About

Rakesh Ranjan, Ph.D. is a research professional with a strong understanding and curiosity for Physics. He is currently working as a Member of Technical Staff at Esgee Technologies Inc. with a focus on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics (Experimental as well as CFD), and Combustion. With over 16 years of relevant experience, Rakesh has a diverse background in research and development. He has previously worked as a Research and Development Specialist at Linde Engineering North America Inc. where he designed brazed aluminium heat exchangers for air separation units and data centre cooling using tools such as Unisim, HTFS, and HTRI. He also worked towards TCO optimization of process heaters by exploring novel and traditional fired heater designs. Rakesh led the patent review and IP creation efforts within the Heat Transfer R&D group and submitted multiple ideas in IP generation pipeline. He improved designs of legacy equipment to achieve low DP and thus low power requirements amounting to total annual power savings of $700k+. He also championed IoT options for cryogenic product loss reduction (target ~ 33% improvement). Rakesh holds a Doctor of Philosophy - PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, where he worked as a Graduate Research Assistant. His doctorate research is on flame-flow interactions during flashback in gas turbines. A detailed understanding of this phenomenon is required to improve the next-generation fuel-flexible gas turbines. Unlike any previous research, he implemented high-speed laser diagnostics coupled with chemiluminescence imaging to understand the underlying physics. Rakesh has presented and published his research at multiple international conferences. He has provided a fundamental understanding of flame propagation in a setup that shall serve for the verification of future numerical efforts to understand the physics of flashback. He reported the effect of stratification and hydrogen-enrichment on flashback, thereby paving the way for improved next-generation combustor design to incorporate hydrogen-enriched fuels. Overall, Rakesh is a highly skilled and experienced research professional with a passion for Physics and a strong background in Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics, and Combustion. He is a Software Engineer and Research Scientist with a diverse range of skills and expertise.