Akshay Deolia earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering (ME) in 2016 from Vellore Institute of Technology, India, and his master’s degree in ME in 2018 from the University of Colorado Boulder. Since 2021, he has been a PhD student in ME at Purdue, where he is investigating thermoelastic, acoustic, and piezoelectric interactions in vibrating cantilevers and membranes. As a collaborator on another project, he built a prototype of an acoustic module for air filtration that helped secure $40K in seed grant funding from industry sponsors. As Opportunities Chair of the Purdue Engineering Academic Career Club, he helped organize and participated in the Summer Mentoring Circle Program to train future faculty and co-moderated a virtual panel discussion on “Post Career PhD Paths,” which drew more than 40 attendees. Such efforts have led to him being awarded the “Special Recognition Award” from Purdue’s School of Mechanical Engineering. His future research goals include harnessing the principles of multiphysics vibrations to enhance muscular performance and balance in both athletes and the elderly and ensuring that his work positively impacts the lives of underrepresented minorities. At CU Boulder, he was awarded the CU-NIST Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) research assistantship to investigate removing calibration errors in atomic force microscopy measurements. He also organized events at CU Boulder for a Native American scholarship program to showcase the community’s rich history. As a professor, he will promote student participation through interactive learning platforms like PlayPosit and Poll Everywhere. He also plans to create a new graduate level interdisciplinary course where students from different engineering majors can come together to foster mutually beneficial research collaborations.

Research Interests

Atomic Force Microscopy, Acoustics