Kameswara Upadrashta Email & Phone Number

Saint Paul, Mn, Us

Saint Paul, Mn, Usa

Provided contract R&D and laboratory testing services to the process industry (clientele>30) - adhesives, agriculture/food, biomedical, ceramic, chemical, coal/mineral/oil, coatings/inks/paints, cosmetics, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, polymers, pulp/paper, specialty products. Successfully completed various research projects in the area of particulate/multiphase processes - sol-gel methods; atomization; spray drying; milling - reactive, fluid-energy, stirred-media; centrifugal air-classification; blending/mixing; high-pressure homogenization; coagulation/flocculation; granulation; compaction; froth flotation; membrane separations; foaming/defoaming; magnetic/magnetic-fluid separations; gas-solid/solid-solid/electro-chemical reactions; semi-fluidbed reactors; surface modification; polymerization (bulk/emulsion/solution/suspension); biodegradable polymers; newsprint de-inking; wastes recycling; slurry transport; water/waste-water treatment; molten-metal purification; air-pollution control; novel applications of gas cyclones, liquid cyclones, centrifuges, ejectors. Performed detailed rheological studies on a variety of materials - dispersions (semisolids, suspensions, emulsions, foams, nanofluids) and composites - temperature and frequency sweeps, steady shear, thixotropy, stress relaxation, creep-recovery, and more. Studies include - glass transition temperatures, gelation points, scaling factors (fractal dimensions, aspect ratios) of structures (micro-/nano-), dispersion stability, and surface/interfacial rheology. Optimized processes and products/formulations - based on rheology as appropriate. Supplemental work - highspeed digital video-microscopy, image analysis, AFM, SAXS, DLS, SEM/enviro-SEM, TEM/cryo-TEM, contact angles, other. Presented seminars (>40) and short-courses (6) for engineers/researchers in the process industry. Topics include - particulate/multiphase processes - rheology, optimization, design/scale-up; liquid cyclones.

Developed and taught different undergraduate courses in chemical engineering - heat transfer, mass transfer, unit operations, and reactor design. Developed and taught a graduate course (open to advanced undergraduates) in process plant simulation/optimization. Taught design of experiments and several statistical packages - BMDP, SAS, SPSS, and Minitab. Successfully integrated the use of process simulators - ASPENPLUS, PROCESS, DESIGN-II, FLOWTRAN, HYSIM - with various core courses.Set up a state-of-the-art research laboratory equipped with - a laser-Doppler anemometer; hydrocyclone classifier; rheometer; and various software packages for process simulation, operations research, and statistical analysis. Successfully sponsored eight student projects under the undergraduate research opportunities program (UROP) of the University of Minnesota - modeling the performance of the hydrocyclone as a classifier, as a froth flotation device, and as a densemedia separator for coal beneficiation; setting up a laser-doppler velocimeter unit; ASPENPLUS simulations of processes for the production of polyglycolic acid and for the treatment of waste-water from a dye-manufacturing plant; simulation of a closed circuit coal grinding unit using SPOC; CFD simulation of the hydrocyclone for different shapes of the inlet using FLUENT.Consultant: Coal Technology Corpn. (Bristol, VA); Process Technology, Inc. (Calumet, MI); Intermagnetics General Corpn. (Guilderland, NY); ICF Kaiser Engineers (Pittsburgh, PA); US Bureau of Mines; Office of Energy Related Inventions, NIST. Professional activities: International Corresponding Member, 3rd Intn'l Conf on Hydrocyclones, BHRA Fluid Engng, Oxford, England (1987); Workshop, "Design and scale-up of hydrocyclones - a rational approach", Powder & Bulk Solids Conference & Exhibition, Rosemont, IL (1988). Invited seminars (industry/academia): 18.

Jointly with Professor Jan D. Miller, successfully wrote grant proposals to perform fundamental research in the area of fluidflow phenomena in particulate processing. Sponsors include - National Science Foundation; Department of Energy; US Bureau of Mines; Pennsylvania Electric Company; New York State Electric & Gas Company. Set up a state-of-the-art fluidflow characterization laboratory with a laser Doppler velocimeter, a high-speed motion analyzer video system, a pipeline viscometer (custom built for settling slurries), and a rotational rheometer. Co-advised four graduate students. Studied the three directional velocity profiles and turbulence levels in hydrocyclones of different geometries operating with Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids. Studied the interaction between the dispersed phase materials in multiphase processes - froth flotation (particle-bubble), flocculation (particle-particle), and coalescence (droplet-droplet). Developed the design aspects of the air-sparged hydrocyclone flotation system based on fluidflow patterns and particle-bubble interactions. Invited seminars (industry/academia): 12

Chemical Engineering Education Development Centre

As Senior Scientific Officer (ranking next to the Chair) with the Chem Engng Education Development Centre set up by the Dep't. of Education, Gov't. of India, coordinated various committees with more than 300 specialists drawn from the academia and the industry for the development of a new four-year first-degree program (until then it was a five-year program) in chem engng. This new curriculum was adapted by ALL the universities in India. Coordinated the development of guidelines for the inplant training of chem engng students in India. Co-editor/project-leader: "Manual of Chemical Technology" published in four volumes (2,400pp) with funding from the Dep't. of Education, Gov't. of India. The first volume dealt with general aspects of the process industry, including - materials of construction, utilities, safety, energy, environment, nuclear materials, etc. The other three volumes covered almost the entire spectrum of chemical processes/products - inorganic, natural organic, and synthetic organic. Excerpts from different journal reviews - "... should be available in several copies on the library shelves of every technical or research institution and every industrial concern in the country ..."; "... classics in the field ..."; "... a Herculian task ...". Production co-editor, 28 text/reference books in chem engng published by the Centre. Co-advisor, eight graduate students in chem engng: coagulation-flocculation; electrostatic separation; granulation; spray drying; solid-solid reactions; gas-solid reactions; electrochemical reactions; solid-liquid extraction. Consultant to various public and private sector undertakings in the area of particulate/multiphase processing. Projects involved techno-economic feasibility studies, process development, and process modeling/optimization.Professional activities: Co-editor, Proceedings of the Indian Inst. of Chem Engrs Annual Meeting (1981), published in four volumes. Invited seminars (industry): 3

Phd, Chemical Engineering

Activities and Societies: Indian Institute of Chemical EngineersDissertation: "Studies on Hydrocyclone". Advisors: Professors Dr-Ing. Emil.

Bachelor'S & Master'S, Chemical Engineering

Graduated at the top of the class at the Master's level specializing in Chemical Plant Design. Projects - "Design aspects.