Author

P. Venkataraman is a retired academic with interests in publishing free (open access) textbooks related to learning mechanical engineering and optimization principles through implementation and experimentation with computer programming languages, such as MATLAB/Octave. 

He grew up in India and obtained a B. Tech in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur (1974) and worked in Helicopter Design at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., Bangalore, India, from 1974 to 1979. He received a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University (1984). He served as a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) for over three decades, from 1983 to 2019, teaching courses in aeronautical engineering, mechanical engineering, and mathematical optimization. He has taught over 40 courses that included Statics, Strength of Materials, Dynamics, Fluid mechanics, Aerodynamics, Convective Phenomena, System Dynamics, Introduction to Flight, Flight Dynamics, Numerical Methods, Optimizations, and Computer Programming. These courses were at the undergraduate and graduate level.

Currently, in retirement, he enjoys publishing free textbooks, creating mathematics inspired digital design (i.e. cover page), learning Carnatic music, gardening, and experimenting with vegetarian cuisine.

Information on his other books is available at: 

https://sites.google.com/view/venkatpan/my-books