Davood Pourkargar

Davood Pourkargar is an Assistant Professor in the Tim Taylor Department of Chemical Engineering at Kansas State University. He is also a Graduate Faculty Member at the Food Science Institute and a Faculty Researcher at the Johnson Cancer Research Center. His work focuses on integrating data with first-principle models to understand complex systems across multiple scales.

• Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University (2015)
• M.S. in Process Simulation and Control from Sharif University of Technology (2010)
• B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology (2008)

His research interests span computational multiscale modeling, digital twin development, applied artificial intelligence, and optimization-based control of complex process networks. Dr. Pourkargar's work integrates process systems engineering with artificial intelligence to address challenging problems in chemical, biological, energy, and food systems. He develops intelligent frameworks for controlling complex process networks, designing cyber-physical architectures for smart manufacturing, and advancing system identification using machine learning and process data analytics. A significant aspect of his research involves physics-informed machine learning applied to cancer dynamics modeling and drug distribution in the human body.

Dr. Pourkargar's publication record shows a strong focus on predictive modeling and control of chemical processes, particularly ammonia synthesis systems, polysilicon reactor systems, and food extrusion processes. His recent work increasingly incorporates machine learning techniques, especially transformer architectures and physics-informed approaches, applied to both traditional chemical processes and emerging areas like organ-on-a-chip systems for drug discovery.

• 2024 Carl R. Ice College of Engineering Outstanding Assistant Professor Award
• NSF EPSCoR Research Fellowship
• 2023 Kansas EPSCoR First Award
• AFOSR Faculty Fellowship
• Big XII Faculty Fellowship
• Robert F. Smith School Distinguished Junior Researcher Award from Cornell University (2017)
• O. Hugo Schuck Best Paper Award (2014)

Dr. Pourkargar has successfully mentored numerous graduate students through their master's and doctoral research, with several receiving departmental and college-level awards. His research has been supported by significant grants from the National Science Foundation, Kansas EPSCoR, and K-State's Global Food Systems initiative. His lab has presented extensively at major conferences including AIChE Annual Meetings and American Control Conferences.

The Intelligent Systems and Process Systems Laboratory (ISPSL) led by Dr. Pourkargar operates computational and experimental facilities in Durland Hall. The lab is expanding into robotic additive manufacturing and autonomous biomanufacturing, supported by research infrastructure grants. The group maintains active collaborations with the Johnson Cancer Research Center and the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation.