Northern Illinois University
College of Engineering and Engineering Technology

Rao Kilaparti, Ph.D.
Interim Chair of Department of Engineering Technology
Associate Professor

Department

Engineering Technology

Education

• Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, (1981)
• M.S. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, (1970)
• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Osmania University, (1967)

Research Interests

• Tribology of Magnetic Media/Head
• Micro-Assembly
• Ball Bearings Lubricants
• Friction and Wear
• Diamond Like Carbon Coating Applications
• Locomotive Wheel Rail Interaction
• Nano Technology Applications.

Professional Associations and Honors

• Member of ASME
• Golden Step Award (1989) Product Development at 3M Corp.
• Six Sigma Green Belt (2004)

Selected Publications

• Fildes, J.M., Ph.D., Meyers, S.J., ITC, Kilaparti, R., Ph.D, Schlepp, E., Falex Corp., “Improved Ball Crater Micro-Abrasion Test Based on Three Disk Configuration,” Wear, Volumes 274-275, pp. 414-422, January 2012.
• Otieno, Andrew, Jez, George, Kilaparte, Rao, “Experimental Studies on the Finish Machining of Titanium 6Al-4V with Minimum Quantity of Lubrication using Bio-degradable Oil,” Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Volume 4, pp. 1-10, December 2011.
• Arendas, Andrew, Majumdar, Pradip, Kilaparti, S. Rao, and Schroeder, David, “Experimental Investigation of the Thermal Characteristics of Li-Ion Battery for Use in Hybrid Locomotives,” Presented at International Conference of Railway Engineering (ICRE), Beijing, China, July 2012.

Work Experience

• Assistant Professor, Department of Technology, NIU (2006-present)
• Department Manager, Exabyte Corporation (1999-2004)
• Research Scientist, 3M/Imation (1987-1999)
• Senior Engineer, Iomega Corp. (1983-1987)