What is your mission in academia?
My mission in academia is to prepare students for the future workforce and to conduct research that contributes to the development of new technology.
What is your job description?
Teaching, research and service.
How did you become interested in your subject area?
I became an engineer because of my strong interest in science and mathematics. My father had a great influence on me by creating a strong interest with his experience and guiding me into this applied field. I love it.
What do student learn from you?
They learn the basic fundamentals and problem-solving skills, and more importantly how to be a lifelong learner with critical thinking.
What makes your class interesting? Exciting?
They learn how to use fundamental principles to solve wide varieties of real-life problems. It is exciting because I bring in the real industrial examples, new technologies and new challenges.
What kinds of things do your graduates do?
My students become design engineers, project engineers, research engineers and consulting engineers. They work for utility companies, manufacturers and in the auto industry. Many students work at companies such as Caterpillar, Hamilton Sundstrand, Exelon and Honeywell International.
What most pleases you about society today?
The way that technology is shrinking the world. Computers, the Internet and even improved jet travel all make it easier for people from different parts of the globe to meet, interact and to collaborate in a quick and effective manner. It has broken down many barriers and created a global economy.
What most concerns you?
Global warming caused by new technologies.
What is your current research?
Heat Transfer in Nanoscale, Hydrogen Fuel Cell and Computational Fluid Dynamics
What’s a good book you recently read?
“The Glass Palace” by Amitava Ghosh.
Where do you go in Dekalb for a good meal?
Subway.
Who was your favorite professor?
Dimitri Gidaspow. He taught me how to formulate a problem from fundamentals and how to use Green’s function for any heat and mass transfer problem, no matter how complex. He is outstanding!
Why students come to NIU?
For good quality education and for faculty who care deeply for students’ learning.
What’s your best advice to students who want to succeed?
Pursue something that you love and you can give your best.
If you weren’t teaching, what would you be doing?
Go into business with new technology.
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Hometown: Kolkata, India
My Degrees: Ph.D.and M.S. from Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago; B.E from University of Calcutta, India
Arrived at NIU: 1984
I teach: Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer and Computational Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer