Dr. Ranganathan Gopalakrishnan received a Bachelors in Technology (Mechanical Engineering) degree from National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli in 2008. He graduated with a PhD from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities in 2013 specializing in aerosol physics. He did postdoctoral studies at California Institute of Technology and University of California – Berkeley, worked as a lecturer at The University of Iowa before joining the University of Memphis in 2016 as an assistant professor. He is currently an Associate Professor and the Graduate Coordinator in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Memphis. His research interests include applied physics topics in aerosols, plasmas, and powder technology specializing in particle transport processes. In his career so far, he has published 25 peer reviewed journal articles in leading journals such as Physical Review E, Journal of Aerosol Science, Aerosol Science and Technology, Powder Technology, Journal of Chemical Physics, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Physics of Plasmas, and 1 US patent related to powder technology. He has received ~$1.9 million as research support from federal agencies such as NSF, DOE, ARO including the Early Career Award from the US Department of Energy (Office of Fusion Energy Sciences) to conduct fundamental research on strongly coupled dusty plasmas. He enjoys teaching courses in the fluid and thermal sciences areas, numerical and mathematical methods, and experimental techniques at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
Potential postdoctoral candidates should hold a PhD degree in related disciplines such as mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, applied physics related to the powder technology targeted for commercialization. They should be able to work independently and with modest scientific mentoring