Shaurya Manglik

In search of a college that was a perfect fit, Shaurya Manglik was drawn to Arizona State University for its interdisciplinary approach to engineering and the opportunities available to students, including enrolling at the highly regarded Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. He wanted to pursue an interdisciplinary engineering degree. 

A student in Barrett, The Honors College, Manglik will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in engineering with a concentration in robotics and a minor in technological entrepreneurship and management, offered through The Polytechnic School, part of the Fulton Schools at ASU. 

“Robotics engineering sits at the intersection of every discipline I care about — mechanical systems, embedded electronics, software and real-world physical impact,” he says.

A Grand Challenges Scholar, he chose sustainability as his focus because of the many related challenges facing the world today, ranging from climate change to food insecurity.

“For engineers and problem-solvers, sustainability presents an opportunity to design solutions that are not only efficient and scalable, but ethical, resilient and deeply human in their impact,” Manglik says.

One accomplishment that he is very proud of is being the first international student to serve as ASU’s student body president and making a concrete impact with policy changes, increasing student resources and showing that he belonged.

“It was a functioning executive role that carried real weight in every sense, representing 180,000 students, managing a budget over $1 million, leading a team of more than 60 people and advocating at the U.S. Capitol alongside Senator Mark Kelly,” Manglik says. “I was 18 years old, on an F-1 visa, and the students and institution trusted me with real responsibility.”

This leadership role made quite an impact on him, as he describes it as the most demanding leadership experience yet.

“You learn to operate with incomplete information, build coalitions and make decisions that affect people you’ll never meet,” he says. “That experience made me a sharper engineer because it forced me to think about systems at a scale where the stakes are not abstract.”

One project that he is proud of is a natural language-controlled robotic manipulation system he built around a Dobot robot arm. This project gave him hands-on experience and directly informed how he thought about industrial automation problems.

Upon graduation, Manglik will continue his time on the Polytechnic campus and continue pursuing an Accelerated Master’s degree program in robotics and autonomous systems. 

Favorites

Hobby: Photography and videography
Performer: The Weeknd
TV show: Game of Thrones
Sport: Badminton
Book: Deception Point by Dan Brown

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

Written by Joy Gaeraths