Shreyas Bachiraju

Imagine a city that works smarter. Where traffic systems, sensors and other infrastructure don’t just collect data, but act on it, making smart decisions in real time without enormous drains on energy and resources.

That’s the kind of future Shreyas Bachiraju is working toward.

At Arizona State University, he explored a key question in artificial intelligence, or AI, research: What happens when powerful models meet real-world limits?

“I’m focused on building AI systems that are practical and deployable in real environments,” Bachiraju says. “Informatics combines computer science, data science and human-computer interaction, which allows me to explore technology from both technical and human-centered perspectives.”

This spring, he graduates from the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU, with a degree in informatics. Named an Outstanding Graduate, he has built his work around making AI systems not just powerful, but usable in the environments where they matter most.

In the Data Mining and Reinforcement Learning Lab, working under the mentorship of Assistant Professor Hua Wei, Bachiraju explored how generative AI can improve transportation systems. His work focused on optimizing traffic models — not in ideal conditions, but in the constrained environments where real systems operate.

“In urban and edge environments, constraints aren’t something you can ignore,” he says. “They’re the design goal.”

He applied that philosophy across his research. In one project, he redesigned AI systems to run efficiently on low-power hardware without sacrificing accuracy. In another, he tackled the growing challenge of identifying ways to reduce unnecessary computation and improve performance under limited resources.

At the ASU Center for Semiconductor Microelectronics, led by Fulton Professor of Microelectronics Krishnendu Chakrabarty, he further explored how to make AI systems more efficient, developing strategies to reduce energy use and improve performance in resource-constrained environments.

His work has earned national recognition, including first place in the sustainability track at HackHarvard for an AI-driven urban planning project and a research award from the Computing Research Association.

Beyond research, Bachiraju brought a problem-solving mindset to building community. As co-founder of ASU’s CS + Social Good, he grew an organization of more than 200 students, creating space for interdisciplinary teams to apply technology to real-world challenges.

After graduation, Bachiraju will attend Carnegie Mellon University to pursue a master’s degree in machine learning. Long-term, he hopes to build impactful AI systems that help cities run more sustainably.

Favorites

Hobby: Listening to music
Band: Peter Cat Recording Co.
TV show: Breaking Bad
Movie: Interstellar and About Time
Sports team: FC Barcelona

Read about other exceptional graduates of the Fulton Schools’ spring 2026 class.

Written by Kelly deVos