Our People
Principal Investigator
Nikhilesh Chawla
Ransburg Professor Of Materials Engineering
nikc@purdue.edu
ARMS 2313
Postdocs
Shanmukha Kiran Aramanda
Post Doctoral Research Assistant
Projects: X-ray computed tomography (XCT); 3D data analysis and visualization; microstructural analysis of aluminum matrix composites.
Shanmukha Kiran received his M.Tech. in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and his Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore. Prior to joining Purdue University, he was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Michigan, where he developed a strong interest in X-ray imaging. His research interests include X-ray imaging, image processing, and materials informatics with a focus on 3D data. Outside of academia, Kiran enjoys cooking, watching educational and entertainment videos, and playing sports.
Personal Website
Shanmukha Kiran received his M.Tech. in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and his Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore. Prior to joining Purdue University, he was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Michigan, where he developed a strong interest in X-ray imaging. His research interests include X-ray imaging, image processing, and materials informatics with a focus on 3D data. Outside of academia, Kiran enjoys cooking, watching educational and entertainment videos, and playing sports.
Personal Website
Graduate Students
Nicole Balog
Graduate Research Assistant
Projects: Characterization of structures and mechanical response in natural honeycomb
Nicole is from Northern Virginia and first came to Purdue for her Bachelors in Materials Engineering before staying for graduate school, joining the Chawla research group in January 2024. She spends her free time baking, cross-stitching, and attending Purdue sporting events.
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Nicole is from Northern Virginia and first came to Purdue for her Bachelors in Materials Engineering before staying for graduate school, joining the Chawla research group in January 2024. She spends her free time baking, cross-stitching, and attending Purdue sporting events.
Min Cho
Cmse Traineeship Fellowship
Projects: Adhesive film attachment in electronic packaging
Min Woo is from Washington, Seattle and earned his B.S. in Bioresource Science and Engineering and M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering at University of Washington, Seattle. During his masters, he worked on micro-polymer characterization using Raman Spectroscopy to determine degradation of polymers in water. He enjoys playing the piano, coffee, and traveling in his free time.
Min Woo is from Washington, Seattle and earned his B.S. in Bioresource Science and Engineering and M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering at University of Washington, Seattle. During his masters, he worked on micro-polymer characterization using Raman Spectroscopy to determine degradation of polymers in water. He enjoys playing the piano, coffee, and traveling in his free time.
Ankit Kumar
Bilsland Dissertation Fellowship Admin
Projects: Structure and mechanics of natural oxide layers in structural aluminum, effects of thermal cycling on corrosion products, characterization of porous titanium
Ankit is from Bihar, India. He graduated with a Bachelor's in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee in 2020 and joined Chawla Research Group in Fall 2021. He enjoys watching movies, travelling, and exploring new places.
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Ankit is from Bihar, India. He graduated with a Bachelor's in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee in 2020 and joined Chawla Research Group in Fall 2021. He enjoys watching movies, travelling, and exploring new places.
Satyaroop Patnaik
Graduate Research Assistant
Projects: Correlative microscopy of microstructure and recycling effects in high-performance aluminum
Satyaroop is from Bhubaneswar in Odisha, India. He graduated with both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the National Institute of Technology Rourkela and joined Chawla Research Group in Spring 2023. He's a metalhead who enjoys cooking recipes from new cuisines and cycling.
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Google Scholar
Satyaroop is from Bhubaneswar in Odisha, India. He graduated with both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the National Institute of Technology Rourkela and joined Chawla Research Group in Spring 2023. He's a metalhead who enjoys cooking recipes from new cuisines and cycling.
Google Scholar
Sidhaant Vasudeva
Graduate Research Assistant
Projects: High resolution imaging of defects in semiconductors: Detection, Reliability, and Mitigation
Sidhaant is from Delhi, India and did his Bachelors in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, and joined the Chawla Research group in Fall 2024. He likes gaming on his PC, going to the gym, and running for fun.
LinkedIn
Sidhaant is from Delhi, India and did his Bachelors in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, and joined the Chawla Research group in Fall 2024. He likes gaming on his PC, going to the gym, and running for fun.
Poonchezhian Vishnu Prakash
Masters Student
Project: Fatigue of shot peened welds in steel bridge structures
Chezhian is from Chennai, India. He studied manufacturing engineering at Anna University and joined Chawla Research Group in Fall 2023. He's a fan of DC comics, Manchester City FC and Chennai Super Kings cricket.
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Chezhian is from Chennai, India. He studied manufacturing engineering at Anna University and joined Chawla Research Group in Fall 2023. He's a fan of DC comics, Manchester City FC and Chennai Super Kings cricket.
John Wu
Graduate Research Assistant
Projects: Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties in Pb-free SAC solders
John grew up in Chungli, Taoyuan, Taiwan and received his B.S. from National Central University and M.S. from National Chiao Tung University. He's now pursuing his PhD in Materials Engineering at Purdue. He enjoys playing the guitar, spending time on the Switch, swimming, chucking a Frisbee and keeping an eye on ice cream sales.
LinkedIn
John grew up in Chungli, Taoyuan, Taiwan and received his B.S. from National Central University and M.S. from National Chiao Tung University. He's now pursuing his PhD in Materials Engineering at Purdue. He enjoys playing the guitar, spending time on the Switch, swimming, chucking a Frisbee and keeping an eye on ice cream sales.
Undergraduate Students
Dhruv Patel
Research Lab- Student Service
Projects: Tomography characterization of armadillo shells for biomimetic design
Dhruv is a junior in the School of Materials Engineering from Burns, TN. He enjoys swimming, basketball, comedy movies, and long drives
Projects: Characterization of the pneumatic compression of polymeric foams using tomography
Pranav is from Ellicott City, Maryland. He is currently a junior in Materials Engineering and joined the CRG in Spring 2024. Outside of research, he enjoys running, watching football and soccer, and supporting Purdue Athletics.