Vijay is an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland in College Park with interests in sensor development, computational neuroscience, and robotics. He is a strong and visible leader in the support and encouragement of young people in their studies in Engineering and specifically in formulating areas of responsive research. Dr. Kowtha has organized STEM events promoting basic research at the USA science festivals. Recently he formed a new non-profit called MASER (Mentors Advancing STEM Education and Research) with local universities. Dr. Kowtha has also mentored high school students in robotics competitions for two decades. These teams have won national level competitions and many students have graduated and are now gainfully employed in the federal workforce.

He is a member of the College Park Rotary Club and active in the Montgomery Blair High School Robotics Team.