Dr. Puneet Bawa is an academician, researcher and innovator, currently serving as an Assistant rofessor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IILM University, Greater Noida. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from Chitkara University, Punjab, with research focused on AI-driven identification of speech and language disorders in low-resource settings. With experience spanning academia, research, and industry, he has previously served as a Centre of Excellence Coordinator for Speech and Multimodal Technologies and as a Software Engineer. His expertise encompasses Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Speech Processing, Multimodal AI, Explainable AI, and Low-Resource Language Technologies, particularly in healthcare and assistive applications. He has authored/co-authored over 25 research publications in reputed journals, international conferences, and edited books. His intellectual property portfolio includes over 20 patents and more than 10 software copyrights. His innovations have received funding through DST NIDHI-PRAYAS, NewGen IEDC (two funded innovations), and MeitY TIDE 2.0. His achievements include the Most International Project Award at Ingenuity Finals, University of Nottingham Ningbo, China, and winner titles at Novate+, Punjab Innovation Summit, ACM Technology Solution Contest, Sahayak 1.0, and Parivartan, alongside IICDC Silver Semi-Finalist and Bronze Quarter-Finalist distinctions. He is passionate about translating academic research into deployable technologies, intellectual property, and socially impactful AI solutions.