Dr. Sonwalkar is regarded as a leading expert in the application of computers in education. He has extensive research and development experience in hypermedia authoring, mobile learning, adaptive learning, and brain-based synaptic learning, advanced scientific visualization, database management systems, and computer simulation. 

Dr. Sonwalkar was the Principal Educational Architect at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served as the key architect of the Singapore MIT Alliance (SMA), a premier distance education program delivered by MIT at three Universities in Singapore.  Dr. Sonwalkar developed several educational technologies and learning management systems while serving as Director of the Hypermedia Teaching Facility at MIT.   In particular, he developed the MetaMosaic Interface and Hypermedia Instruction and Teaching Environment (HITE), as well as the Stellar Learning Platform, both which are currently used for over 800 courses at MIT and for courses deployed by MIT’s Open Knowledge Initiative (OKI).

 Dr. Sonwalkar has received numerous national awards for his significant contributions to technology-enabled education.  In 2007, he received the Innovative Excellence Award in Teaching and Learning, as well as the USDLA Award for Outstanding Leadership by an Individual in the Field of Distance Learning.  Additionally, in 2007, Dr. Sonwalkar received the USDLA Platinum Award for Best Practices for On-line Distance Learning Programming.

Dr. Sonwalkar became a member of the faculty at MIT after earning his doctor degree there in the area of Molecular Dynamics of Nano-interfaces.  He discovered his passion for technology-enabled education while teaching; and that led him to become the founding director of the Hypermedia Teaching Facility at MIT.  He was later appointed to be the Principal Educational Architect at MIT.  Dr. Sonwalkar has authored several articles and papers, as well as the books, Fluid Mechanics Hyper Course, MIT Press, 1996, and The Changing the Interface of Education with Revolutionary Learning technology, iUniverse, 2004.  He serves on the editorial board of journal Hypermedia and Multimedia in Education, published by American Association of Computers in Education (AACE).

Additionally, Dr. Sonwalkar is a successful serial entrepreneur and has launched several companies, such as InteQ Corporation, IDL Systems, Sonwalkar Consulting Group (SCG) and Synaptic Global Learning (SGL), LLC.  He also co-founded LearnQuest Academy of Indian Music and is a practicing percussionist, playing tabla.  Dr. Sonwalkar has produced Jazz and Fusion CDs.  He is also the producer of “Multicultural Music Magazine”, a monthly TV magazine for the Public Access Television, USA.

• Sonwalkar N., Flores, J.G. and Gardner, M., “Designing for Quality and Measuring Quality in Online Learning,” USDLA Research Report prepared for Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, March, 2010
• Sonwalkar, N., “The Paradigm Shift for Adult Education: From Educational Slavery to Learning Freedom of the Human Brain with Synaptic Learning”, in Online Education and Adult Learning: New Frontiers for Teaching Practice, Eds. Terry Kidd, IGI Global Publishing, Hershey, PA, September, 2009
• Sonwalkar, N. “Adaptive Individualization: The Next Generation of Online Educational Systems”, New Horizons, Volume 16, No. 1, pp. 44-47, 2008
• Sonwalkar, N. “Adaptive Learning: A Dynamic Methodology for Effective Online Learning,” Distance Learning, Volume 4, Number 1, April, 2007
• Sonwalkar, N. “Technology for Adaptive Learning: From One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Individualization,” Educause Center for Applied Research (ECAR), Research Bulletin, Volume 2005, Issue 7, April 5, 2005
• Sonwalkar, N. Changing the Interface of Education with Revolutionary Learning Technologies, iUniverse, New York, 2004
• Fay, J. and Sonwalkar, N., Fluid Mechanics Hyper Course CD-ROM, MIT Press, 1996