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IIT Kanpur is one of the premier institutes in India and South-East Asia, housing some of the best-equipped teaching and research facilities in this region. The department of Mechanical Engineering has fostered an active and vibrant research environment with support of good R&D infrastructure and opportunities for funding from both national and international, government and private agencies.

We have 40 faculty members and a large population of research staff and graduate student actively involved in strategic research and development work. Our department has an enrollment of over 400 undergraduate students with over 40 faculty members working in well-equipped state-of-the-art laboratories. A growing postgraduate student population of over 230 is also actively engaged in strategic research and development work.


We provide

  • An active and vibrant research environment

  • Excellent R&D infrastructure and opportunities for research funding

  • Well-equipped state-of-the-art laboratories

  • Attractive research start-up grants and scholarships for the PhD and M. Tech. students

  • A very competitive remuneration package and attractive benefits


We are looking for:

 

 
 

Financial Assistance

Financial assistance in the form of teaching or research assistantships (referred to as Institute Assistantship) is provided to the M. Tech. and PhD students. Assistantships are awarded on a semester-to-semester basis for a period of up to two years for M. Tech. students and up to a maximum of five years for PhD students. For M. Tech. students, a valid GATE score at the time of admission is needed for the financial assistance.  Student is expected to carry out the assigned duties for teaching and Research Assistantship. The M. Tech. student currently carries a monthly stipend of Rs.12,400/- for 8 hours of work per week. For PhD students the corresponding financial assistance is Rs.25,000/- for the first two years and there after it is raised to Rs.28,000/- respectively for another two years.

Some financial assistantships in the form of research assistantships may also be available from sponsored research projects. Additional assistantships in the form of scholarships, fellowships, etc. may be available through other organizations, such as, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), etc.
In addition to the students admitted with financial assistance, students may also be admitted to the M. Tech./PhD programs on a self-financing basis.
 

Research

   Featured Research

Droplet Hydrodynamics during Lysozyme Protein Crystallization

Chromium Etching by Laser

Energy optimal walk of an 8 DOF compliant biped robot
See all

Research activities in the Department of Mechanical Engineering are at the forefront of innovation, advancing knowledge and technological developments in the multifaceted disciplines of mechanical engineering, as well as in several cognate areas.

We conduct fundamental and applied research in broad areas of Mechanical Engineering, reaching well beyond traditionally identified domains. Current projects have an impact both locally and abroad, and cross disciplinary boundaries. With its signature research programs of national and international distinction, the department aims to make a positive contribution towards securing environmental, industrial, and societal sustainability. The diversity of research projects undertaken by our faculties is a measure of the strong track record of research. It is the result of the great synergy between the fundamental research and applied research done at our department.

 

Diverse Research Areas


Researchers are engaged in extremely diverse, and often inter-disciplinary projects that include probing the mysteries of a tiny cell to deciphering the Earth's geophysics; designing microfluidic sensors to developing the next-generation gas turbines; optimizing fuel cells to controlling nuclear plasmas to meet the nations' energy demands; estimating the strength of tangled polymer chains to employing sturdy composites for aerospace structures; harnessing the solar power to designing cleaner combustion devices for a pollution-free environment; understanding human origins to building humanoid robots. The opportunities and challenges are endless!

 

Research Environment


Research at our department is usually done by small individual led research groups and there are also large interdisciplinary project teams across several departments. The research environment supports highly creative work done by a small group. The department promotes research opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students by fostering an environment of discovery and creativity through resource allocation, mentoring, and recognition.
Faculty and students at IITK respect the fact that to do path-breaking research, in addition to knowledge about an area; one requires creativity, self-belief, courage and persistence. Great research requires risk taking ability. The IITK culture offers support and encouragement to take on challenging work. This enables researchers to work on the important problems in their field. The strong institutional support enables the researchers to ask tough questions knowing that finding the answers will take time and effort.

Strong Research Collaboration


Due to the vibrant research environment at IITK, there is regular exposure to new ideas, which helps young researchers to identify the current research thrust areas. Faculties often collaborate with other academic disciplines, Indian and foreign universities, research centres, and industry.

Independent Research


Quality research happens more often in a culture where free thinking is encouraged and that is very true for most of the departments at IITK. The researcher is supported by a dynamic research administration that has a non-bureaucratic work culture. The drive and commitment for research are sustained because at IITK, a researcher can enjoy the research work to the fullest.

Interdisciplinary Research


The department's initiatives are highly collaborative and multidisciplinary, involving researchers from most of the engineering streams, the physical and life sciences. There are inter-disciplinary academic programmes and inter-disciplinary research centres & facilities at IITK. These lead to great interdisciplinary interaction at IITK and facilitate collaboration for interdisciplinary research.

Teaching & Research


The teaching done by faculty helps the faculty grow. The faculty is encouraged to develop new courses based on their research. The faculty also have the freedom to modify existing courses to include content related to their research. The faculty benefit from the dedicated PhD students of IITK, who is a key to the success of research at IITK. At IITK, young faculty can start teaching early in their career, and this enhances their ability to do challenging research.
 


Specialization Areas

Our department's research is divided into the following major areas although interdisciplinary research and sharing of expertise amongst groups within the department and institute is commonplace.


More information on expertise of our faculty and staff, primary research focal areas, and major research centres could be found by following the links given below. Further details are provided on the specific websites of individual research groups and faculty members. For additional information, download the department brochure.

  


Solid Mechanics and Design

 
  


Fluid and Thermal Sciences

 
 


Manufacturing Science

  


Nuclear Engineering and Technology