Roop Mahajan

Roop Mahajan is the Lewis A. Hester Chair in Engineering at Virginia Tech, holding affiliations with the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Virginia Tech Research Center (Arlington). He previously served as Director of the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS) (2006–2016) and Interim Dean of the University of Colorado Boulder's College of Engineering and Applied Science (2001–2002). His research focuses on advanced thermal engineering, graphene synthesis from coal, metal foams, and biomedical applications. He leads the Graphene-X and Thermal Engineering Laboratory.

He holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University (1977), and earlier degrees from Punjab Engineering College. His career spans roles at AT&T Bell Labs (1979–1991), where he became a Bell Labs Fellow, and academic leadership roles.

Research interests include coal-derived graphene production, high-porosity metal foams for thermal management, and nanomaterial-based technologies for sustainability. His work bridges engineering, sustainability, and global collaboration, with partnerships at institutions in India and Egypt.

Recipient of numerous awards, including the ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award (2002) and the Ralph Coats Roe Medal (2007). Key contributions include scalable graphene synthesis and innovations in electrochemical systems.