in Valencia, Spain. She also completed internships at Synopsys and NXP Semiconductors, where she worked on formal verification methods for arithmetic circuits and communication protocols used in modern chip architectures.
In addition to her research, Dasari served as a teaching assistant for courses related to digital systems and hardware design within the ECE department. She also received several recognitions during her doctoral studies, including the DAC Young Fellow Scholarship, the Grace Hopper Conference Scholarship, and first prize in the ECE Three Minute Thesis competition.
“One of my most meaningful academic experiences has been conducting research during my PhD on methods to verify the correctness of complex hardware circuits,” said Dasari. “What made this experience especially enjoyable was the process of turning an idea into a working method and then validating it through experiments and peer reviewed publications.”
Dasari said the supportive faculty and collaborative research environment at the UMass Riccio College of Engineering played an important role in her academic experience. “The opportunity to work with supportive advisors and motivated peers can make a significant difference in a student’s academic experience and shape both your education and your career path in a very meaningful way,” she said.