NAIR Research Group
Our Research Center
Our team members are at the core of what makes LASER Micro/Nano Materials Processing Research Laboratory such a unique and fulfilling place to work. We take pride in the diversity of our staff, with each member contributing their unique skills to the projects we are working on
The Team
Dr. Rajeev Nair
Principal Investigator and Lab Director
Dr. Rajeev Nair, is currently an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering department at Wichita State University and he is actively involved in research, teaching, services, and scholarship activities. His research interests are in laser materials processing of metals, ceramics and composites, tribology of nano-coatings, nanotechnology in manufacturing with focus on lasers, mechanics of composite manufacturing processes and study of machine tools, drug-eluting stents, coronary stent design and biomedical devices through design and finite element analysis. As a PI, he has been involved in the development of several grant applications for enhancement of industry/undergraduate/graduate research and education, three of which has been recently awarded. As an assistant professor, he has been teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in manufacturing, design, materials, laser technology areas, serving in different department and college committees, advising undergraduate and graduate students, supervising MS Thesis and PhD Dissertations, and developing research and educational labs, since 2007.
Doctoral Students
Talha Khan
Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant-NASA CAN
Email: txkhan5@shockers.wichita.edu
Education:
-
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Wichita State University, United States, 2021-present
-
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, United States, 2019-2020
-
B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering, Techno India College of Technology(MAKAUT), India, 2014-2018.
Research - Mr. Khan’s current research deals with the manufacturing compaction of metallic porous structures using LASERS and electrical current for NASA. He also works with the numerical investigation of additive manufacturing processes involving LASERS using Flow3D and computational fluid dynamics. Mr. Khan is also working on mechanical and thermal strength testing of carbon fiber composites for aircraft manufacturing. Mr. Khan’s research interests also lie in conjugate heat transfer analysis, thermodynamics and fluid mechanics mainly dealing with heat exchangers. He has previously worked on numerical modeling of multiphase flows, artificial neural networks and physics-informed deep learning models. He has also worked on automation and CAD-based projects.
​
Hobbies- Mr. Khan likes traveling and plays the guitar. He also enjoys cooking and sketching and is a fan of Michael Jackson! Mr. Khan is also currently the President of ASHRAE-WSU Chapter and Liaison to the Wichita Council of Engineering Societies.
​
Areas of Teaching Interest- Theory of Machines, Statics, Design of Machine Elements, CAD, Manufacturing, Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics, Thermodynamics, CFD, Differential Equations, Python, MATLAB, ML-AI.
Aparna Chandramouli
PhD Candidate
Ms. Chandramouli is currently Sr. Manufacturing Engineer at Laser Processing, TE Connectivity
Education:
-
MS Aerospace Engineering, Wichita State University, July 2016.
-
PhD Mechanical Engineering, Wichita State University, Fall 2022 (Expected).
Research Interests-Laser welding and sintering, metal additive manufacturing.
Current Projects
· PhD - experimental and computational analysis of laser sintered copper wick structures for thermal applications.
· Projects @ TE: Introducing / qualifying laser manufacturing processes of medical device components for production stages.
Hobbies: Ms. Chandramouli enjoys reading, traveling, and exploring most experiences related to food!
Masters Students
Sai Chaitanya Navuluri
Education
-
SASTRA Deemed to be University – May 2018 – Bachelor’s in Engineering – GPA-8.45/10.
-
Wichita State University – Spring 2022 – Master’s in Mechanical Engineering – GPA-3.7
Research Interests- Laser Manufacturing, Aerodynamics, Design and Analysis
Current Projects-
-
NASA CAN- Manufacturing of LASER Sintered wick structures using Flow3D
-
Numerical and Experimental analysis of surface blowing on a Tubercled Wing.
Hobbies- Reading fantasy novels and playing cricket
Alumni
Doctoral Students
Dr. Mahmood Al Bashir
Education:
-
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Wichita State University, United States, April 2020
-
M.Sc. in Industrial and Production Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology(BUET), Bangladesh, 2014
-
B.Sc in Industrial and Production Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology(BUET), Bangladesh , 2011
Research Interests
-
Surface Texturing: Surface texturing of materials for improving surface properties depending on different applications.
-
Additive Manufacturing: Additive manufacturing of functional grade material for different applications in relevant fields
-
3D Printing: Metal and High-performance plastic 3D printing for prototyping and creating fully functional alternatives of machine parts.
​
Past Projects- NASA CAN Project: Mahmood Al Bashir was a GRA for the NASA CAN project to create an alternative manufacturing process of the wick structure using micro-second pulsed lasers for efficient cooling of the instruments used in space
Masters Students
Surendhar Kumaran
Education:
-
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Wichita State University, 2022
​
Research Interests - Additive Manufacturing, LASER Sintering, Engineering Design and Manufacturing Technologies
​
Projects
-
Development of functionally graded wick structures for enhanced thermal performance in heat pipes
-
Development of mono and multi-layered wick structures for enhanced thermal performance in heat pipes
​
Hobbies- Enthusiastic researcher interested in finding out innovative solutions to modern world problems
Other Masters Students
-
Manish Krishna Damarakonda
-
Zehdan Qidwai
-
Raz Duyrandra KC
-
Ujwala Thejeswini
-
Josh Countryman
-
Arfath Mohammad
-
Anand Nair