Pralav Shetty

pshetty3@illinois.edu | LinkedIn | Personal Website

Pralav graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and minors in Engineering mechanics and Mathematics from The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) in December of 2013. He joined Jessica Krogstad’s research group at UIUC in August 2014 and defended his dissertation in January 2019.  Pralav was a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Matt McDowell at Georgia Tech between 2019-2021.  He is now at Exponent, Inc.

Education

BS in Mechanical Engineering (2013)

PhD in Materials Science and Engineering (2019)

Projects

Defects and functionality of metallic structural thin films
Development of novel surfaces to mitigate carbonaceous deposits on structural alloys

Research Areas

Pralav’s previous research includes tissue cutting mechanics using scalpel blades and tribological effects between hypodermic needles and tissue at the Precision Medical Instrument Design Lab at Penn State. He also performed small-scale testing of cord rubber composites and developed cost-savings applications at The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Akron OH. Pralav’s current research focuses on systematic studies of structural thin films by means of building, testing, and characterization. He uses techniques such as electron microscopy, sputtering, and micromechanical testing.

Awards