Dr. Anitha Subburaj is an associate professor of electrical engineering for the College of Engineering at West Texas A&M University.
Subburaj is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and has a number of publications in different engineering professional journals. She uses her expertise at WT to prepare the next generation of engineers.
“My father was a first-generation student, and he became a civil engineer, so that gave me a lot of interest in exploring more about engineering,” Subburaj said. “My father really encouraged me to get into a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) field. He wanted me to go above and beyond his career. So that was a constant support and motivation.”
Being a woman in a STEM field is an opportunity Subburaj fought for.
“One thing that really motivates me, in general speaking in a male-dominant world, it’s always an education which will help women to explore and understand and get to where they need to be,” Subburaj said. “Rather than feeling suppressed or underestimating themself. Education is the first key to getting out of that. And that’s why I keep motivating myself to reach out to students, encourage them.”
Subburaj chose to pursue a degree in her field because of what she experienced back in India.
“Coming from India, we have a lot of electricity outages,” Subburaj said. “We have to be six hours, eight hours, or maybe a day off, you know, without electricity. So that’s something that was a huge deal for us. And I really thought, ‘is there anything that we can do to help?’ you know, exploring other options in energy, and so on. So that’s what really motivated me, especially to get into this electrical engineering track.”
Having received her PhD in Lubbock, Subburaj decided to stay in the area following graduation.
“I got admission to Texas Tech, and I really loved the West Texas area,” Subburaj said. “When I was applying for my job, I found WT. I love the small population. And I love advising because I get to meet with students one-on-one and the students feel comfortable to talk to me about where they’re struggling, ‘These are things I need help with.’ That kind of interaction is available only at WT, where you have a small student population.”
Subburaj teaches a few different courses, in a few different areas of the field.
“I teach electrical circuits, control systems, power system analysis, and then I do some design projects and signals and systems,” Subburaj said. “If you look at our degree checklist, because we cater most of the excellent energy that Pantex needs, we want to focus on energy and power. You will see many classes on just machines and power. That’s one of the motives, is to make sure we supply the necessary workforce for the people around here.”
Subburaj described her teaching style as a mixture of analysis and theory primarily.
“My teaching style, I would say, is analytical as well as theoretical,” Subburaj said. “It kind of differs subject to subject. I will give them an understanding. I touch base on the theory behind it, but it will be more problem-solving.”
Subburaj encourages students to pursue a career in an electrical engineering field for a number of reasons.
“With electrical engineering, salary-wise, you have good pay,” Subburaj said. “And there are a lot of good opportunities right here. Once you graduate, you most likely immediately get a job. That’s why I would highly encourage electrical engineering. You can major in electrical engineering by taking an in-class [course] or online. We treat both of them the same, and they are both offered.”
