Ranganathan Kumar

Ranganathan Kumar is a Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Administration at the University of Central Florida’s College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS). He holds a Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1983) and an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology (1978). His research focuses on microfluidics, nanofluids, optical diagnostics, droplet manipulation, and boiling heat transfer, employing experimental and computational methods. He has authored over 200 publications and secured funding from NSF, NASA, DOE, and industry.

His awards include the UCF Pegasus Professorship (2011) and Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering. He serves as an associate editor for the ASME Journal of Thermal Sciences and Engineering Applications and on the editorial board of Scientific Reports (Nature Portfolio). He has supervised nearly 50 graduate students, including 20 Ph.D. recipients.

Professional roles include chairing ASME committees on heat transfer and long-range planning, proposal review panels for NSF and DOE, and editorial leadership. His work spans interdisciplinary areas like droplet actuation, combustion instabilities, and nanofluid dynamics, contributing to both theoretical advancements and applied engineering solutions.