Dr. Somil Bansal

Assistant Professor

Build a Statement of Purpose

Generate a tailored SOP for Dr. Somil Bansal. Improve your application with a focused, well-structured draft.

Biography

Somil Bansal is an assistant professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University. He completed his MS and PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from the University of California at Berkeley in 2014 and 2020, respectively. Somil obtained his B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 2012. Prior to joining Stanford, he worked as a research scientist at Waymo, the self-driving car project. Somil's research interests are centered around developing mathematical tools and algorithms for the control and analysis of safety-critical autonomous robotic systems, with a special emphasis on ensuring the safety of learning-enabled systems. He has collaborated with various companies, including Skydio, Google, Boeing, and NASA AMES/JPL. Somil has been recognized for his work with several prestigious awards including the NSF CAREER award, the Eli Jury Award from UC Berkeley, the RSS Pioneer Award, and the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award from UC Berkeley.

Research Interests

Experience

Assistant Professor

2020-08-01 — Present

Stanford University • Stanford, California

Teaching and conducting research in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Research Scientist

2020-01-01 — 2020-08-01

Waymo • N/A

Contributed to the development of technology for the self-driving car project.

Awards

#

CAREER Award

2022-01-01
#

Eli Jury Award

2020-01-01
#

RSS Pioneer Award

2019-01-01
#

Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award

2019-01-01

Courses

ENGR 205 AA 276 AA 190 AA 199 AA 291 AA 290 AA 290S

Requirements for Stanford University

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.5
TOEFL
Listening
Required:26
Reading
Required:26
Writing
Required:26
Speaking
Required:26
Total
Required:100
GRE General
Verbal
Required:160
Quantitative
Required:165
Analytical Writing
Required:4.5
Overall
Required:4.5
Prerequisites
Bachelor degree from an accredited institution Strong background in mathematics and programming
Application Checklist
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Official transcripts
  • Resume/CV
Specialization Notes

The Computer Science department emphasizes research potential. GRE General is currently optional but recommended for some tracks.