Manoj Prabakar Sargunaraj

Adjunct Professor
Manoj Prabakar Sargunaraj

Directory Engineering Physics

Dr. Manoj Prabakar Sargunaraj joined Florida Poly as an adjunct professor in spring 2024. He has an extensive background in mechanical and aerospace engineering with a focus on thermo-fluid dynamics research. Prior to this, Sargunaraj served as a post-doctoral research scholar at the Center for Advanced Turbomachinery Energy Research (CATER) at the University of Central Florida (UCF), where he began his journey as a graduate student in 2019. During his time at UCF, he was a graduate research and teaching assistant, instructing a variety of mechanical and aerospace engineering courses.

His academic path began with impactful research at the National Center for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD) in India, where he made significant contributions to aerospace and defense projects. With a Ph.D. and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from UCF, along with a distinguished research degree in aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Dr. Sargunaraj possesses a strong academic foundation.

His expertise includes experimental aero/gas dynamics, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), thermal energy management, bio-inspired aerodynamics, and supersonic/hypersonic flows. As an adjunct professor, Sargunaraj brings a unique blend of academic rigor and real world experience to the classroom, inspiring the next generation of engineers and researchers.

  • Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Central Florida (UCF), Orlando, FL, USA, 2023
  • M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Central Florida (UCF), Orlando, FL, USA, 2021
  • M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, Chennai, India, 2018
  • B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering, Aeronautical Society of India, New Delhi, India, 2014
  • Experimental aero/gas dynamics
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) 
  • Thermal energy management 
  • Bio-inspired aerodynamics
  • Supersonic/hypersonic flows
  • Reviewer for AIAA journal, Journal of Aerospace Engineering, AIAA SciTech, ASME Turbo Expo
  • American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) - Member since 2015
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) - Member since 2020
  • International Shock Wave Institute - Member since 2015
  • Aeronautical Society of India - Member since 2013
  • Prabakar, M., Thiruchengode, M., & Muruganandam, T. M. (2016). Investigation of diffusers for two stream supersonic wind tunnels. 54th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, 47, 1050.
  • Prabakar, S. M., Srikanth, C., & Muruganandam, T. M. (2017). Effect of Mach Number on Shock Oscillations in Supersonic Diffusers. 30th International Symposium on Shock Waves 1: ISSW30-Volume 1, 257-261.
  • Prabakar, S. M., & Muruganandam, T. M. (2019). Experimental Investigations of a Diffuser Start/Unstart Characteristics for Two Stream Supersonic Wind Tunnel. 31st International Symposium on Shock Waves 2: Applications 31, 1119-1126.
  • Prabakar, S. M., Panchabudhe, L. M., Muruganandam, T. M., & Sundararajan, T. (2019). A study on the performance characteristics of two-stream supersonic diffusers. Aerospace Science and Technology, 95, 105470. 
  • Raju, N., Sargunaraj, M. P., Medhi, B., & Muruganandam, T. M. (2020). Three-dimensional schlieren using iterative phase tomography. AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum, 2205.
  • • Sargunaraj, Manoj Prabakar, "The Effect of Dynamic Span Wise Bending on the Forces of a Pitching Flat Plate" (2021). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-. 758. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd2020/758
  • Otto, M., Sargunaraj, M. P., Riahi, A., & Kapat, J. (2021). A novel long-duration hydrogen storage concept without liquefaction and high pressure suitable for onsite blending. Turbo Expo: Power for Land, Sea, and Air, 84997, V006T03A007
  • Sargunaraj, M. P., Otto, M., Vesely, L., Fernandez, E., Kapat, J. S., & Viti, V. (2022). Use of Supercritical CO2 Impingement Cooling for a Hypersonic Leading Edge. AIAA SCITECH 2022 Forum, 266.
  • Sargunaraj, M. P., Torres, A., Garduna, J., Otto, M., Kapat, J. S., & Saxena, S. (2022). Numerical Investigation of Film Cooling Effectiveness Including Shockwave Interaction in a Supersonic Nozzle Flow. AIAA SCITECH 2022 Forum, 795.
  • Sargunaraj, M. P., Otto, M., Vesely, L., Fernandez, E., Kapat, J., Viti, V., & Saxena, S. (2023). Aerodynamics and Heat Transfer Investigation of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Multi Jet Impingement Cooling for a Leading Edge at Hypersonic Speeds. AIAA SCITECH 2023 Forum, 389.

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