Dr. Anirban Pal is a professor at the College of Engineering. Pal received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in 2010. In 2016, he earned his Ph.D. which was also from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in mechanical engineering. He joined West Texas A&M University in the fall of 2019 as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and currently teaches in Fundamentals of Engineering and Programming Fundamentals.

Pal enjoys teaching and sharing his learning and curiosity with other students.

“Since I grew up, I think everybody has a certain curiosity, and that curiosity stems from a certain, I guess a lust for learning,” Pal said. “I believe that is what spurred me into teaching because teaching is a way of sharing the joy of learning.”

Outside of the classroom, Pal likes to dance. He had been dancing for about 10 to 12 years when he was living in upstate New York while in grad school. 

“I’ve been dancing Argentine Tango for a really long time,” Pal said. ”Once I started, I really got into it because it has a lot of musicality.”

While Pal is practicing his salsa dancing, he continues to learn other types of dances. He typically spends at least two to three hours every week practicing dancing.

“There’s a dance that I’m learning it’s called Lindy Hop, which is a kind of swing dance. It’s kind of an older, Jazzy swinging dance from probably the 1930s and 40s,” Pal said. “I’m still learning Argentine Tango and salsa, but Lindy Hop Swing is probably one of those I am at the most beginner level.”

Pal also wants to get invested in jujitsu and rock climbing. 

“I’m really fascinated by how your body can move, and I feel like in the current environment, you don’t get the opportunity to move in many different ways because you could sit on your chair and live most of your day,” Pal said.