About the PI

Nikhil Karanjgaokar

Education

Ph. D.      Mechanical Engineering University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Il.                  2013
M. S.        Mechanical Engineering Carnegie Mellon University, PA.                                                2007
B. Tech.  Mechanical Engineering National Institute of Technology Calicut, India.                 2006

 

Work Experience

  1. Associate Professor                                                                                                                      2023- Current
    Aerospace Engineering Department, Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
  2. Assistant Professor                                                                                                                      2015- 2023
    Aerospace Engineering Department, Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
  3.  Post-Doctoral Research Associate                                                                                          2013-2015
    Graduate Aerospace Laboratories of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena CA.

 

Research Interests

  • Experimental mechanics at micro/nano-scale
  • Temperature and rate dependent mechanics of nanostructured materials
  • Dynamic response and flow of granular media
  • Mechanics and damage of inhomogeneous materials
  • Optical measurement techniques

Awards and Honors

  • James Nichols Heald Research Awards in FY ’20
  • Excellence in Research in Mechanical Engineering 2019
  • Recipient of NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER), 2019

 

Professional Society Memberships

• Member, Society of Experimental Mechanics (SEM)
• Member, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
• Member, Society of Engineering Sciences (SES)
• Member, Material Research Society (MRS)