Alumni Awards

Ashish Gupta

Ph.D. 2003

Director of Thermal-Mechanical, Data Platforms & Client Computing Group, Intel Corporation

Dr. Ashish Gupta is the Director of the Thermal and Mechanical Solutions (TMS) Group reporting directly to the Vice President of Data Platforms Engineering Group (DPEG) and the Director of the Systems Engineering Architecture, Engineering and Innovation team within the Client Computing Group (CCG) at Intel Corporation. Ashish is focused on providing a more holistic perspective to systems and components in addition to leading all thermal and mechanical architecture, execution and innovations development for $37 Billion Intel Corporation's full portfolio (Notebooks, 2 in 1s, Thin and Light, Gaming, Graphics, Desktop, Workstation etc.) of Client solutions designed to help people focus, create and connect in more meaningful ways. His special focus on delivering generation over generation leadership products, technologies and system solutions to meet customer needs. He is currently managing a growing team of 100+ people across 6 US and International sites and will be managing a much larger team in his new role.

Ashish is currently serving on Board of Advisors of Mechanical & Material Engineering Department, Washington State University. Previously he has also served on Board of Advisors of ME Dept., Univ. of California Riverside. Ashish has been elected as a Senior IEEE member, is the executive organizer of international IEEE ITherm conference. Ashish has 9 patents, 3 trade secrets and has published >70 papers at Intel and outside.

Ashish has, since becoming a Manager in 2010, always sent 2 to 4 members of his Engineering team to the annual Cooling Technology Research Center within the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue. He has recruited three Purdue School of Mechanical Engineering PhD students to Intel. Ashish has been active in multiple charities in Arizona and in Oregon. Ashish is married and has one daughter. He and his family reside in Hillsboro, OR. Dr. Gupta has received many recognitions including the Outstanding Mechanical Engineer (OME) award from School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University.

Robert Wade

MSME 1995

Engine Component Design Manager, Ford Motor Company

Robert Wade came to Purdue after finishing his BSME at Michigan Tech.  His thesis research was on effervescent atomization and combustion, working at Zucrow Labs (which then was called the Thermal Science and Propulsion Center).  

He also earned an MBA from Michigan State University. Robert began working at Cummins, on mid-range diesel engine research, seeking ways to implement advanced emission compliance technology. 

He moved to General Electric Aircraft Engine division, designing combustion systems for military gas turbine engines. He has now spent 18 years working on automobile engine technology at Ford Motor Company. 

While at Ford, he has contributed to engine modeling, engine boost systems, thermal management, and component design.  Ford’s current Ecoboost engine lineup uses turbocharging, direct injection, and variable cam timing to make significant gains in energy efficiency.  He has authored several technical papers and filed for over 35 patents. 

In his current position in the United Kingdom, he is the department manager for engine component design including the engine cylinder block, engine cylinder head, valvetrain, crankshaft, piston, connecting rod, variable oil pump, bearings, cooling, drive systems, and the lubrication system.

Robert attributes many of the skills he utilizes today to his experience gained at Purdue.  The rigorous process that culminated in his thesis serves as a clear pattern for his current technical work: observation, hypothesis, controlled experiment, conclusion, and implementation.  This Purdue-taught process is still the model that guides his technological contributions in the automotive industry.

Congratulations to Mr. Robert Wade for receiving 2019 Outstanding Mechanical Engineer (OME) award.

Rahul Mittal

Ph.D. 1996

Technical Specialist, General Motors

After graduating from Purdue, Dr. Mital first worked for AMPS (a small energy conversion firm) and then for Cummins.  He joined General Motors in 2004 as Design Release Engineer for Diesel Aftertreatment. In 2007, Dr. Mital was promoted as Global Technical Specialist at General Motors, where he is responsible for aftertreatment design, development and release for all GM’s diesel vehicles globally. 

Dr. Mital works cross-functionally within the global powertrain organizations to introduce novel diesel aftertreatment designs and system architectures. With 28 patents, Dr. Mital has demonstrated outstanding innovation in the field of emission control. 

Five of his inventions are already in production and at least two more will be in use in the near future. In 2015 Dr. Mital was a Finalist for the Environmental Excellence in Transportation (E2T) Award, nominated for the Franz F. Pischinger Powertrain Award, and panelist and invited speaker at the Integer DEF Conference. In 2014 Dr. Mital was the winner of SAE John Connor Environmental Award, and in 2013 he was the recipient of SAE Forest R. McFarland Award. Dr. Mital has more than 35 publications in conferences, reviewed journals and international symposiums.

Dr. Mital is a DFSS Black Belt, he is on advisory boards, on SAE committees, a member of USCAR and a long- term SAE World Congress session organizer. His achievements have been recognized by the National Academy of Engineering via Frontiers of Engineering nomination, and by GM with two Boss Kettering awards.

Linda Blevins

Ph.D. 1996

Deputy Assistant Director, Engineering Directorate, National Science Foundation

Dr. Linda received a Ph.D. from Purdue University, an M.S. from Virginia Tech, and a B.S. from the University of Alabama, all in mechanical engineering. 

She joined NSF as the Deputy Assistant Director of the Engineering Directorate in December 2017. 

For more than a decade prior to joining the Foundation, she was a Senior Technical Advisor in the Office of the Deputy Director for Science Programs in the DOE Office of Science, where she provided technical and policy advice on all aspects of science funding program management. 

She previously served as an NSF Program Director; as a Senior Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories; and as a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) research staff member.

Her research expertise is in combustion

Congratulations to Dr. Linda Blevins for receiving 2009 Outstanding Mechanical Engineer (OME) award.