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Staff Profile

Dr Prodip Das

Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor)

Background

Dr Prodip Das is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) of Mechanical Engineering for the School of Engineering. He has over 20 years of experience in the areas of fuel cells, hydrogen energy systems, and related areas including Li-ion batteries, battery safety, flow batteries, transport phenomena in porous media, convective heat transfer, nanofluids, infrared thermography, and multi-physics modelling & simulation.


Qualifications

PhD in Mechanical Engineering, University of Waterloo (2010); Dissertation: Transport Phenomena in Cathode Catalyst Layer of PEM Fuel Cells (Advisor: Prof Xianguo Li)

MSc in Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta (2003); Dissertation: Electrostatic Double Layer Interactions in Confined and Many-Body Geometries (Advisor: Prof Subir Bhattacharjee); 

MSc in Mechanical Engineering, BUET (2001); Thesis: Elastic-Plastic Behaviour of a Circular Rod under Combined Torque and Tension (Advisor: Prof Abu Rayhan Md. Ali)

BSc in Mechanical Engineering, BUET (1998); Final Year Project: Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of a Solar Water Heater (Supervisor: Prof Md. Imtiaz Hossain); Class: First with honours, University Rank: 1st, Gold Medal in Mechanical Engineering


Professional Appointments/Roles

External Examiner of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Robert Gordon University, UK (2022–Present)

Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor), School of Engineering, Newcastle University, UK (2022–Present)

Lecturer (Assistant Professor), School of Engineering, Newcastle University, UK (2013–2022)

Deputy Degree Programme Director, Renewable Energy MSc Programme, School of Mechanical and Systems Engineering, Newcastle University, UK (2013–2015)

NSERC Research Fellow, Environmental Energy Technologies Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA (2010–2013)

Sessional Lecturer, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada (2009–2010)

Visiting Researcher, Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation, National Research Council, Canada (2007–2008)

Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, BUET, Bangladesh (2001–2007)

Lecturer, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET), Bangladesh (1998–2001)


Honours, Prizes and Grants

The Faraday Institution (faraday.ac.uk) Grant Number FIRG057 (£496,791; Co-I), “Recycling of Li-Ion Batteries (ReLiB 3),” Newcastle University (2023–2025)

IAPETUS2 DTP Studentship (IAP2-21-317; £72,211; PI), “Using Hydrogen for Carbon Capture in Heavy Industry,” Newcastle University (2022)

The Faraday Institution (faraday.ac.uk) Grant Number FIRG027 (£491,664; Co-I), “Recycling of Li-Ion Batteries (ReLiB 2),” Newcastle University (2021–2023)

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (NU-005382; £402,448; Co-I), “Nissan Automated Battery and Charging Optimisation,” Newcastle University (2020–2021)

Faraday Institution PhD Studentship, EPSRC grant no. 2490791 (£129,030; PI), “Physics-Based Thermal Degradation Modelling of Lithium-Ion Batteries,” Newcastle University (2019–2023)

Libyan Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research PhD Studentship (£108,000; PI), “Thermal and Water Management of Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell,” Newcastle University (2019–2021)

The Faraday Institution (faraday.ac.uk; EP/S003053/1) Grant Number FIRG005 (fEC £2,531,342; Co-I), “Recycling of Li-ion Batteries (ReLiB),” Newcastle University (2018–2021)

STFC Batteries Network Research Grant: ST/R006873/1 (£2,400; PI), “Tuneable Porous-Transport-Layers for Clean Energy Applications,” Newcastle University (2018–2019)

ASME 2018 Emerging Investigators in Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage, ASME, USA (2018)

EPSRC Research Grant: EP/P03098X/1 (fEC £287,846; PI), “Novel Porous-Transport-Layers for Fuel Cells and Clean Energy Applications,” Newcastle University (2017–2019)

STFC Early Career Award (£3,000; PI), “Interactions between Liquid Water and Gas Diffusion Layers in PEFCs,” Newcastle University (2016)

SAgE Doctoral Training Award (£96,000; Co-I), “Development of Inorganic Catalysts and Prototype Water Splitting Flow Cell for the Photo-electrochemical Water-Splitting Process,” Newcastle University (2015–2019)

British Council UK-South Africa Researcher Links Grant (£2,500; PI), “Characterisation of Porous Gas-Diffusion Layer using a Tilted-Surface Experiment,” Newcastle University (2015)

NSERC Research Fellowship, grant no. 464238 and 485755 (fEC $130,000; PI), “Water Management and Dynamics of Water Transport in PEM Fuel Cells,” Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA (2010–2012)

National Research Council Fellowship, Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation, Canada (2007–2008)

Mechanical Engineering Teaching Assistant Excellence Award (received 5 times), University of Waterloo, Canada (2006–2009)

President’s Graduate Scholarship (received 4 times), University of Waterloo, Canada (2006–2010)

Dr Chandrashekar Memorial Award in Sustainable Energy, University of Waterloo, Canada (2007)

Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada grant no. 292594 and 323630 ($70,000; PI), "Electrophoresis in Nanoscale Confined Geometries," University of Waterloo, Canada (2005–2007)

Alberta Ingenuity Fund, University of Alberta, Canada (2002)

Dr VG Desa Gold Medal, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology, Bangladesh (2001)

Student Speaker Gold Medal, International Conference on Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Physics, Bangladesh (2000)

Werner von Siemens Excellence Award, Siemens Bangladesh Limited, Bangladesh (1998)

Dean’s List Award (received 4 awards in 4 years of undergraduate study), Faculty of Engineering, BUET, Bangladesh (1994–1998)


Journal Editorial Service

Editorial Board Member of Batteries, MDPI, Switzerland (2022–Present)

Guest Editor for the special issue: “Battery Management in Electric Vehicles: Current Status and Future Trends”, Batteries (2022)

Associate Editor in Electrochemical Engineering, Frontiers in Chemical Engineering (2022–Present)

Guest Editor for the special article collection: "Rising Stars in Fuel Cells: 2022", Frontiers in Energy Research (2022)

Editorial Board Member of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, ELS Publishing, China (2022–Present)

Associate Editor for ASME Journal of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage (2021–Present)

Associate Editor in Fuel Cells, Electrolyzers and Membrane Reactors, Frontiers in Energy Research (2020–Present)

Advisory Board Member of Challenges, MDPI, Switzerland (2020–Present)

Editorial Board Member of Energies, MDPI, Switzerland (2019–Present)

Editorial Board Member of Inventions, MDPI, Switzerland (2018–Present)

Lead Guest Editor of a special issue of Energies on Advanced Energy Materials and Research (2020–2021)

Topic Editor for Nanomaterials, MDPI, Switzerland (2020–2022)

Section Editor for Advanced Energy Materials, Energies, MDPI, Switzerland (2019–2021)

Section Editor for Inventions and Innovation in Energy and Thermal/Fluidic Science, Inventions, MDPI, Switzerland (2018–2020)


Selected Professional Service Activities

Grant Reviewer for the Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) Program, Canada (2022–Present)

Grant Reviewer for the French National Research Agency (ANR), France (2022–Present)

Grant Reviewer for the Leverhulme Trust, UK (2022–Present)

Grant Reviewer, Research and Innovation Centre for Science and Engineering (RISE), BUET, Bangladesh (2021–Present)

Expert Panel Member of the Bangladesh Energy and Power Research Council, Dhaka, Bangladesh (2020–Present)

Member of the EPSRC Peer Review College (2020–Present)

Grant Reviewer for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK (2015–Present)

Proposal Reviewer for the Advanced Light Source (ALS) Tomography Science Program, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA (2014–Present)

Peer Reviewer of 20+ journals, including Nature Scientific Reports, Applied Energy, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Journal of Power Sources, International Journal of Energy Research, International Journal of Green Energy, Journal of Fluids Engineering, and Journal of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage (2008–Present)

Course Curriculum Reviewer for B.Tech./Dual Degree in Energy Engineering Program, The Centre for Energy Studies (CES), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India (2020)

External Examiner of the Department of Chemical Engineering, University College London, UK (2020)

International Organising Committee Member, 2021 World Fuel Cell Conference (WFCC 2021), Waterloo, Canada (Aug 17–20, 2021)

Technical Program Committee Member, 8th International Conference on Mechanical, Automotive and Materials Engineering (CMAME 2020), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (Dec 20–22, 2020)

International Organising Committee Member, 2020 World Fuel Cell Conference (WFCC 2020), Toronto, Canada (Aug 11–14, 2020)

Science Board Member, SUPERGEN Energy Storage Hub, UK (2015–2019)

Technical Program Committee Member, 7th International Conference on Mechanical, Automotive and Materials Engineering (CMAME 2019), Melbourne, Australia (Dec 8–10, 2019)

Technical Program Committee Member, 6th International Conference on Mechanical, Automotive and Materials Engineering (CMAME 2018), Hong Kong (Aug 10–12, 2018)

Track Chair, Polymer Electrolyte Membrane, Direct Methanol, & Alkaline Fuel Cells, ASME 15th Fuel Cell Science, Engineering, and Technology Conference, Charlotte, USA (2017)

Member, ASME Fluids Engineering Division, Micro & Nano Fluid Dynamics Technical Committee, ASME, USA (2012–2017)

Chair of Invited Speaker Committee, Microfluidics 2016 - Fluid Engineering in Micro- and Nano-Systems (Track 9 Fluid Engineering), ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Phoenix, USA (2016)

Symposium Co-Organiser, Microfluidics 2016 - Fluid Engineering in Micro- and Nano-Systems (Track 9 Fluid Engineering & Track 13 Micro- and Nano-Systems Engineering and Packaging), ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Phoenix, USA (2016)

Session Chair, Polymer Electrolyte Membrane, Direct Methanol & Alkaline Fuel Cells (Session II), ASME 14th Fuel Cell Science, Engineering, and Technology Conference, Charlotte, USA (2016)

Track Organiser, Polymer Electrolyte Membrane, Direct Methanol, & Alkaline Fuel Cells, ASME 14th Fuel Cell Science, Engineering, and Technology Conference, Charlotte, USA (2016)

Chair, Invited Speaker Committee, Micro- and Nano-fluidics Symposium, ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Houston, USA (2015)

Session Chair, Modeling, Design, and Optimization for Low-Temperature Fuel Cells, ASME 11th Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology Conference, Minneapolis, USA (2013)

Member of Graduate Student-Faculty Review Committee, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada (2003)

Organising Committee Member, Bangladesh Society of Mechanical Engineers, Bangladesh (2000)

Research

Dr Das' primary research interests span the broad area of sustainable energy technologies with a focus on the thermofluid aspects of Li-ion batteries, fuel cells, flow batteries, and green hydrogen generators. He utilises a synergistic combination of advanced experimental characterisation and diagnostics together with multi-physics mathematical modelling and computer simulation for linking fundamental science to the design and development of better-performing and robust energy devices and identifying a direction for cost-effective materials for these systems.

The aim of Dr Das' current research is to tackle the technical obstacles to the recycling and re-use of EV battery packs and the widespread adoption of fuel cell vehicles. The challenges he is tackling include fast charging, thermal safety, recycling and reuse of vehicle battery packs, durability/cost/water and thermal transport in fuel cells for vehicle and drone applications, and high-fidelity multi-scale modelling of battery packs and fuel cell stacks. He is also interested in fundamental studies in the areas of nature-inspired thermal transport, convective heat transfer, and nanofluids.

Visit the Sustainable Energy Systems lab's (EnSys lab) website and the ReLiB project site for more details.

Dr Das has delivered 30 invited seminars/lectures at universities and conferences, chaired/organised over 20 conference tracks and symposiums, served over 20 conferences as an organising/technical committee member, and has been serving more than 20 leading journals as a reviewer.

Currently, Dr Das serves as an Associate Editor for 3 journals: Frontiers in Energy Research, ASME Journal of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage, and Frontiers in Chemical Engineering, Topic Editor for Nanomaterials, and he is on the editorial/advisory board for 5 journals (Energies, Batteries, Renewable and Sustainable Energy, Inventions, and Challenges).

Dr Das has an excellent publishing record that includes over 100 scientific publications, 7 book chapters, and an invited book on Fuel Cells for Transportation - Fundamental Principles and Applications. According to Google Scholar, the total number of Dr Das' citations is over 3200 with an associated h-index of 27.

SCOPUS: Click here

Google Scholar: Click here

ORCID: Click here

Publons: Click here

Current/Prospective Projects

Teaching

PhD Advised 

  • Batukan Cem Tarhan, “Design and development of novel flow channels for effective water removal from PEM fuel cells,” Newcastle University (9/2021-Present)
  • Malcolm Wise, “Safety aspects of lithium-ion batteries,” Newcastle University (9/2019-Present)
  • Ignas Andriunas, “Physics-based thermal degradation modelling of lithium-ion batteries,” Newcastle University (1/2019–Present)
  • Hassan Mousa, “Water and thermal management in anion exchange membrane fuel cells,” Newcastle University (1/2019–Present)
  • Nils Poldme, “Hybrid dye-sensitised photocathodes for photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution,” Newcastle University (completed in 2020)
  • Bruno De Souza Machado, “A three-dimensional numerical model of an anion exchange membrane fuel cell,” Newcastle University (completed in 2019)
  • Sahin Yigit, “A numerical investigation on laminar natural convection of non-Newtonian fluids in enclosed spaces,” Newcastle University (completed in 2018)

Current Teaching

  • MEC8099: Mechanical Engineering Team Project (Module Leader)
  • MEC3032: Advanced Thermofluid Dynamics (Module Leader)
  • MEC3098 Mechanical Engineering Project 1
  • MEC8095 MSc Individual Project 2

Past Teaching

  • ENG1005 Thermofluid Mechanics
  • MEC1007 Fundamentals of Thermofluid Dynamics (Module Leader)
  • MEC1012 Mechanical Engineering Professional Skills I
  • MEC2003 Applications of Thermofluid Dynamics
  • MEC3018 Design for Industry
  • SPG8028 Renewable Heating and Cooling (Module Leader)

Teaching Interests

  • Sustainable Energy-Conversion and Storage
  • Fuel Cell Technology
  • Electro-kinetic Phenomena
  • Flow in Porous Media
  • Multiphysics Modelling and Simulation
1, 2 Examples of a few Publications based on Stage-3/PGT Projects
  1. P. Mountrichas, W. Zhao, M.S. Randeva, and P.K. Das, "Entropy Generation of CuO-Water Nanofluid in a Cavity with an Intruded Rectangular Fin," Energies, 16(2), 912, 2023.
  2. A. Robinson and P.K. Das, "Biomimetic and Constructal Design of Alveolus-Inspired Extended Surfaces for Heat Dispersion," Energies, 16(1), 66, 2023.
  3. K. Ting, A.K. Mozumder, and P.K. Das, "Effect of Surface Roughness on Heat Transfer and Entropy Generation of Mixed Convection in Nanofluid," Physics of Fluids, 31(9), 093602, 2019. [Featured Article]
  4. R. Cong, Y. Ozaki, B.S. Machado, and P.K. Das, “Constructal Design of a Rectangular Fin in a Mixed Convective Confined Environment,” Inventions, 3(2), 27, 2018.
  5. W. Zhao, A.K. Mozumder, and P.K. Das, “Mixed Convection of CuO-Water Nanofluid in a Square Enclosure with an Intruded Rectangular Fin,” AIP Conference Proceedings, 1980, pp. 050004-1–050004-9, 2018.
  6. Z. Guo, J. Wang, A.K. Mozumder, and P.K. Das, “Mixed Convection of Nanofluids in a Lid-Driven Rough Cavity,” AIP Conference Proceedings, 1851, pp. 020004-1–020004-11, 2017.
  7. M. Leonard, A.K. Mozumder, S. Mahmud, and P.K. Das, “Natural Convection of Al2O3-Water Nanofluid in a Wavy Enclosure,” AIP Conference Proceedings, 1851, pp. 020003-1–020003-9, 2017.
  8. R. Cong, X. Zhou, B.S. Machado, and P.K. Das, “Mixed Convection Flow of Nanofluid in a Square Enclosure with an Intruded Rectangular Fin,” AIP Conference Proceedings, 1754, pp. 050017-1–050017-8, 2016.
Publications