Fellow, IEEE / Fellow, National Academy of Inventors / Fellow, AAIS / Fellow, IET

SanjoyPaul

Thirty years turning research into things that ship — 95 granted U.S. patents, a Bell Labs bench, three global technology organizations, and a university innovation engine now translating discoveries into ventures.

RiceAssociate Vice President, Technology Incubation & Commercialization
Rice NexusExecutive Director
Orbital ShieldCo-founder & Chief Executive Officer
Houston AICo-founder
The Patent Record · 1995 — 2026

Ninety-five grants across three decades of invention.

Each column is a year of issued U.S. patents — from packet multicasting and anonymous payments in the mid-nineties to probabilistic reasoning on digital twins in 2026. Select a year to read what issued.

1995
3 patents issued
    95
    U.S. Patents
    Granted
    24,486
    Citations
    Google Scholar
    80
    h-index
    i10 · 269
    200+
    Published
    Articles
    100+
    Invited
    Talks
    Present

    Building the bridge between research and market.

    Four concurrent roles across a university innovation office, a venture-backed space cybersecurity company, a nonprofit workforce initiative, and a graduate classroom.

    Innovation Leadership

    Rice Nexus

    Executive Director · Rice University · The Ion, Houston

    Leads Rice University's innovation hub at the Ion District, where faculty, students and alumni prototype, test and launch ventures. Built to de-risk and deploy university technology through partnerships with corporate, government, community and venture capital partners. Co-PI on a $14.1M Texas Space Commission award funding four AI-native products for the space ecosystem.

    Founder

    Orbital Shield

    Co-founder & CEO · Houston, TX

    An AI-powered space domain awareness and orbital intelligence platform delivering real-time monitoring, predictive analytics and autonomous decision support for satellites. Combines machine learning, computer vision, physics-based modeling and multi-source sensor fusion to detect threats — debris, conjunctions, anomalous behavior, hostile activity — in an increasingly contested orbital environment.

    AI Acceleration

    Rice AI Venture Accelerator

    Co-Lead · In partnership with Google

    Co-leads RAVA, an accelerator driving AI adoption across Houston's industry ecosystem through startup acceleration, AI training and applied innovation. Announced at Google Next in April 2025.

    Nonprofit

    Houston AI

    Co-founder · Houston, TX

    A nonprofit working to establish Houston as a national center of AI: upskilling the regional workforce, and spawning ventures at the intersection of AI and the city's core domains — energy, health, space, finance and logistics.

    Selected Initiatives

    Programs currently in flight.

    Human Brain Digital Twin Platform

    A computational twin of the human brain for research and clinical decision support.

    Baylor College of Medicine
    Dr. Eric Storch

    Rheumatic Heart Disease Screening

    AI models that detect rheumatic heart disease from phonocardiogram signals captured by non-clinicians with a digital stethoscope — the first economically viable, scalable screening system of its kind.

    HealthSeers Inc.
    Texas Children's Hospital
    Cardiological Society of India

    Markerless Human Motion Analysis

    Computer vision and biomechanics for analyzing human motion, predicting injury and guiding rehabilitation.

    AiKynetix
    Houston Methodist Center for Human Performance

    Cyber Defense for Orbital Data Centers

    Autonomous, on-orbit defense for space infrastructure operating beyond the reach of ground-based response.

    Axiom Space

    Telemetry Anomaly Detection & Root Cause Analysis

    A platform for detecting anomalies in spacecraft telemetry, identifying root cause and recommending action.

    Intuitive Machines
    Track Record

    From the Bell Labs bench to the global stage.

    Research leadership, venture founding and P&L ownership across the United States, India and Europe — spanning networking, mobility, IoT, digital twins, robotics and generative AI.

    2024 — Present
    Associate Vice President, TechnologyRice University · Office of Innovation
    Houston, TX
    2026 — Present
    Co-founder & Chief Executive OfficerOrbital Shield Inc.
    Houston, TX
    2021 — Present
    Lecturer, Computer ScienceRice University · Graduate MCS & MDS programs
    Houston, TX
    2021 — 2024
    Global Managing DirectorAccenture Technology Labs — Systems & Platforms R&D
    San Francisco, CA
    2020 — 2021
    Chief Executive OfficerAlmawiz Inc. — Conversational AI platform
    San Jose, CA
    2016 — 2020
    Vice President & Global Digital Head, ManufacturingWipro Limited — exceeded $250M three-year digital target
    Mountain View, CA
    2016 — 2017
    Managing Director, Digital Go-to-MarketAccenture Digital — Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Natural Resources
    Houston, TX
    2011 — 2016
    Managing Director & Country HeadAccenture Technology Labs India — grew team 22 → 125
    Bangalore, India
    2007 — 2011
    Associate Vice President & General ManagerInfosys Technologies — 23 patents filed, 8 solutions built
    Bangalore, India
    2005 — 2007
    Co-founder & Chief Executive OfficerRelevant Ad Technologies — first personalized TV advertising system
    Marlboro, NJ
    2005
    Chief Technology OfficerWhenU Inc. — helped raise $35M Series A
    New York, NY
    2001 — 2005
    Director of R&D, Networking Software ResearchLucent Technologies — secured $5.4M NSF grant for 4G research
    Holmdel & Whippany, NJ
    1999 — 2001
    Chief Technology OfficerEdgix Corporation — helped raise $70M Series B
    New York, NY
    1992 — 1999
    Distinguished Member of Technical StaffAT&T Bell Laboratories
    Murray Hill & Holmdel, NJ
    Recognition

    Elected, awarded, cited.

    2026

    Distinguished Alumnus Award, University of Maryland

    Awarded by his doctoral alma mater

    2026

    Fellow, International Academy of AI Sciences

    AAIS

    2025

    Fellow, National Academy of Inventors

    Recognizing prolific academic invention

    2025

    Marquis Who's Who in America

    Featured in the Wall Street Journal as a Distinguished Leader

    2015

    Distinguished Alumnus Award, IIT Kharagpur

    Awarded to 5–8 alumni annually from a body of 10,000

    2013

    Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award

    New Jersey R&D Council — most influential patent of the year

    2011

    MIT Technology Review Grand Challenges for India

    For projects solving societal problems at scale

    2010

    Fellow, Institution of Engineering and Technology

    Top 1% of IET members worldwide

    2010

    Infosys Excellence Award

    Innovation and thought leadership — most innovative product of the year

    2008

    Schwarzkopf Prize for Technological Innovation

    Most innovative project of the year

    2004

    Fellow, IEEE

    Awarded to the top 0.1% of IEEE members worldwide

    1998

    Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, Bell Labs

    Five awarded annually from 2,000 scientists

    1997

    IEEE William R. Bennett Prize Paper Award

    Best original paper, IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking

    Books

    Three books, twenty-six years apart.

    2024

    If Generative AI comes, can Metaverse be far behind?

    Amazon Kindle · ISBN 979-8338136331
    2010

    Digital Video Distribution in Broadband, Television, Mobile and Converged Networks

    John Wiley & Sons · ISBN 978-0-470-74628-8
    1998

    Multicasting on the Internet and its Applications

    Kluwer Academic Publishers · ISBN 0-7923-8200-5
    Teaching

    Graduate courses at Rice.

    COMP 647Deep Learning
    COMP 644Data Privacy and Security
    COMP 628Cybersecurity
    COMP 614Programming for Data Science
    COMP 556Computer Networks

    Previously faculty at Rutgers University and San Jose State University; adjunct faculty at Baylor College of Medicine. Serves on the Advisory Board of the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Maryland.

    Research Focus

    Where the work concentrates.

    Generative AI Machine Learning Robotics & Autonomy Digital Twins Cybersecurity Space Systems Medical AI 5G & Wireless Internet of Things Computer Vision Extended Reality Networking
    Education
    MBAThe Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
    PhDElectrical Engineering & Computer Science, University of Maryland
    MSComputer Science, University of Maryland
    B.TechElectronics & Telecommunications (Hons), IIT Kharagpur
    Engagement

    Ways we might work together.

    Selective engagements where deep technical authority and operating experience both matter.

    01

    Board & Advisory

    Board and advisory service for companies in AI, space, cybersecurity and deep tech — including those navigating federal programs and university partnerships.

    02

    AI Strategy

    Executive advisory on AI strategy, governance and platform architecture for enterprises and their boards.

    03

    Expert Testimony

    Technical expert engagement in patent, trade secret and cybersecurity matters across networking, AI, wireless and computing.

    04

    Speaking

    Keynotes and panels on AI, autonomy and the space frontier — over 100 invited talks delivered to industry, academic and policy audiences.

    Let's start a conversation.

    Based in Houston, Texas — working across the United States and India.