Ritwik Kulkarni

About Ritwik Kulkarni

Hi! Thank you for stopping by! I am an aspiring thermal engineer who is curious to understand the current technology, comprehend the complex challenges and solve industrial problems with core expertise and research experience. I am currently pursuing my Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering, focusing on thermal management in electronics cooling. My research thesis caters towards the correlation development of heat transfer parameters and directly impacts the design phase of turbomachinery and electronic thermal management projects. My prior experiences include- Proven expertise in designing experiment setup, working with Data Acquisition NI Modules, and familiarity with Labview programming for data collection and reduction- Ability to identify idiosyncratic errors and bring innovative approaches to improve the credibility of experiment results- Research experience in flow test setups such as impingement chambers, wind tunnels, Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), Laser Drop Velocimetry (LDV) and channel flows- Experience in numerical model development and thermal simulations using Ansys Fluent, CFX, OpenFOAM and Icepak- Solid background in coding MATLAB, Jmp and Python for the automation process and statistical analysis- Effective coordination with teams to be mindful of essential design characteristics and navigate through constraints in the product development process- Experience in automotive failure analysis in thermal loading, cycle failures and Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (DFMEA)- Research experience in fluid impingement cooling strategies in gas-turbomachinery blades- Curious to grasp contemporary processes, identify a better impact version, challenge current structure and adopt a goal-oriented approach to meet the objectives- Proven excellence in communication, technical writing and presentation with an inquisitive approach towards problem-solving in Fluid and Thermal domains.Interests:Product Development | Design and Analysis | Electronic Thermal Management | Electronic Packaging | Data Centre Cooling | Numerical Heat Transfer | Statistical Parameter Analysis | Experimental Methods | Core Competencies:EnergyPlus | ANSYS Fluent | OpenFOAM | Icepak | CFX | Workbench | SolidWorks | Python | MATLAB | C++| LabView | Latex | Jmp | Thank you for taking the time to read through the summary. I trust it was worth it. Have a great day ahead!

Experience

1. Graduate Research Assistant

   Cooling Technologies Research Center

   Aug 2021 — Present · US

   Establishing a Predictive Capability Linking TIM Rheology to Thermal Performance and Reliability- Developed a framework leveraging material rheological properties to evaluate TIM reliability- Conducted experiments on flowable polymeric TIMs to correlate their flow regimes with thermal performance, employing IR imaging and Python-based automated motor control for consistent, high-quality data collection- Established a practical selection strategy to guide TIM choice in designs, reducing development cost, time, and resource usage.Impact of Induced Warpages in Heater and Heat Sinks on Thermal Grease Degradation- Designed and fabricated a test setup to evaluate thermal grease performance on non-flat surfaces simulating warpages in a thermal cycling environment, with in situ optical imaging to track voids and degradation patterns- Automated image capture with processing in Python to identify and estimate, voids and crack in greases- Assessed the impact of non-flat heater and heat sinks on thermal grease degradation, proposing design modifications to minimize degradation and improve the reliability of thermal greaseIn situ degradation of Thermal Interface Material and its Mitigation Strategies - Aimed towards building apparatus to observe degradation of thermal greases in power cycled environment and develop degradation mitigation strategies to mitigate pump-out- Developed experimental apparatus to perform in situ IR and optical observations to observe pump-out behavior on a combination of factors like bondline thickness, cycle time and TIM type- Identified significant contribution of bondline thickness and TIM type on the degradation

Education

• New Millennium School - DPS Bahrain

  High School

  2011 — 2013

• Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur

  Bachelor of Technology - BTech, Mechanical Engineering

  2015 — 2019

• Texas A&M University

  Master of Science - MS, Mechanical Engineering

  2019 — 2021

• Shivjyoti Senior Secondary School

  Higher Secondary

  2013 — 2015

• Purdue University

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Mechanical Engineering

Skills

• Research
• Management
• Robotics
• Powerpoint
• Microsoft Excel
• Python
• Mechanical Engineering
• Matlab
• College Basketball
• Project Management
• Solidworks
• Digital Photography
• Automotive Engineering
• Microsoft Office
• Teamwork
• Leadership
• Public Speaking
• Photoshop
• Cinderella Software
• Programming
• Windows
• Literature
• Microsoft Word
• Public Relations
• Openfoam
• Model United Nations