This week, we will be joined by Ritwik Kulkarni (he/him). Ritwik is a second-year PhD student in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette. Ever wonder why does your laptop use fans quite often to cool them down? Its because the heat carrier, called thermal interface material, start degrading and often dry out. His research work comprises of reliability analysis of these materials, understanding their patterns and developing mitigation strategies to extend their lifecycle. In addition to the applied projects, he is also experimenting with effect of rotation in thermal transport in dense suspensions, that are fundamental in nature. He received his Bachelor of Technology in 2019 from Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur (IIT-J), Master of Science in 2021 from Texas A&M University-College Station, both majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Apart from the research work, Ritwik loves to cook Indian food, head out for trails and experiment with beatbox patterns. You can find him on Instagram @ritwik_101.

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