Srinath Ekkad named Commonwealth Professor for Aerospace Propulsion Systems
Srinath Ekkad, professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, was recently named Commonwealth Professor for Aerospace Propulsion Systems by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The Commonwealth Professor for Aerospace Propulsion Systems professorship recognizes research excellence and recipients hold the position for a five-year term.
A member of the Virginia Tech community since 2007, Ekkad’s research focuses on the development of highly accurate, two-dimensional, high-resolution surface heat transfer measurements for complex geometries.
His work in applying these techniques in complex geometries in gas turbine engine systems is widely recognized. One of his papers published in the International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer in 1997 on heat transfer in rib turbulated channels has received more than 100 citations. This paper provided the first detailed measurements of complex turbulated flow inside channels with periodic trip strips.
Ekkad co-authored the book on gas turbine cooling technology widely considered to be among the most influential contributions to this field of research. The second edition of the book is scheduled for release in February 2013.
He has received more than $8 million in external research funding grants, approximately $3.2 million of which has come during his time at Virginia Tech from sponsors including the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and several corporations.
He has published more than 60 journal papers and another 10 are under review or preparation this year.
Ekkad was named Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 2010 for his overall research contributions to the field of heat transfer. He received the College of Engineering Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research in 2012.
He received his bachelor’s degree from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (India), a master’s degree from Arizona State University, and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University.
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.
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