ODIL Research Group 2026
Principal Investigator (PI):
Dr. Waruna Kulatilaka (Ku.La.Ti.La.Ka)
Holdredge/Paul Professor & Chancellor EDGES Fellow
J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering (MEEN) & Department of Aerospace Engineering (AERO, by courtesy)
Short Bio:
Dr. Waruna Kulatilaka (Ku. La. Ti. La. Ka) is the Holdredge/Paul Professor and a Chancellor EDGES Fellow in J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, with a joint courtesy appointment in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, at Texas A&M University. His research focuses on advanced optical and laser-based diagnostics for fundamental combustion & plasma studies, as well as a range of applications in propellants & energetics, hypersonics, and ultra-high-rate material impact characterization. His research team was the first to develop femtosecond two-photon laser-induced fluorescence (fs-TPLIF) imaging for highly reactive chemical species such as H, O, and N atoms in flames. Dr. Kulatilaka has also contributed to multiple other laser diagnostic techniques, including LIF, CARS, polarization spectroscopy, and LIBS. His research contributions are reported in nearly 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, over 250 conference papers and presentations, and numerous national and international invited talks. Dr. Kulatilaka serves as the Associate Department Head for Undergraduate Programs in Mechanical Engineering. He is active in multiple committees of professional organizations such as AmeriASME, AIAA, and the International Combustion Institute-CI (Vice-Chair, US Sections of the CI). He is a Fellow of ASME and CI, an Associate Fellow of AIAA, and a Senior Member of OPTICA.
Education:
- Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 2006
- M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 2002
- B.Sc. (Hons), Mechanical Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, 2000
Professional Societies:
- The Combustion Institute – CI (Fellow, Vice Chair/Chair-Elect of the US Sections of the CI)
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers – ASME (Fellow)
- OPTICA (Formerly, The Optical Society – OSA) (Senior Member)
- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – AIAA (Associate Fellow)
Awards & Honors (Selected):
- Chancellor Enhancing Development and Generating Excellence in Scholarship (EDGES) Fellow (Class of 2025)
- Walker Outstanding Service Award in Mechanical Engineering (2025)
- Holdredge/Paul Professorship (2024–Present)
- Morris E. Foster Faculty Fellow I (2017–2024)
- Industry Advisory Council Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award, Mechanical Engineering (2024)
- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aerodynamic Measurement Technologies (AIAA-AMT) Innovation Award, 2024
- College of Engineering Excellence Award – Outstanding Contributions (2023)
- James J. Cain ‘51 Faculty Graduate Teaching Award, Mechanical Engineering (2022)
- Visiting Professor, CORIA/INSA, Rouen Normandie, France (Summer 2019)
- TEES Engineering Genesis Award for Multidisciplinary Research 2019
- Forty Under 40 Award, Dayton Business Journal (2013)
- Invited Speaker, Gordon Research Conference on Laser Diagnostics in Combustion, Waterville Valley, NH (2013)
- Outstanding Technical Contribution Award, Dayton Section of ASME (2012)
MEEN Homepage
Graduate Students (Current):
1. Adi Putra Hardaya (Ph.D. Student)
Research Topic(s):
2. Manuel Suarez (Ph.D. Student)
Research Topic(s):
3. Ferris Turney (Ph.D. Student)
Research Topic(s):
4. Md. Asaduzzaman Sourov (Ph.D. Student)
Research Topic(s):
5. Sean Pias (M. S. Student)
Research Topic(s):
Undergraduate Research Students (Current):
1. Jeffrey DeGroot
Research Topic(s):
2. Soban Vohra
Research Topic(s):
3. Ryan Fuan
Research Topic(s):
Graduate Students & Postdocs (Completed):
1. Mathew Hay (Ph.D., Fall 2025)
Thesis Title: Exploiting the Time-Bandwidth of Femtosecond Laser Pulses to Develop Novel Diagnostics for Reacting Flows
Position Upon Graduation: NRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Air Force Research Laboratory, Dayton, OH.
2. Dharma Raj Ojha (MS, Summer 2025)
Thesis Title: Laser-Based Imaging Diagnostics of Liquid Films & Sprays
Position Upon Graduation: Manufacturing Engineer at Tesla, Austin, TX.
3. Manuel Suarez (MS, Spring 2025)
Thesis Title: Simultaneous NO and Atomic H Imaging in Flames Using Broadband Femtosecond LIF
Position Upon Graduation: Ph.D. Student, ODIL-TAMU.
4. Gavin Lukasik (Ph.D., Fall 2024)
Thesis Title: Novel Optical Diagnostics for Flow and Particulates in Hypervelocity Test Environments
Position Upon Graduation: Research Engineer, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD), Dahlgren, VA.
5. Adi Hardaya (MS, Fall 2024)
Thesis Title: Experimental and Computational Study of Heat Release Rate Surrogates Ammonia-Hydrogen Flames
Position Upon Graduation: Ph.D. Student, ODIL-TAMU.
6. Matthew Intardonato (MS, Spring 2024)
Thesis Title: Megahertz-Rate Spectroscopic Investigation of Hypervelocity Impact Flash
Position Upon Graduation: Mechanical Engineer, US Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC), Redstone Arsenal, AL.
7. Kristi Naude (MS, Spring 2023)
Thesis Title: Spectroscopic Investigation of Premixed H2/NH3/N2-Air Flames Stabilized on a H2-Air Pilot Flame
Position Upon Graduation: New Product Development Engineer, Teledyne Marine, Daytona Beach, FL.
8. Pradeep Parajuli (Ph.D., Spring 2023)
Thesis Title: Femtosecond Two-Photon Laser-Induced Fluorescence for Temperature and Chemical Species Imaging in Flames
Position Upon Graduation: Research Scientist at Leidos Inc./National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Morgantown, WV.
9. Christian Schweizer (Ph.D., Summer 2023)
Thesis Title: Advanced Optical Diagnostics for Dust Cloud Particle, Flow, and Combustion Measurements in a Minimum Ignition Energy Testing Device
Position Upon Graduation: WINNINGNormandy Postdoctoral Fellow, C.O.R.I.A. Laboratory, INSA-Rouen Normandy, France.
10. Andrew Gorman (MS., Spring 2022, Co-advised with Dr. Adolfo Delgado)
Thesis Title: Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) Imaging Studies of the Oil Film Thickness in a Thrust Collar
Position Upon Graduation: Mechanical Engineer, Schlumberger, Houston, TX.
11. Yejun Wang, Ph.D. (Postdoctoral Fellow, Oct. 2018–Aug. 2021)
Project: Development and Applications of Pulse-Burst Laser Diagnostics
Position Upon Completion: Research Scientist, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
12. William Swain (MS, Spring 2020)
Thesis Title: Characterization of a High-Pressure Burner Using Chemiluminescence, OH PLIF, and Thermometry
Position Upon Graduation: Senior Test Operations Engineer, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM.
13. Ayush Jain (Ph.D. Summer 2020)
Thesis Title: Ultrashort-Laser-Pulse Multi-Photon Excitation Schemes for Combustion Diagnostics
Position Upon Graduation: QuantaVid, MI.
14. Tyler Paschal (MS, Spring 2019)
Thesis Title: OH* and CH* Chemiluminescence and OH PLIF Imaging Studies in Spherically Expanding Flames
Position Upon Graduation: Blast Effects Consultant, Baker Risk, San Antonio, TX.
15. Ayobami Shoyinka (MS, Spring 2019)
Thesis Title: Ultra-High-Speed Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Applications Using a Pulse-Burst Laser System
Position Upon Graduation: Systems Engineer, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Fort Worth, TX.
16. Yejun Wang (Ph.D., Summer 2018)
Thesis Title: Ultrashort-Pulse Laser Techniques for Unraveling Chemical and Physical Processes in Next-Generation Combustion Systems
Position Upon Graduation: Postdoctoral Researcher, TAMU, College Station, TX.
17. Nicholas Niemiec (MS, Summer 2018)
Thesis Title: Advanced Laser Diagnostics for Characterization of Particle Flow Field and Chemical Species During Energetic Material Reactions
Position Upon Graduation: Energy Engineer, Franklin Energy, Okemos, MI / Research Engineer, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX.
18. Morgan O’Neil (MS, Spring 2017)
Thesis Title: Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) for Detecting Metal Particles Released from Energetic Reactions
Position Upon Graduation: Test Equipment Engineer, SpaceX, McGregor, TX.
Undergraduate Research Students (Completed):
25. Sean Pias, Mechanical Engineering, TAMU (Spring 2023–Spring 2025), Graduate Student-TAMU/ODIL, Summer 2025–Present
24. Ferris Turney, Mechanical Engineering, TAMU (Summer 2024–Spring 2025), Graduate Student-TAMU/ODIL, Summer 2025–Present
23. Avery Witkowski, Mechanical Engineering, TAMU (REU, Summer 2024)
22. Arjun Madana, Computer Science & Engineering, TAMU (Spring 2024)
21. Nathan Franz, Mechanical Engineering, TAMU (Honors Research, Fall 2021)
20. Andrew Gorman, Mechanical Engineering, TAMU (Summer 2020–Fall 2020), Graduate Student-TAMU/ODIL, 2021–2022
19. Matthew Hay, Mechanical Engineering, TAMU (Spring 2020–Fall 2020), Graduate Student-TAMU/ODIL, 2021–2025
18. Diana Dyer, Aerospace Engineering, TAMU (Fall 2017–Spring 2020)
17. William Weinert, Mechanical Engineering, TAMU (Fall 2019)
16. Ben Gorr, Aerospace Engineering, TAMU (Fall 2017–Spring 2019), Graduate Student-TAMU/AERO, 2020
15. Gus Kendrick, Aerospace Engineering, TAMU (Summer 2018–Fall 2018)
14. Andrew Marsh, Mechanical Engineering, TAMU (Summer 2018–Spring 2019, Graduate Student-Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020
13. Kristi Naude, Mechanical Engineering, Letourneau University (NSF-REU, Summer 2018, Summer 2019), Graduate Student-TAMU/ODIL, 2021–2022
12. Julia Derdena, Mechanical Science and Engineering, UIUC (NSF-REU, Summer 2017)
11. Tianyi (Tom) Nan, Mechanical Engineering, TAMU (USRG, Summer 2017)
10. William Swain, Mechanical Engineering, TAMU (NSF-REU, Summer 2017), Graduate Student-TAMU/ODIL, 2019–2020
09. Griffin Judge, Mechanical Engineering, TAMU (Summer 2017)
08. John Stalling, Mechanical Engineering, TAMU (Fall 2016, Graduate Student-Stanford University, 2019
07. Cade Capps, Mechanical Engineering, TAMU (NSF, Summer 2016)
06. Kevin Campbell, Mechanical Engineering, TAMU (TAMU/TEES, Summer 2016, Fall 2016, USRG, Summer 2017)
05. Brian Brubacker, Mechanical Engineering, TAMU (TAMU-PSU REU Program, Summer 2016)
04. Josh Dudash, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Penn State (TAMU-PSU REU Program, Summer 2016)
03. Patrick Behne, Nuclear Engineering, TAMU (Spring 2016), Graduate Student-TAMU/NUEN, 2017–2022
02. Brian Mendoza, Mechanical Engineering, UT-El Paso (NSF-REU, Summer 2015)
01. Mario Orrantia, Mechanical Engineering, UT-El Paso (NSF-REU, Summer 2015), Graduate Student-UT-El Paso, 2019–2020
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