Back to Faculty Directory
Photo of Bahadur, Vaibhav

vb@austin.utexas.edu
512-471-0233
Office Location: GLT 2.210

Vaibhav Bahadur

Associate Professor

Carl J. Eckhardt Fellowship in Mechanical Engineering

Department Research Areas:
Clean Energy Technology
Nano and Micro-scale Engineering
Thermal Fluids Systems and Transport Phenomena

bahadurlab.me.utexas.edu/

Vaibhav Bahadur (VB) is an Associate Professor and Carl J. Eckhardt Fellow in Mechanical Engineering at UT Austin. His research interests are in the areas of thermal-fluids sciences, materials chemistry, machine learning and micro-nanofabrication. His group conducts fundamental and applied research in these areas with applications in energy-water systems, carbon capture and sequestration, hydrogen and thermal management.

Prof. Bahadur has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and a Postdoc from Harvard University. Additionally, he has 4 years industry R&D experience in GE Global Research and Baker Hughes. Prof. Bahadur is the recipient of the NSF CAREER Award (2017), the SPE Petroleum Engineering Young Faculty Award (2015), the ASME ICNMM Outstanding Early Career Award (2018), the Google Faculty Research Award (2018), and the ACS Doctoral New Investigator Award (2014). He is the winner of the Society of Petroleum Engineer’s R&D Competition at SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (2014). Heat pipe technology developed in his lab was tested on the International Space Station in 2017.

Prof. Bahadur has authored 60 journal articles (h-index of 27), 35 articles in conference proceedings, 1 book chapter, and has 10 patents issued or pending. His research has been featured on the cover of ASME’s Mechanical Engineering magazine, cover of journals (ACS Nano, Advanced Optical Materials) and in R&D magazine. His research has been highlighted in multiple international news media. He teaches courses in the areas of heat transfer and fluid mechanics.

Significant Publications
  1. Kar A., Acharya P. V., Bhati A., Mhadeshwar A., Venkataraman P., Barckholtz T., Celio H., Mangolini F. and Bahadur V. Magnesium-promoted rapid nucleation of carbon dioxide hydrates. ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 9, 33, 2021. doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c03041 
  2. Kar A. and Bahadur V. Analysis of coupled heat & mass transfer during gas hydrate formation in bubble column reactors. Chemical Engineering Journal, 452 (2), 139322, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2022.139322
  3. Lokanathan M., Acharya P., Ouroua H., Strank S., Hebner R. and Bahadur V. Review of nanocomposite dielectric materials with high thermal conductivity. Proceedings of the IEEE, 109, 8, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1109/JPROC.2021.3085836
  4. Acharya, P.V., Lokanathan M. Ouroua, A. Hebner, R. Strank, S and Bahadur V. Machine learning-based predictions of benefits of high thermal conductivity encapsulation materials for power electronics packaging. Journal of Electronics Packaging, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4052814
  5. Lokanathan M., Buffington T., Wimalarathne S. and Bahadur V. Artificial neural network-based predictions of surface electrocoalescence of water droplets in hydrocarbon media. Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 187, 584-597, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2022.09.025
  6. Kar A. and Bahadur V. Using excess natural gas for reverse osmosis-based flowback water treatment in US shale fields. Energy, 117145, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2020.117145
  7. Wikramanayake E., Acharya P. V., Kapner M. and Bahadur V. Green hydrogen-based energy storage in Texas for decarbonization of the electric grid. IEEE Green Technologies Conference, 2021 (online). https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9458551
  8. Lokanathan, M., Sharma, H., Shabaka, M., Mohanty, K. and Bahadur, V. Comparing electrowettability and surfactants as tools for wettability enhancement on a hydrophobic surface. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 124155, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.2019.124155
  9. Shahriari A., Hermes M. and Bahadur V. Electrical control and enhancement of boiling heat transfer during quenching. Applied Physics Letters, 108, 091607, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4943230
  10. Wikramanayake E. and Bahadur V. Electrowetting-based enhancement of droplet growth dynamics and heat transfer during humid air condensation. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 140, 260-268 (4), 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2019.05.112