Ganesh Patil's Research Webpage

One of my broader impact research objectives is to train and prepare future-generation engineers and researchers to solve critical problems. Therefore, I always look to work with graduate, undergraduate, and high-school students interested in getting involved in research at an early age, in general. I have developed research projects and mentored several students from diverse backgrounds, study levels, majors, and institutions. Read more about their work and achievements below.

Mentees

Journal Articles

Symposium Talks & Posters

Awards

Pursuing Ph.D.

Current Mentees

Currently, Ganesh is not looking for any undergraduate research assistant due to other committments.

Past Mentees

Songyuan Cui (Undergraduate Student, Mechanical Engineering, UIUC)

Project 1: Analysis of transient nonlinear wave propagation (Sp20)
Project 2: Nonlinear wave mixing in one-dimensional phononic materials (Fa20-Sp22)

Achievements

Presented at Illinois Undergraduate Research Symposium 2021 – Received an “Outstanding Presentation” award in the “Science and Technology” section.
Publication: G. U. Patil, Songyuan Cui, K. H. Matlack, Leveraging nonlinear wave mixing in rough contacts-based phononic diodes for tunable nonreciprocal waves. Extreme Mechanics Letters, 55, 101821 (2022). [Link]

Current Position

Ph.D. Student, UIUC, Advisor: Prof. Mattia Gazzola

Here is what Songyuan has to say about his undergraduate research experience:

"It has been a rewarding and fruitful experience working with Ganesh and Professor Matlack at WPML. Throughout my five semesters working as an undergraduate research assistant, I learned to develop signal processing tools in MATLAB, and conduct 1D time-dependent Finite Element simulations in COMSOL Multiphysics for the purpose of studying nonlinear wave mixing in phononic materials with periodic contacts. The knowledge and skills obtained from this research experience are powerfully linked with multiple MechE undergraduate courses such as TAM 251 and ME 360. I was able to improve my programming skills in MATLAB, and develop a mindset of independent learning central to academic research. Such an experience further inspired me to pursue a Ph.D. degree in applied computational mechanics, thanks to the inclusive environment in the WPML and Ganesh’s meticulous mentorship. Ganesh is passionate about the topics, very organized, and always well-prepared when mentoring inexperienced students. I learned a great deal from his close attention to details not only in research topics themselves, but also in developing helpful habits as a researcher in general which would undoubtedly benefit me as a graduate student. Therefore, I would heartily recommend undergraduate students to conduct undergraduate research and work with Ganesh."

Thomas (Tommy) Block (Undergraduate Student, Mechanical Engineering, UIUC)

Project: Characterization of rough surfaces of 3D-printed metal samples (Fa19-Sp20)

Current Position

Mechanical Engineer at Woodward, Inc., Fort Collins, CO

Aditya Shedge (Undergraduate Student, Mechanical Engineering, UIUC)

Project 1: Evaluating geometric dependence of lattice effective properties through wave propagation (Fa18-Sp19)

Project 2: Lattice database for appropriate geometry and symmetry selection (Fa19)

Achievements

Publication: G. U. Patil, A.S. Shedge, K. H. Matlack, 3D auxetic lattice materials for anomalous elastic wave polarization. Applied Physics Letters, vol.115, 091902 (2019). [Link]
Poster Presentation at Illinois Undergraduate Research Symposium, 2019

Current Position

Ph.D. Student, CalTech, Advisor: Prof. Chiara Daraio

Here is what Aditya has to say about his research experience:

“Working with Ganesh at the WPML was a great experience where I got to contribute meaningfully to challenging projects in a friendly and collaborative environment. I was able to learn a lot about the mechanical properties of materials and use industry-level tools such as COMSOL (an FEA modeling & simulation tool) and MATLAB. Being able to have access to and work in a laboratory environment introduced me to a lot of interesting and cool instruments whose functions all of the grad students were happy to explain. In my weekly 1-on-1 meetings with Ganesh, he was very well-prepared, explained complex topics thoroughly, and was always open to learning from me as well. Working with him allowed me to present my work at the Undergraduate Research Symposium and co-author a paper alongside him and Prof. Matlack. The projects I worked on allowed me to apply topics learned in ME340 & ME360 and gave me a head start on topics taught in ME471. I was also able to discuss the projects I worked on in my resume and various interviews. Working in the WPML was of the highlights of my academic career and is something I would highly recommend to anyone interested.”

Edgar Becerra (Undergraduate Student, Associate in Engineering Science, Parkland College)

Project: Physical realization of bilinear stiffness spring for nonreciprocal waves (Summer 2019)
Supported by the NSF EFRI-REM program

Achievements

Oral and Poster Presentation at the Illinois Summer Research Symposium, 2019

Mark Guo (Undergraduate Student, Associate in Engineering Science, Parkland College)

Project: Numerical model of nonreciprocal wave propagation through spring-mass systems (Summer 2019)
Supported by the NSF EFRI-REM program