July 28, 2020

Sudheer Koganti

Students often hear college prepares them for jobs that don’t exist yet. Sudheer Koganti is proof. He is the new Vice President of Engineering at ImageWare® Systems. There, he leads multiple engineering teams that develop biometric multi-factor authentication and identity the software it incorporates allowing you to unlock your phone with your face. Such technology wasn’t around when Koganti earned his master’s in computer science at Mizzou in the 1990s. But the knowledge he gained through the program gave him the foundation he needed to succeed in an always-changing tech industry.

“If you have a career in engineering or computer software, you have to learn on a daily basis,” he said. “Things move and new things come along quickly. The reason I’m able to understand things so fast is I have good building blocks. While everything is changing, 95 percent of the foundation is the same. The laws of operating systems and processes are not going to get outdated.”

Koganti has used that foundation throughout his career. Prior to his position at ImageWare, he built and managed a variety of products across platforms. He co-founded a start-up company in the IoT sector. And he received more than eight patents.

At ImageWare, he’s leading the team to the next level of security and usability.

ImageWare manages millions of identities daily, making it a leader in biometric identification.

“With biometric authentication, you can use your face to unlock your phone. ImageWare does that on a much wider scale, enabling people to use their fingers, face or voice to authenticate themselves,” Koganti said. “We’re leading the revolution of making the world a password-less place by replacing passwords with biometrics.

A Passion for Programming

Koganti came to Mizzou after earning a bachelor’s degree in India. He liked the location of campus and the feel of the Columbia community.

While earning a master’s in civil engineering, Koganti discovered a talent and passion for programming. After completing his first master’s, he took necessary prerequisite courses to continue studying computer science.

“I immediately came back to Mizzou because I knew that the program at Mizzou is top notch,” he said.

Unlike other types of engineering, computer software allows for more creativity, Koganti said. Projects are more flexible than, say, building a bridge.

“It’s about learning what people really want and how a product should be designed,” he said. “For me, it’s the ideal complex system to work through, and it’s very challenging.”

Now, as vice president, he encourages others to be at their optimal creativity.

Koganti has a knack for developing products that resonate in the marketplace, Kristin A. Taylor, CEO of ImageWare, said

“He is keenly focused on fine tuning existing products and creating new platforms,” she said. “He enjoys system optimization, operational efficiency and loves to teach others how to solve complicated problems. We welcome him as a valued member of our technical team to drive ImageWare forward.”