Experience:

Assistant Professor July 2023 – Till date

Department of Civil Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad

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Assistant Professor May 2022 – July 2023

Department of Civil Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

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Postdoctoral Researcher Dec 2020 – April 2022

Construction Technology and Management Division

Department of Civil Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

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Ph.D. in Civil Engineering Aug 2016 – Aug 2020
Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, India
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M.Tech. in Geotechnical Engineering Jul 2014 – May 2016

National Institute of Technology Warangal, Telangana. First Division with Distinction

Most of my research falls in the intersection of material science and civil engineering materials - attempting to understand why certain materials behave the way they do. The research we as a group do here at IIT Palakkad can be split into two broad subdomains:

Characterization of construction Materials | Performance evaluation of novel binders

Construction materials, at present, are many and varied - what with the advent of nano-tech, fibers, and a host of engineered composites. With so many options to choose from, it becomes necessary to understand the materials and their interaction with the other components of the construction products in detail. We use a number of different techniques to understand the morphology, mineralogy, and reaction kinetics of such materials so that we can confidently use them in our structures.

A major focus of our research is to develop low-carbon alternatives to conventionally used Portland cement by tweaking the chemistry of other available materials. We also assess the mechanical and durability performance of such construction products that we develop in-house as well as the ones that are in use currently.

Valorization of biomass waste in renewable energy & construction

India has a large availability of biomass materials - a potential source of renewable energy. However, the current methods of biomass disposal are not only hazardous (such as open field burning and landfilling), but also a tremendous waste of resources. We try to understand these wasted materials, their composition, structure, and properties so that we might be able to use them to our advantage. We assess the feasibility of using the locally available biomass as energy feedstock.

To this end, we find out their thermal decomposition characteristics under different thermochemical conversions. The resulting by-products (bio-oil, bio-gas, and char) are evaluated in terms of their composition and yield. Depending on the type of feedstock, the biochar is also evaluated for its suitability to act as a potential construction raw material.