Ajmira Nageswara Rao

About

I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur (IIESTS), where I joined in 2023. Prior to this, I served as a Research Establishment Officer at the High-Speed Aerodynamics Laboratory at IIT Kanpur for nearly two years. During my time there, I had the opportunity to work with cutting-edge facilities such as the National Wind Tunnel Facility and the Fire Studies Lab, gaining extensive experience in experimental aerodynamics and high-speed flow diagnostics.

I earned my Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from IIT Kanpur, where my research focused on supersonic aeroacoustics, particularly the screeching behaviour of jets from various nozzle geometries at high Mach numbers. This work involved deep exploration of flow-acoustic interactions, shock structures, and their impact on jet noise and stability.

My broader research interests lie at the intersection of aeroacoustics, shock-boundary layer interactions, free and impinging jet dynamics, and flow control techniques. I am especially interested in both active and passive strategies to suppress jet noise and enhance mixing in high-speed flows.

If you are a student curious about how jets make noise, how flows behave near solid surfaces, or how we can control high-speed flows for quieter, more efficient systems, you are encouraged to work with me. I enjoy collaborating with motivated students who are eager to ask bold questions and explore creative solutions whether through wind tunnel experiments, flow diagnostics, or active and passive control design parameters pertaining to low- and high-speed flows.

I welcome curious and motivated students at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels who are excited to explore research challenges in fluid mechanics, gas dynamics, and high-speed aerodynamics.

Academic Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy in Aerospace Engineering (2021), Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology kanpur.
• Master of Technology in Aerospace Engineering (2010), Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology kanpur.
• Bachelor of Technology in Aeronautical engineering (2008), Institute of aeronautical Engineering College, JNTU Hyderabad.

Research Statement

Following are the research problems I am looking forward to addressing:

• Investigating the flow–acoustic coupling mechanisms in supersonic free and impinging jets using advanced flow diagnostics and acoustic measurements.
• Understanding and controlling screech tones in high-speed jets through nozzle geometry variations.
• Exploring shock–boundary layer interactions and their influence on flow separation, noise generation, and aerodynamic performance.
• Developing experimental frameworks combining Schlieren imaging, unsteady pressure sensing, and wind tunnel testing to study unsteady, compressible flow phenomena.
• Numerical simulations of bluff bodies and applying modal decomposition techniques (POD, SPOD, RMA) for flow instability and noise source identification.

Latest Publications

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