Rate My Professor Ramesh Agarwal

Ramesh Agarwal is the William Palm Professor of Engineering and Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, where he has been on the faculty since 2001. He earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in 1968, MS in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1969, and PhD in Aeronautical Sciences from Stanford University in 1975. Prior to joining Washington University, Agarwal served as the Sam Bloomfield Distinguished Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Chair of the Aerospace Engineering Department, and Executive Director of the National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita State University from 1994 to 2001. From 1978 to 1994, he held various scientific and managerial positions at McDonnell Douglas Research Laboratories in St. Louis, culminating as Program Director and McDonnell Douglas Fellow in 1990. Earlier roles include NRC Research Associate at NASA Ames Research Center (1976-1978) and Principal Research Engineer at Rao and Associates (1975-1976).

Over a 45-year career, Professor Agarwal has specialized in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), computational magnetohydrodynamics and electromagnetics, computational aeroacoustics, multidisciplinary design and optimization, rarefied gas dynamics and hypersonic flows, bio-fluid dynamics, and flow and flight control. More recently, his research has focused on nanotechnology, renewable energy systems including wind, solar, and biomass, ground effect aerodynamics, flow control, wind energy, energy efficiency of buildings, chemical looping combustion, and geological carbon sequestration. He is the author or co-author of over 600 publications and has delivered numerous plenary, keynote, and invited lectures at conferences in over 60 countries. Agarwal serves on the editorial boards of more than 20 journals and on various professional, government, and industrial advisory committees. His contributions have been recognized with major awards, including the ASME Fluids Engineering Award (2001), AIAA Aerodynamics Award (2008), SAE International Medal of Honor (2015), AIAA Reed Aeronautics Award (2015), and recent honors such as the 2025 IDSAI Lifetime Achievement Award, WSSET Innovation Award, and John J. Montgomery Award for Distinguished Innovation in Aerospace. He is a Fellow of 23 professional societies.