Sumita Pennathur, Ph.D.

From In-Vitro to Implantable Medical Devices – Where Microscale
Innovations Can Make a Difference

A professor of mechanical engineering at University of California Santa Barbara, Pennathur and her lab are focused on novel studies of chemical and biological species using fabricated micro- and nanoscale devices, spanning the fields of physics, biology, chemistry and engineering. As CEO/Founder of LAXMI Therapeutic Devices, her team is committed to improving the quality of life for people living with diabetes and to build unique, life changing, high-quality products to enable better management of an individual’s health.

About Sumita Pennathur
Pennathur received her B.S. and M.S. in Aerospace and Aeronautical Engineering from M.I.T. (2000 and 2001 respectively), and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University in 2006. She was an Elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2021, earned the Young Faculty Award, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 2008 and the UC Regents' Junior Faculty Fellowship in 2009, and the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering (PECASE) Award in 2010. Learn more about Pennathur's Lab and her company.