Faculty Directory

Gupta, Ashwani K.

Gupta, Ashwani K.

Distinguished University Professor
Minta Martin Professor of Engineering
Professor, Institute of Physical Science and Technology
Affiliate Professor, Dept . of Aerospace Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Maryland Energy Innovation Institute
Aerospace Engineering
2159 Glenn L. Martin Hall, Building 088

EDUCATION

  • Ph.D., 1973, University of Sheffield, UK
  • D.Sc., 1986, University of Sheffield, UK
  • D.Sc., 2013, Southampton University, UK

BACKGROUND

Professor Ashwani K. Gupta has been a faculty member in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Maryland, College Park since 1983, following six years at MIT as a member of the research staff in the Energy Laboratory and Department of Chemical Engineering, and three years at Sheffield University as an independent research worker and research fellow in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Fuel Technology.  He has 45+ years of experience in Combustion engineering since his graduation from Southampton University in 1970. He has authored/co-authored over 850 technical papers, three books, 18 edited books, and 22 book chapters. In 2023, Gupta was elected to Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng), UK.  In 2020, he was elected to Honrary Fellowship of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS), UK, the highest professional recognition bestowed by the RAeS.  He is currently Honorary Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and Fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics AIAA), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (ASTFE), and Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA). In 2022, Gupta was included in the top 2% of the scientists in the world  by Stanford University which includes the researchers who receive the most citations across all academic fields. More about Dr. Gupta on his Wikipedia. 

HONORS AND AWARDS

  • Fellow, Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng), UK (2023)
  • Top 2% of the Scientists in the world published by Stanford University (2022)
  • Honorary Fellow of Royal Aeronautical Society, RAeS U.K (2020).
  • Honorary Member (Fellow) of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2016)
  • Honoris Causa Doctorate, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (2014)
  • Honoris Causa Doctorate, King Mungkut University of Technology North Bangkok, Bestowed by the Princess of Thailand (2014)
  • Honoris Causa Doctorate, University of Derby, UK (2015)
  • Fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (1991), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2000), Society of Automotive Engineers (2007), American Association for the Advancement of Science (2016), and American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (2024)
  • Member, European Academy of Science and Arts, EASA (2021)
  • AIAA Energy Systems Award (1990)
  • ASME George Westinghouse Gold Medal (1998)
  • AIAA Propellants and Combustion Award (1999)
  • ASME James Harry Potter Gold Medal Award (2003)
  • University of Maryland President Kirwan Research Award (2003)
  • ASME James N. Landis Medal (2004)
  • University of Maryland A. James Clark School of Engineering Outstanding Research Award (2006)
  • ASME Worcester Reed Warner Medal (2008)
  • Distinguished University Professor (2008)
  • ASME Holly Medal (2010)
  • ASME-AIM Percey Nichols Award (2011)
  • AIAA Air Breathing Propulsion Award (2014)
  • ASEE Ralph Coats Roe Award (2015)
  • ASME Honorary Member/Fellow (2016)
  • AIAA Pendary Aerospace Literature Award (2017)
  • ASME Sochiro Honda Medal (2018)
  • ASME Dixy Lee Ray award (2021)
  • Seven Best Paper Awards by AIAA (in 1987, 1989, 1992, 1994, 2006, 2010 & 2010) and three by ASME (in 1991, 1997 & 2003)
  • Delivered 90+ Plenary/Keynote/Invited presentations at international conferences and organizations during the past 20 years

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

  • Ediotr in Chief of Intl. J. Energy for a Clean Environment (IJECE)
  • Editor in Chief of APEC Youth Scientist Journal
  • Associate Editor of ASME Journal of Energy Resources Technology
  • Associate Editor of Journal of Applied Energy
  • Associate Editor of International Fuel Sprays and Combustion Dynamics
  • Associate Editor of Journal of Sustainable Energy and Environment
  • Editor, Energy and Engineering Science Series, CRC Press
  • Associate Editor, J. Prop. and Power
  • Chair, Board of Boiler Rules, State of Maryland
  • Chair, ASME Fuels and Combustion Tech. Division (1998-2000)
  • Chair of ASME FACT Section, Power Division (2017-present)
  • Executive Committee Member, ASME Computers and Information in Engineering Division (1999-2000)
  • Director of Propulsion and Energy, and Member of Board of Directors, AIAA (2006-2012)
  • Deputy Directr of Energy, AIAA (2000-2007, and 2018-present) 
  • Oversight Chair, International Conference on Incineration and Thermal Treatment Technologies (IT3)

 

  • Swirl flows
  • Combustion
  • Sprays
  • High-temperature air combustion (HiTAC)
  • Distributed combustion
  • Sulfur chemistry and sulfur removal from acid gases in natural gas
  • Biofuels / fuel reforming
  • CO2 use for fuels and value-added products
  • Microcombustion
  • Alternative fuels/ Biofuels
  • Air pollution
  • High intensity gas turbine combustion / Green combustion turbine
  • Thermal destruction of solid and liquid wastes
  • Gasification and pyrolysis
  • Supercritical and near critical CO2 liquifaction of biomass to liquid fuels
  • Waste & Biomass comnversion to value added products using CO2   
  • Sensors and diagnostics
  • Internal combustion engines
  • Fouling and deposition
  • Non-intrusive laser diagnostics
  • Hypersonics - non-intrusive flow diagnostics

High Temperature Energy Systems (HiTES), Gasification, Pyrolysis, Colorless Distributed Combustion, Micro-combustion, Biofuels,  Air toxins,  Combustion, Laser Diagnostics, Sulfur recovery from acid gases present in natural gas and oils, High intensity gas turbnie combustuon, CO2 utilization, Supercritical & Near critical liquifaction of low grade feedstocks to liquid biofuels, Near Critical Integrated liquefaction and Extraction (NILE) proces, Waste and biomass conversion to fuels and high value-added products, Biomass char to activated carbon conversion, Swirl flows, Noise emisson and reduction from flames, Precessinf Vortex Cores (PVC) in swirl flows, MHD, High intensity gas turbine combustion, and Hydrogen production from hydrocarbons   

Thermo-Fluid Courses

2024

  • Mavukwana, A. E, Burra, K. G., Sempuga, C., Castaldi, M., and Gupta, A. K.: Effect of Spent FCC Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) Catalyst on Syngas Production from Pyrolysis and CO2-assisted Gasification of Waste Tires, Fuel Journal, Vol. 355, Issue 1, Jan. 2024, 129446, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2023.129446
  • Roy, R., and Gupta, A. K.: Comparison of Non-reactive Flow fields in Conventional Swirl-air Combustion and Swirl Distributed Combustion, J. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, Vol. 150, Jan. 1, 2024, 111029 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expthermflusci.2023.111029  
  • Burra, K. G, Sahin, M., Zheng, Y., and Gupta, A. K.: Near-Critical CO2-Assisted Liquefaction-Extraction of Biomass and Wastes to Fuels and Value-Added Products, ASME J. Energy Resources Technology, Jan. 2024, 146(1): 011801 (9 pages), https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4063813    

2023

  • Li J., Ye X., Burra K. G., Lu W., Wang Z., Liu X. and Gupta A. K.: Synergistic Effects During Co-pyrolysis and Co-gasification of Polypropylene and Polystyrene, Applied Energy, 336, April 15, 2023, 120750, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.202B3.120750
  • Zhiwei Wang, Mengge Wu, Gaofeng Chen, Mengju Zhang, Tanglei Sun, Kiran G. Burra, Shuaihua Guo, Yan Chen, Shuhua Yang, Zaifeng Li, Tingzhou Lei, and Ashwani K. Gupta, Co-pyrolysis Characteristics of Waste Tire and Maize Stalk using TGA, FTIR and Py-GC/MS Analysis, Fuel Journal, 337, 2023, p. 127206.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2022.127206
  • Cao, Q., Lu W., Li, J., Burra, K. R. G., and Gupta, A. K.: Energy Recovery of Expired Pistachios from Pyrolysis and CO2-assisted Gasification, ASME J. Energy Resources Tech., Trans ASME, January 2023, 145(1): 012102. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4054788 .

2022

  •  Roy, R., and Gupta, A. K.: Data-driven Prediction of Flame Temperature and Pollutant Emission in Distributed Combustion, Applied Energy J., Vol. 310, March 15, 2022, p. 118502. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.118502
  • Li, J., Burra K. G., Wang, Z., Liu, X., and Gupta, A. K.: Syngas Evolution and Energy Efficiency in CO2 Assisted Gasification of ion-exchanged Pine wood, Fuel Journal, Vol. 317, p. 123549, June, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2022.123549
  • Roy, R., and Gupta, A. K.: Recognition of Distributed Combustion Regime from Deep Learning, ASME J. Energy Resources Tech. Vol. 144, no. 9, Sep. 2022, p. 092303 (5 pages). https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4053616.

2021

  • Wang, Z., Burra, K. G., Lei, T., and Gupta, A. K.: Co-pyrolysis of Waste Plastic and Solid Biomass for Synergistic Production of Biofuels and Chemicals-A Review, Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, Vol. 84, May 2021, 100899. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecs.2020.100899
  • Li, J., Burra, K.G., Wang, Z., Liu, X., and Gupta, A.K.: Co-gasification of High Density Polyethylene and Pretreated Pinewood, Applied Energy, 285, 116472, 2021.   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.116472
  • Liu, X., Burra, K., Wang, Z., Li, J and A. K. Gupta, A. K.: Towards Enhanced Understanding of Synergistic Effects in Co-pyrolysis of Pinewood and Polycarbonate, Applied Energy, Vol. 289, 1 May 2021, 116662, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.116662

2020

2019

  • Brooks, J. M., Gupta, A. K., Smith, M. S. and Marineau, E. C.: High-Speed Local Particle Injection for Particle Image Velocimetry, AIAA Journal, Aug 2019, https://doi.org/10.2514/1.J057654
  • Hussein, A. M. A., Burra, K. G., Bassioni, G., Hammouda, R. M. and Gupta A. K.: Production of CO from CO2 over mixed-metal oxides derived from layered-double-hydroxides, Applied Energy, Vol. 235, February 2019, pp. 1183-1191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.11.040 
  • Burra, K. and Gupta, A. K.: Modeling of Biomass Pyrolysis Kinetics Using Sequential Multi-Step Reaction Model, Fuel Journal, Vol. 237, 2019, pp. 1057-1067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2018.09.097

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

  • Singh, A., Yu, M., Bryden, K.M. and Gupta, A. K.: Investigation of Noise Radiation from a Swirl Stabilized Diffusion Flame with an Array of Microphones, J. Applied Energy, Vol. 112, pp. 313-324, December 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.06.034
  • Pang, C., Yu, M., Gupta, A. K. and Bryden, K. M.: Investigation of Smart Multifunctional Optical Sensor Platform and its Application in Optical Sensor Networks, Smart Structures and Systems, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2013, pp. 023-039, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12989/sss.2013.12.1.023
  • Arghode, V. and Gupta, A.K.: Role of Thermal Intensity on Operational Characteristics of Ultra-Low Emission Colorless Distributed Combustion, J. Applied Energy, Vol. 111, November 2013, pp. 930-956.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.06.039

2012

2011

  • Abdelhafez, A. and Gupta, A. K., "Effect of Swirl on Mixing in Underexpanded Supersonic Airflow", J. Propulsion and Power, Vol. 27, No. 1, January-February, 2011, pp. 117-131, https://doi.org/10.2514/1.45716

  • Ahmed, I. I., Nipattummakul, N., Gupta A. K., "Characteristics of Syngas from Co-Gasification of Polyethylene and Woodchips", J. Applied Energy, Vol. 88, 2011, pp. 165-174, https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2010.07.007

  • Shirsat, V. and Gupta, A. K.: A Review of Progress in Heat Recirculating Meso-Scale Combustors, J. Applied Energy, Vol. 88, Issue: 12, 2011, pp. 4294-4309, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.07.021  

Gupta Inducted into Royal Academy of Engineering

UMD professor is honored for his achievements in clean and efficient energy conversion.

Ashwani Gupta Named Royal Academy of Engineering Fellow

Recognition honors Gupta’s role as a leading international authority on swirl flows and volume distributed combustion. 

Balachandran Named Distinguished University Professor

UMD Chair of Mechanical Engineering also wins AIAA’s Pendray Award.

Gupta Awarded Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Aeronautical Society

Distinguished University Professor Ashwani Gupta recognized for exemplary contributions to aerospace science and technology literature.

UMD Hosts the Premier Combustion Science Meeting in the U.S.

A record number of attendees made the 2017 meeting the most successful in its history.

Gupta Named 2016 AAAS Fellow

Department of Mechanical Engineering Distinguished University Professor Ashwani Gupta named AAAS Fellow.

Gupta Receives ASEE 2015 Ralph Coats Roe Award

Distinguished University Professor Ashwani Gupta receives 2015 Ralph Coats Roe Award at ASEE annual conference.

Gupta Receives AIAA Air Breathing Propulsion Award

Department of Mechanical Engineering Distinguished University Professor Ashwani Gupta receives 2014 AIAA Air Breathing Propulsion Award.

Solar Team Distills Most and Purest Water at International Competition

Students from civil, chemical engineering win awards in Environmental Design Contest.

Gupta Receives the Percy Nicholls Award

Mechanical engineering professor recognized for contributions to the field of solid fuels.

Clark School Sweeps OTC Awards

Thin battery, nano-velcro and key exchange system named top UM inventions.

ME Co-Hosts International Energy Conference

Event in Abu Dhabi will explore next 25 years of oil and gas issues.

Ashwani K. Gupta Elevated to SAE Fellow Status

Designation is highest grade of membership bestowed by SAE International.

Gupta Named Distinguished University Professor

ME professor honored for combustion research.

Clark School Leads NASA Project

Aerospace Chair Darryll Pines to lead $7.8M/year research project, 20 universities involved.

Other professional society fellows

  • Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
  • American Association of Arts and Science (AAAS),
  • Member, European Academy of Arts and Sciences (EASA).

Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS)

  • Honorary Fellow

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

  • Honorary Fellow

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)

  • Fellow

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

  • Fellow