Dr. Lakshmi Prayaga is an assistant professor in the Department of Applied Sciences, Technology, and Administration at the University of West Florida. She has an interdisciplinary background with a master's in philosophy, a master's in business administration, a master's in software engineering, and a doctoral degree in instructional technology. She has been a recipient of several local and national grants. She is currently working on designing a robotics platform for education that online students can access using the Internet.