Roop Mahajan

Roop joined Virginia Tech in 2006 as Director of the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science, and Tucker Chair Professor of Engineering. He also holds a joint appointment as tenured professor in the departments of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science and Mechanics. He has more than 30 years of experience working in the Mechanical Engineering field where he has held positions within both the private and educational sectors.

At AT&T-Bell Laboratories (1976-1991), he conducted and led research of high caliber in the thermal sciences, including advancing the fundamental understanding of transport phenomena in convective and two-phase flows, and thermal processing as it relates to manufacturing. At the University of Colorado (1991-2006), his research expanded from thermal sciences to electronic packaging, BioMEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems), artificial neural networks, nanotechnology and humanistic engineering. He founded a highly successful NSF-I/UCRC interdisciplinary research Center - CAMPmode (Center for Advanced manufacturing and Packaging of microwave, optical and digital electronics), co-founded another interdisciplinary center MEDICA (Microelectronic Devices in Cardiovascular Applications) and championed the Nanotechnology Initiative.

Breakthrough contributions in these areas have resulted in several awards including the Bell Labs Fellow Award, (1989), the Boulder Faculty Assembly Award for excellence in research, scholarship and creative work, (1999), the ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award (2002) for making outstanding contributions to the field of heat transfer, the Charles Russ Richards Memorial Award (2003) for outstanding achievements in mechanical engineering twenty years or more following graduation, and the Ralph Coats Roe Medal for lifelong contributions in communicating to the public the potential of engineering research for the betterment of society, and for contributions to engineering education as an inspirational teacher and role model to students.

Professional Experience:
2006 - Present Director, Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science and Tucker Chair Professor of Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
1991 - 2006 Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder
2001 -2002 Interim Dean, College of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Colorado at Boulder
1992 - 2006 Founding Director, Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Packaging for Microwave, Optical and Digital Electronics (CAMPmode)
1999 - 2006 Founding Co-Director, MicroElectronic Devices in cardiovascular Applications (MEDICA)
1979 - 1991 Research Leader/Supervisor, Thermal and Computational Engineering, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Princeton, N.J.
1976 - 1979 Member Research Staff, Thermal Energy Studies Department, Engineering Research Center, AT&T

Education:
Ph.D., (1977), Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University; MSME, (1969), and BSME, (1964), Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, India
Languages: English, Hindi, Punjabi