Academic Degrees
PhD, Computer Science – Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
MS, Electrical Engineering – University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
BE, Instrumentation and Electronics – Bangalore University, Bengaluru, India
Areas of Interest in Artificial Intelligence
Applications of AI to the Internet of Things (IoT), manufacturing, autonomous vehicles, and financial systems. Research interests include robust AI, explainable AI, ethical AI, causal AI, and biometrics.
About
Dr. Som Shahapurkar is an Adjunct Professor of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the University of San Diego’s Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering. He is also an AI instructor for the Executive Perspective for Scientists & Engineers (EPSE) program at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Som is the Director of AI Products at FICO (formerly Fair Isaac), where he heads intrapreneurship programs to turn AI innovations into revenue-generating products.
Som has built and operationalized AI, ML, and advanced analytics for all of his 20-year career. For Intel, he led design and deployment of AI and machine learning systems for high volume manufacturing, Internet of Things (IoT), retail, smart-homes, communications, and self-driven cars. At Verizon, Som led a team engineers to enhance the telematics SAAS platform with advanced analytics. Som co-founded a startup in AI for energy management which won several competitions including the southwest Clean-Tech Open.
Som holds two patents, one on the application of AI to semiconductor manufacturing and another on the application of AI for Energy Management. His first patent is cited by 11 of the earliest Google patents on AI/ML. Som is a Lean Six Sigma black-belt in applied statistics and prides in his ability to solve real-world problems with compassion, data, and choice. He loves to teach technical and non-technical classes that include the ‘7-habits of highly effective people’ leadership program. Som likes mountain biking, 4×4 off-roading, riding his motorcycle, and bicycling for charitable causes.