Prof. Raj's principal area of research is related to topics in 'Flash Sintering' which was pioneered in his laboratory in 2010. Since then the topic has been recognized throughout the world. It is expanding into new regimes such as manufacturing, the discovery of new materials. The method of processing dense materials from powders uses less than !% of the energy required in donventional methods. Furthermore it is an enabling technology for the synthesis of materials for lithium ion batteries and fuel cells. The flash phenomena are leading to new fundamental science, which is highly interdisciplinary. During the past year, Raj has collaborated with Prof. Reznik and Prof. Minhyea in Physics. Reznik and Raj have obtained remarkable new results at the Neutron Scattering facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Raj was the lead organizer of the third conference on 'Flash', under the auspices of ECi, New York, NY that was held Tomar, Portugal, in March of 2023. Raj raised $50K to support participants for this conference. His research group fluctuates between 3 to 6 students and post-docs. He works closely and passionately with members of his research group. In 2023 he has co-authored 8 publications. A Feature article was published in the Journal of American Ceramic Society during 2023. The work on flash sintering has evolved into new directions: (i) reactive flash sintering where the constituents of a multicomponent ceramic can be mixed elementally and flashed to yield fully dense single phase ceramic in a few seconds as low temperatures. This development can lead to new materials discovery. (ii) Flash sintiering of metals: tungsten. (iii) Ultrahigh conductivity graphene-infused-copper Raj has developed a strong interest in 'Electrification of Ceramics Manufacturing'. Raj has founded the RJR Center for Ultrafast Materials Science and Manufacturing at the Indian Institutes of Technology in Chennai and in Patna.
FYSM 1000 - First Year Seminar
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2019
Provide first year students with an immersive experience in an interdisciplinary topic that addresses current issues including social, technical and global topics. Taught by faculty from across campus, the course provides students with an opportunity to interact in small classes, have project based learning experiences and gain valuable communication skills. Seminar style classes focused on discussion and projects.
MCEN 4228 - Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022
Subject matter to be selected from topics of current interest. May be repeated up to 15 credit hours. Same as MCEN 5228.
MCEN 5044 - Mechanical Behavior of Materials
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2022 / Fall 2023 / Fall 2024
This introductory-level graduate course incorporates relevant aspects of materials science, solid mechanics, thermodynamics and mathematics, and applies them to achieve a fundamental understanding of the mechanical behavior of crystalline and non-crystalline engineering materials.
MCEN 5228 - Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022
Subject matter to be selected from topics of current interest. May be repeated up to 30 credit hours.
