Dr. Devesh Ranjan, a researcher in the TEES Mechanical Engineering Division and an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University, is one of 40 scientists and engineers who will receive approximately $15 million in grants from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research through its Young Investigator Research Program (AFOSR-YIP).
The grant was awarded for Ranjan’s research proposal, "Breaking with Tradition: Turbulence with Memory." The research questions the orthodox assumption that turbulent mixing involves rapid loss of memory between two fluids. Mathematical turbulence models are based on the assumption of memory loss and equilibrium flows. These constraints make it hard to predict the development of turbulence. The new findings will provide useful insights in shock-induced mixing and non-uniform combustion in SCRAM engines, climate prediction, and free-flowing jets and plumes.
Ranjan joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2009. After receiving his Ph.D. in 2007 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ranjan was a postdoctoral research associate and director’s research fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He was awarded the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship for Postdoctoral Research in 2008. His research interests include experimental fluid mechanics (hydrodynamic instabilities), turbulent mixing and supersonic combustion, shock tube applications, experimental thermal hydraulics and laser diagnostics, design of thermal systems, and shock wave lithotripsy. Among the awards he has received in his short time at Texas A&M University are the Student Led Teaching Excellence Award (SLATE) in 2009 and the TEES Select Young Fellow in 2012. His current research efforts are funded by several federal agencies including DOE-NNSA, DOE-NEUP, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The objective of the AFOSR-YIP program is to foster creative basic research in science and engineering, enhance early career development of outstanding young investigators, and increase opportunities for the young investigators to recognize the Air Force mission and the related challenges in science and engineering. Major research areas include aerospace, chemical and material sciences; physics and electronics; and mathematics, information and life sciences. The recipients selected will receive the grants over a three- to five-year period.