Suresh V. Garimella
Founding Director, NSF Cooling Technologies Research Center
Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Mechanical Engineering
sureshg@purdue.edu
Biography
Dr. Suresh Garimella is the Founding Director of the Cooling Technologies Research Center (site), a graduated Industry/University Cooperative Research Center of the National Science Foundation. He currently serves as President of the University of Vermont (site). His prior administrative appointments include service as Purdue's Chief Global Affairs Officer, Associate Vice President leading the Office of Engagement and Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships.
Education
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, 1989
M.S., Mechanical Engineering,The Ohio State University, Columbus, 1986
Bachelor of Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, 1985
Research Interests
Dr. Garimella's research interests lie in the fields of micro- and nano-scale transport phenomena, thermal management and energy efficiency in electronics, renewable/sustainable energy systems technology and policy, and materials processing.
Purdue Administrative Service
Dr. Garimella has served as the Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships from 2014-2019, which combined and integrated research with corporate and global partnerships and international programs. In this role, he was in charge of Purdue’s diverse research enterprise, which expends well over $660 million annually to support world-changing research. The Office works to enhance the recognition and impact of Purdue's scholarly research, while building on Purdue's success in attracting sponsored funding from diverse sources through strong support for grant proposal development, core university facilities, contracts management, compliance with regulations, federal relations and advocacy, faculty recognition, and communications. His major initiatives included an enhanced focus on coordinated life sciences research, a campus wide data science research and education initiative, catalyzing institutional excellence across traditional boundaries in Discovery Park, and growing engagement with the defense sector. The fraction of Purdue’s graduates who engaged in global experiential learning increased dramatically – by over 85% in four years – through a unique Study Abroad Initiative. These efforts were conducted in close coordination with the Provost and Colleges.
U.S. Government Service
In 2010, the US Department of State appointed Dr. Garimella as a Jefferson Science Fellow to serve as a science advisor in the International Energy Office in the Department’s Economic Bureau, where he helped with the model for engaging the American academic science community in the formulation and implementation of US foreign policy. He was the State Department delegate to the International Energy Agency and a Member of the US-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission Science & Technology Working Group. He then served for six years as Senior Fellow in the State Department’s Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA), a program initiated by President Obama to offer the expertise of select US scientists to Latin American countries and their governments.
Compact, High-Performance Cooling Technologies Research Center (CTRC)
The Compact, High-Performance Cooling Technologies Research Center (CTRC) founded and directed by Dr. Garimella is a graduated National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center. It provides tremendous opportunities to translate academic research into useful partnerships with industry, facilitates interactions with practicing engineers, organizes industrial internships and avenues for career placement for graduate students, explores distance learning initiatives, and enhances technology transfer. Many of the key electronics and computer companies worldwide are members in this Center, which has attracted large State and Federal grants.
Research
Dr. Garimella’s research group has published over 525 refereed journal and conference publications, besides editing or contributing to a number of books. Thirteen US patents have been issued for their inventions. Twenty-seven former members of this group are in faculty positions at leading universities around the world. Extramural research funding for his research programs has been provided by the US National Science Foundation, NASA, US Army, DARPA, ONR, Members of the NSF Cooling Technologies Research Center, Semiconductor Research Corporation, State of Indiana 21st Century Research and Technology Fund, Hoosier Energy, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and other federal, State and industrial sponsors. The group’s publications on a wide range of topics including microchannel transport, electromechanical microfluidic actuation and micropumps, novel microscale diagnostics, thin film transport and heat pipes, transport in bubbles, piezoelectric fans, refrigeration, jet impingement, thermal contact resistance, heat transfer enhancement, phase change energy storage and metal foams, solidification, plasmas and renewable and sustainable energy systems, are listed here.
Teaching
Dr. Garimella has made major contributions to curriculum development in the thermal sciences with important applications in electronics cooling and materials processing at Purdue University and at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has taught a variety of undergraduate, first-year graduate and advanced graduate heat transfer courses, and has developed a number of undergraduate and graduate courses (Thermal Concerns in Computer Design, Solidification Heat Transfer, Heat Transfer in Materials Processing, and Heat Transfer in Electronic Systems). In addition, he instructed the capstone experimentation and design course, and served as the coordinator for the department’s undergraduate instructional laboratories, at UWM. At Purdue, he developed the Certificate Program in Advanced Heat Transfer with the backing of United Technologies Corporation. He has also developed and delivered a number of tailored courses and tutorials that have been delivered to industrial and academic audiences in the US and abroad.
Over 70 undergraduate students have worked as part of Dr. Garimella’s research group, some through the NSF REU program. Recently, he also established an undergraduate research experience component in his NSF Center, by offering CTRC Undergraduate Research Fellowships to encourage students in discovery-based learning. Many of these students have subsequently enrolled in graduate programs. Besides his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Garimella was actively involved at UWM in undergraduate advising, serving as Chair of the UWM College Curriculum Committee. Dr. Garimella has participated in voluntary community teaching efforts such as the College for Kids and Minority High School Research Apprenticeship programs.
Honors and Awards
- Member, National Science Board, 2018
- Fellow, National Academy of Inventors, 2017
- Leadership in Open Access Award, Purdue University, 2017
- ITHERM Achievement Award, IEEE Intersociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems (ITherm), 2016
- 75th Anniversary Medal, Heat Transfer Division, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2013
- Provost's Award for Outstanding Graduate Mentor, Purdue University, 2012
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2011
- Alexander Schwarzkopf Prize for Technology Innovation, National Science Foundation Industry University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) Association, 2011
- Faculty Award of Excellence for Mentoring, Purdue University College of Engineering, 2011
- Heat Transfer Memorial Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2010; Gustus L. Larson Memorial Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2004; Fellow, 2002
- Distinguished Alumnus Award of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, 2010
- Harvey A. Rosten Award, 2009
- Allan Kraus Thermal Management Medal, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2009
- Ruth and Joel Spira Award, for outstanding contributions to the School of Mechanical Engineering 2009
- K16 Clock Award, 2006, for Service to the ASME Heat Transfer Division's K-16 Community and Continued Outstanding Contributions to the Science and Engineering of Heat Transfer in Electronics
- Indiana 21st Century Research & Technology Fund Award, for Outstanding Achievement as a member of the 2008 Indiana 21st Century Research & Technology Fund
- UWM Outstanding Teaching Award, 1997
- Graduate School/UWM Foundation Research Award, 1995
- Society of Automotive Engineers' Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award, 1994
- Research Initiation Award, National Science Foundation, 1992
- Society of Automotive Engineers' Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award, 1992
- Outstanding Teaching Award, UWM College of Engineering and Applied Science, 1992
- Editorial Advisory Board Member, Energy Conversion and Management (2013-present)
- Editorial Board Member, Applied Energy (2008-present)
- Editorial Board Member, International Journal of Micro-Nano Scale Transport (2009-present)
- Editor, Experimental Heat Transfer (2005-present)
- Member, ASME Heat Transfer Division K-16 Committee on Heat Transfer in Electronic Equipment (1990 - present)
- Associate Editor, ASME Journal of Heat Transfer (2004-2007)
- Associate Editor, ASME Thermal Science and Engineering Applications (2008-2011)
- Editor, Heat Transfer-Recent Contents (1995 - 98)
- Conference Organizer and Chair (with A. Fleischer), Thermal Challenges in Next Generation Electronic Systems: Thermes 2007, Santa Fe, New Mexico, January 7-10, 2007
- Conference Co-Organizer, 7th ISHMT-ASME Heat and Mass Transfer Conference, IIT Guwahati, India, January 4-6, 2006
- Conference Co-Chair, Next-Generation Thermal Management Materials and Systems Conference, Dallas, October 28-30, 2002
- Conference Organizer and Chair (with Y. Joshi), Thermal Challenges in Next Generation Electronic Systems: Thermes 2002, United Engineering Foundation Conference, Santa Fe, New Mexico, January 13-16, 2002
