Dr. Sachin Velankar is a Professor in the Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh. He also has a courtesy appointment in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Velankar studied Chemical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, India.  He continued his studies at the University of Delaware where he obtained a PhD in Chemical Engineering.  He then completed post-doctoral studies in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, and the University of Minnesota.

In support of his research work, Dr. Velankar has received funding from the National Science Foundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, ACS Petroleum Research Fund, Office of Naval Research, Lubrizol Corporation, Joinking Chemical Company, and National Institutes of Health.  Currently funded projects include:

• PI, National Science Foundation (along with Prof. Tara Meyer, Dept. of Chemistry), “Fundamentals of co-crystallization of polyoxacyclobutane and water”
• PI, National Science Foundation (along with Prof. Edith Tzeng, Dept. of Surgery), “The dynamic topography of the blood-contacting surface of arteries”
• PI, National Science Foundation (along with Prof. Spandan Maiti, Dept. of Bioengineering), “FMSG: Shape-programmable elastic-plastic tubes as building blocks for origami”

His research interests span hydrogels, interfacial phenomena, polymers, and rheology.

Dr. Velankar is affiliated with the following professional and society organizations: 1.) Society of Rheology; 2.) American Physical Society; 3.) American Institute of Chemical Engineers; and 4.) Society of Plastics Engineers.

He is a regular reviewer for AIChE Journal, Colloids and Surfaces A, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Journal of Membrane Science, Journal of Polymer Science Polymer Physics, Journal of Rheology, Lab on a Chip, Macromolecules, Physics of Fluids, Polymer Engineering and Science, Rheologica Acta, Soft Matter, Advanced Materials, and Advanced Functional Materials.

View a list of Dr. Velankar’s publications here.