Short Bio

I am Martin Cheerangal J and I received my Ph.D. from the Department of Electrical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IITD), India. During my PhD, I worked on the application of power electronics in electrical machine drives for their sustained and efficient operation. My area of expertise is in the fault-tolerant control (DSP based) of AC motor drives using a traditional two-level or a multi-level power electronic voltage source converter during fault conditions.

In July 2023, I joined the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB), as a Senior Project Research Scientist to work on managing and coordinating the purchase of lab equipment for the proposed 'C1973 Powertrain Lab' for Electric Vehicle research. I also led and mentored research projects with graduates and PhDs working on control and machine design of BLDC motor and Synchronous Reluctance Motor - ferrite assisted for a 2-wheeler and a 3-wheeler EV application, respectively. Later, I joined Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE, as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the 'Electric Transportation Lab' (under APEC - Advanced Power & Energy Center), focusing on open-ended winding induction motor configuration in EV applications.

I completed M.Tech (2014-16) in Power Electronics from Government Engineering College, Thrissur and B.E (2006-10) in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Anna University, Chennai. Before my master's degree, I had worked as a Programmer Analyst Trainee at Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS), Chennai, and as an Electrical Design Engineer at an MEP consulting firm in Kochi. Since July 2025, I have been working at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering.

For SOP/LOP/DOP/SP

See the 'Research Projects' Section

PhD Admissions Open

Dive into transformative research at the intersection of Electric Vehicle Technology and Machine Learning, where next-generation EV systems meet intelligent digital transformation.

Resilient Fault-Tolerant EV Drives & Controls:

• Develop control algorithms for induction motors, permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs), BLDC motor, and other special machines that deliver superior torque response and energy efficiency for next-gen electric propulsion
• Master field weakening techniques and torque ripple minimization to achieve an extended speed range and ultra-smooth EV driving experience
• Design real-time fault detection frameworks combining physics-based models with data-driven ML approaches for instantaneous fault diagnosis in safety-critical EV components
• Engineer adaptive reconfiguration strategies that ensure seamless operation during sensor failures, open-circuit faults, and short-circuit conditions—zero downtime, maximum safety

Next-Gen Power Electronic Converters:

• Innovate high-efficiency multi-level converter topologies - Neutral Point Clamped (NPC), Cascaded H-Bridge (CHB), and Modular Multilevel Converters (MMC)—for ultra-fast EV charging stations, compact onboard chargers and powertrain motor control
• Create bidirectional V2G converters enabling smart grid integration with advanced harmonic mitigation and DC-link balancing for sustainable energy ecosystems

ML-Powered Digital Twinning:

Build high-fidelity digital twins of EV components using Deep Learning models and synchronize with the physical models for predictive analytics

• Implement predictive maintenance platforms forecasting battery parameters (e.g., SoC/SoH/RUL) and EV motor degradation (e.g., winding failure) weeks in advance
• Power switch dynamic parameter variations (e.g., Rds for MOSFETs)
• Deploy reinforcement learning optimization for closed-loop EV performance tuning - from regenerative braking to thermal management
• Enable fleet-level analytics through federated learning frameworks for collective intelligence across thousands of connected EVs

What We Offer:

• All the full-time PhD students admitted into the PhD program will receive fellowship up to a maximum of five years.
• The fellowship could be from the Institute or Sponsored Projects. PhD students may also have their own fellowship if qualified through UGC/CSIR NET.
• Students offered Institute fellowship will receive ₹37,000 per month. The fellowship may be enhanced to ₹40,000/- or ₹42,000/- after two years based on the performance. Institute Fellows will also receive a contingency amount of ₹20,000/- per year.
• Students offered admission through Sponsored Projects would receive the fellowship in accordance with the funding agency guidelines.
• BITS Pilani provides International Travel Support of up to ₹1.5 lakh to full-time PhD students to present their work in an international conference.

For detailed research topics:

See the 'Research Projects' Section

PhD Admission Information link:

https://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/admissions/doctoral-program-phd/

Any query related to PhD Admission, drop an email to:

martinj@goa.bits-pilani.ac.in

with subject, ‘PhD admission query’.

Shape the future of sustainable mobility with ML! Join us to build intelligent, resilient EV systems. 🚀⚡

Publication and Research updates

Google Scholar

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=m0ZpnjsAAAAJ&hl=en

ORCiD

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8995-668X