Saptarshi Basu

Saptarshi Basu completed his Ph.D. from University of Connecticut in 2007 before joining University of Central Florida as an assistant professor. In 2010 he relocated to India and joined the prestigious Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, where he is the Pratt and Whitney Chair Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Basu primarily works on multi-phase systems, especially droplets at multiple length and timescales across multiple application domains, ranging from surface patterning to combustion. He has completed extensive research on the transmission of aerosols relating to COVID-19, and on the efficacy of facemasks. His research marries fundamental aspects of classical fluid mechanics like vortex dynamics and swirling flows and the more interdisciplinary aspects of interface transport of droplets in multiphase systems.

Basu is a fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering, ASME, Institute of Physics, Royal Aeronautical Society and Royal Society of Chemistry. He is the recipient of a DST Swarnajayanti Fellowship in Engineering. Basu also is a co-founder of a biotech startup specializing in AI-based Point-of-Care diagnostics, and a technical advisor to a tech startup involved in micro-gas turbines.

Basu serves as an editor or guest editor of several journals including scientific reports, Experiments in Fluids, and European Physical Journal Special Topics. His research is funded by the Department of Defence, Indian Space Research Organization, Department of Science and Technology, Indo-German Science and Technology Center, Indo-US Clean Energy Center, the National Science Foundation, and industries like Siemens and Tata Motors. Additionally, Basu has guided more than 20 Ph.D. students over his career.