Prof. Rakesh Agrawal is the Winthrop E. Stone Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University. He was conferred with the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur for his outstanding contributions to research and development in Chemical Engineering in the year 2012. Prof. Agrawal earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from IIT Kanpur in 1975.
Agrawal received his Master’s degree from the University of Delaware, and his Doctorate from MIT. He formerly worked at Air Products and Chemicals, where he rose to the highest technical position of Air Products Fellow. His current research includes energy systems analysis, novel processes for the fabrication of low-cost thin-film solar cells, agrivoltaics, biomass to liquid fuel conversion, synthesis of efficient separation processes using distillation and membranes, gas separations and liquefaction, and shale gas processing. He holds 136 U.S. patents, has published over 280 technical papers, and has given over 290 invited lectures. His inventions have been used in over a hundred chemical plants with expenditures in billions of dollars. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Inventors, and the Indian National Academy of Engineering. His honors include the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the highest honor given by the President of the United States of America.
