Prof. Vijay K. Dhir is a highly acclaimed scientist known for his pioneering work in fundamental and applied research. A distinguished professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department at the University of California, Los Angeles, Prof. Dhir heads the Boiling Heat Transfer Lab and has been a part of several crucial research projects.
Prof. Dhir obtained his Bachelor of Science from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh in 1965 and an M.Tech from IIT Kanpur in 1968. Following it, he went abroad for higher studies and obtained his doctoral degree from the University of Kentucky in 1972. He joined the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles, as a faculty. From 1988 to 1991, Prof. Dhir served as a vice- chair of the department and later as a chair of that department from 1994 to 2000. In July 2001, he was appointed as the school's associate dean and in March 2003 took over as the Dean of the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. Prof. Vijay K Dhir's prime areas of research have been microgravity heat transfer, two-phase heat transfer, thermal hydraulics of nuclear reactors and soil remediation. At the Boiling Heat Transfer Lab at UCLA, he has done some path breaking research to understand the complex process of boiling to design cooling systems for spacecraft and for systems on earth. He has been a part of some very crucial experiments, for instance, in a NASA research program, he led a team of expert researchers to study the effects of microgravity on boiling. The experiments conducted aboard NASA's KC-135 parabolic aircraft and International Space Station (ISS) brought forth a completely new aspect of the physics of boiling that has helped the scientists worldwide to better understand the process of boiling in microgravity.
Prof. Dhir's pioneering work has won him several prestigious awards and honors. In 2004, he was felicitated with the prestigious Max Jakob Memorial Award and therefore was inducted into the University of Kentucky's Engineering Hall of Distinction.
He has authored 350+ papers published in journals and proceedings of conferences. From 2000 to 2005, he served as a senior technical editor for the ASME Journal of Heat Transfer.
He has received several honors and awards. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). He is an honorary member of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He is recipient of Heat Transfer Memorial Award of ASME and Max Jakob Award of ASME and American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). He has also received Donald Q. Kern Award of AIChE and Thermal Hydraulics Achievement Award of American Nuclear Society (ANS). In addition, he has received an honorary doctorate from University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.
Besides numerous research accolades, Prof. Dhir has made a significant contribution towards society through his innovative outreach initiatives to encourage high-school students to pursue careers in science and engineering. In 2016, the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science UCLA created the Vijay K. Dhir Chair in Engineering to honor contributions to the university.
In 2018, IIT Kanpur conferred upon him the prestigious Distinguished Alumnus Award for his academic excellence.
