Dr. K. S. Vijay Sekar obtained his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Anna University, Chennai, India, specializing in finite element analysis in machining. He has 22 years of teaching experience and 12 years of research experience, and has successfully guided more than 25 postgraduate projects and 35 undergraduate projects in his long career. He received the Cognizant award for the Best Faculty of SSN College of Engineering for the year 2014-15. He has published 25 research papers in international and national journals, and his research work has been presented at 20 international and national conferences. He has published a patent and his areas of interest include studies on the machinability of composite materials and superalloys, and the use of finite element tools to understand machining characteristics and optimize the manufacturing process. Dr. Manoj Gupta is a former Head of Materials Division of the Mechanical Engineering Departmentand Director designate of Materials Science and Engineering Initiative at NUS, Singapore. He completed his PhD at the University of California, Irvine, USA, and postdoctoral research at the University of Alberta, Canada. In August 2017, he was named among the top 1% Scientist of the World by the Universal Scientific Education and Research Network. He pioneered the disintegrated melt deposition technique, and the hybrid microwave sintering technique, an energy efficient solid¿state processing method of synthesizing alloys/micro/nanöcomposites. He has published over 490 articles in peer-reviewed journals, and owns two US patents. A multiple award winner, he has also cöauthored six books. Dr. A. Arockiarajan obtained his PhD from the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany, with specialization in finite element modeling of ferroelectrics. He has industrial experience with TATA Motors, India and Infineon, Germany. He is currently Associate Professorat the Department of Applied Mechanics, Indian Institute of Technology Madras. His research interests include smart materials, ferroelectrics, electro-active polymers, piezo-composites, constitutive modeling, and numerical techniques. He serves as a consultant for various industries such as BHEL, RANE NSK, Concord Electroceramics. He has published over 70 articles in international peer-reviewed journals in the areas of smart materials and composites. He is an Associate Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering. He has also received the Young Engineer Award from INAE and ISSS Young Scientist Award from the Institute for Smart Structures and Systems (ISSS).
