Dr. Susmita Panda earned her Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and was awarded a Gold Medal during her M.Tech at Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), Burla, Odisha. She completed both her Diploma and B.Tech from Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology (IGIT), Sarang, Odisha.

Prior to joining IIT Jodhpur, she worked as a Post-Doctoral Researcher at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, in the Railway Engineering Section. There, she contributed to the European research project “XCROSS: The Next Generation of Railway Crossing Asset Management Technology,” focusing on the development of digital twin frameworks for railway crossings aimed at transforming the monitoring, inspection, and maintenance of crossing surface profiles. Before her tenure at TU Delft, she served as a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway, in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, where she worked on data-driven analysis using instrumented train monitoring systems.

Her research interests lie at the intersection of structural engineering and railway geotechnics, encompassing analytical, theoretical, and optimization-based methodologies. Her work includes the design and analysis of high-speed railway bridges, optimization of vibration control devices, and the application of AI/ML and digital twin technologies for intelligent railway infrastructure systems. She has authored and co-authored several peer-reviewed publications in reputed national and international journals and conferences.