Elevate yourself through the power of your mind, and not degrade yourself, for the mind can be the friend and also the enemy of the self.
Bhagavad-Gita
Passionate about self-exploration, nature, and innovation, I am an individual who loves to challenge myself and embrace the world around me. My hobbies include experimenting with new ideas, seed growing, coin collection, mountain trekking, being a foodie, and surfing the Internet. I am deeply committed to staying up-to-date on the latest advancements in technology and business. With a strong drive to succeed and a love for adventure, I am always eager to take on new challenges and explore new possibilities.
Dr. Varun Pratap Singh is an assistant professor with the Mechanical Engineering cluster at the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun, India, and associated as a PDF with the Solar Thermal Energy Research Group, Department of Mechanical & Mechatronic Engineering, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, renowned as one of the top energy research centres in the world, specializing in solar thermal energy research. He is also the liaison between the industry and the university. He is a highly skilled and motivated academic with a strong track record of research, education, and service to society. He holds a Ph.D. in Solar Energy (Mechanical Engineering, Solar Thermal) from UTU, Dehradun, India, an M.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering (Thermal Gold Medalist) from UTU, Dehradun, India, and a B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering (Rank Holder) from UPTU, India.
He has vast experience in the field of mechanical engineering, with more than 12 years of teaching, research, and administrative experience. He has been the head of the Centre of Excellence (CoE) as well as the head of the Solar Energy Centre. In his current role, he is responsible for industry-academia integration to provide solutions to the real-life challenges of design, product development, operations, automation, and the application of new technologies to real problems and challenges faced by industry and society.
Dr. Singh has written thirty+ international research articles, including fifteen + SCI papers. He also has five patents and has finished nine projects as the main researcher (PI) and two projects as a co-PI. He has edited two books with Taylor & Francis (CRC Press) and published nine book chapters under the CRS Press imprint, T&F. In his current role, he is guiding three PhD students, two M.Tech. students, and nine B.Tech. students on various projects. He is also the department project coordinator, and with core mechanical subjects, he is also interested in teaching new and challenging subjects such as product design and development, automation in manufacturing, hybrid and electric vehicles, basic mechanical engineering, energy conservation, power plants, solar energy, applied thermodynamics, refrigeration and air conditioning, heat and mass transfer, research methodology, and engineering graphics as university subjects.
In terms of his commitment to serve the society, during COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Singh has developed true "N-95 Mask manufacturing and production unit" for industry (under industry academia collaboration) and distributed 60,000 masks to the needy personal, he also did R&D project for industrial partner on "automatic sensitizer dispenser units (1 litter and 5 litter capacity)" and successfully started its industrial production at ₹530/- pp, beyond these industrial collaborations he also developed "U.V. oven (4-tube), U.V. blaster (4-tube, with PIR sensor), U.V. sanitizer hand-held device, automatic sensitizer tunnel (for humans, car and heavy-duty vehicles), face shield (170, 300, 450 & 600 GSM), three ply mask and foot-operated hands-free sanitizer machine" under his R&D facility.
Beyond the COVID pandemic Dr. Singh also focused on other social needs and challenges that came from various social and industrial platforms and he also developed a "Multipurpose suspension rescue bridge" for disaster-prone areas, a "Smart hybrid solar kitchen for community and house holed renewable and sustainable cooking", "air-conditioned vegetable cart for vegetable street vendors", "zero energy evaporative cold storage system for farmers" and given advice and industrial consultation to businesses on the development of special-purpose machines (SPMs), like "Automatic sketch packing station for sketch for 10 lakh sketches per day", "Physicality analysis of installation of 301kW Solar P.V. rooftop power plant with the simulator" and "Detail energy audit of university premises" that are partially or fully automated and on how to use the latest technologies and business plans to improve an existing business. He has also raised awareness among students and surrounding communities about the use of solar and other renewable energy resources through various platforms, as well as managed R&D and publication in this domain.
In the future, Dr. Singh plans to continue his research and educational pursuits and hopes to expand his research scope to include more advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous systems, in addition to his current research interest in solar thermal and renewable energy. He also hopes to continue working with industry, creating new solutions and technologies to help businesses become more efficient and successful.
Work experience
Assistant Professor and Industry-Academia Coordinator in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun, India, since March 2022.
Assistant Professor and Head-Centre of Excellence (CoE) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering Roorkee (COER), Roorkee, India (August 2011 to March 2022).
Erection Engineer (Engineering (EPC)-Thermal Power Plant) in United Breweries Limited, Pune, Maharashtra, India (July, 2010 to August 2011).