Tharakeshwar Appala holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (Robotics) from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. Currently, he serves as a Professor and Vice Principal at Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India. With more than 22+ years of experience, he has been actively involved in teaching, research, and academic administration. He has held diverse administrative roles, such as serving as Head of the Department, Program Coordinator, Principal Incharge, Head of Accreditations and Rankings, Associate Dean of Student Affairs, and Associate Dean of Curriculum Design and Student Progression. Additionally, he is a member of the Board of Studies for various institutes. His research expertise spans various areas, including Robot Kinematics and Dynamics, Mechanism Design, Mobile Robotics, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Underwater Robotics, Humanoids, and Mechanisms for Societal Applications. Dr. Appala boasts a substantial publication record, with a good number published in esteemed peer- reviewed SCI journals such as ‘Mechanisms and Machine Theory’ and ‘Mechanics based design of structures and machines’, among others. He has also made significant contributions to the academic community by presenting research papers at prestigious conferences, including IEEE Robotics conferences and National Conference on Mechanisms and Machines, IFTOMM…etc. At present, Professor T. Appala is engaged in innovative projects, including the development of a novel finger-based gripper, biped walking mechanism, remotely operated vehicle for subsea applications, and a wheeled mobile robot tailored for planetary exploration. Worked on CSR project sponsored by Aker Solutions, India on Design and Development of Underwater robots for Subsea Applications. He is an active member of RSI [The Robotics Society], AMM [Association for Mechanisms and Machines ], SAE,…etc