Dr. Mayuresh V. Kothare
B.Tech., 1991, Chemical Engineering

Dr. Mayuresh Kothare is Chairman, and R. L. McCann Professor of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering at Lehigh University, United States.

Dr. Kothare earned his B.Tech degree in Chemical Engineering from IIT Bombay in 1991 with a silver medal, M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, in 1995 and 1997, respectively.

He was a Research Assistant with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland during 1994- 96; a Visiting Scholar in electrical engineering at Purdue University (1995) and chemical engineering at the City College of New York, New York (1997); and a Postdoctoral Researcher with Mobil Oil Corporation (1997-98). His primary professional experience began as Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at Lehigh University (1998-2003), Associate Professor (2003-08), Professor (2008-12) and Chairman of the Department o f Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (from 2012). He has held a Visiting Professor appointment in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins (2008-12). He was conferred the title of Guest Professor (2012-15) at East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai.

Dr. Kothare has also served on review panels for proposals submitted to the US National Science Foundation, NASA, American Chemical Society, Swiss National Science Foundation and Dutch Technology Foundation. He has served as Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, Automatica, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics: Systems, as Deputy Editor-in-Chief for IFAC PapersOnline, and as Guest Editor for Journal of Process Control.

Dr. Kothare’s research is focused on the theory of dynamical modeling, systems analysis and optimal control with applications and experimental demonstrations in microchemical systems, chemical process control and biomedical/neuro-engineering systems. His publications have not only had impact in chemical engineering research but have also been recognized as important contributions in other engineering disciplines including mechanical, electrical, aerospace and civil engineering. His research has resulted in 1 research monograph, 2 book chapters, over 140 refereed journal publications and archival conference proceedings, 80 technical abstracts, 5 issued US patents and 1 pending patent application. One of his key theoretical contributions has been in the area of robustness analysis and synthesis of model-based constrained predictive controllers using Semi-Definite Programming. Other theoretical contributions include stability analysis and optimal controller synthesis for systems with actuator constraints using convex/ linear and bilinear matrix inequalities. On the experimental side, his work on modeling, design and control of microchemical systems and the use of embedded controller architectures for “controller-on-chip” applications has resulted in 4 US patents, of which one was licensed to industry. More recent experimental work has involved the design and commercial development of compact medical oxygen concentrators for rehabilitation therapy of patients with pulmonary disease. This work resulted in two US patents and led to the formation of a company for pursuing commercial product development.

Dr. Kothare, is a recipient of Reliance Heat Transfer Pvt. Ltd. Prize, J. N. Tata Endowment prize for outstanding students pursuing graduate studies outside India (  1991 ); Sumant Mulgaonkar Memorial Award given by the Jamsetji Tata Trust, India, for demonstrating academic excellence (1991); Ted Peterson Graduate Student Paper Award, Computing and Systems Technology (CAST) division of AIChE ( 2000); P. C. R o s s in As s i s t ant Professorship, Lehigh University (2001- 03); Frank Hook Assistant Professorship (2002-04) and Alfred Nobel Robinson Award, Lehigh U. (2002); US National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2002-07); R. L. McCann Professorship Lehigh University (2004-present); one of 82 participants (age 30-45), 14th Frontier of Engineering Workshop of the US National Academy of Engineering (2008); IEEE Fellow (2012); AIChE Fellow (2018); Guest Professorship, E.China U. of Sci. Tech., Shangai (2012-15); listed in most-cited researchers in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Shanghai Global Ranking (2016); and inaugural speaker, Distinguished Lecture Series in Control Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University.


Special Memories

"My favorite memories as a student at IIT Bombay have been the strong bonds and friendships I developed at my hostel -- H4, and also with students in Chemical Engineering and other departments at other hostels. The challenging and gruelling course work was a natural reason to work in groups, learn from other students and in the process, build deep personal bonds. Late night chat sessions at the hostel (these were real "chats" in person in the pre-internet/ smartphone era, not the present day "online" ones on the internet!!) were a highlight and a great relief valve from the constant and high-intensity academic load. Breakfast was the highlight and best meal of the day, and walking to Chinese corner late at night provided for some night-time nutrition. What remains memorable to this day is the of talent and raw intellect in the student population that the Institute was able to attract to campus and this made everyone humble and respectful to each other."