Dr. Mahendra Sunkara named Director of Conn Center

It is my pleasure to inform you that Dr. Mahendra Sunkara has been appointed as the Director of the Conn Center for Renewable Energy, effective October 1, 2013. Dr. Sunkara has been on the faculty of Chemical Engineering at the J.B. Speed School of Engineering since 1996, and has served as Interim Director of the Center since its inception in 2009. Under his leadership, the Conn Center is on an aggressive trajectory to achieve its vision of a globally preeminent research and education center for renewable energy. As director, Dr. Sunkara is committed to attracting and retaining an outstanding core of interdisciplinary researchers to build and sustain a preeminent research and scholarly reputation. The Center will also champion graduate and undergraduate engineering education, through the involvement of students in project, thesis and dissertation research, and through the development of course offerings and educational programs in energy and sustainability.

Dr. Sunkara earned his Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering at Andhra University, India, and his PhD, also in Chemical Engineering, from Case Western Reserve University. He is recognized as a world-leader in the area of plasma assisted nanomaterial synthesis, and is credited with being the inventor of the solvo-plasma process, the preferred process for the large-scale production of nanowires. For his outstanding scholarship, Dr. Sunkara holds a Distinguished University Scholar appointment at the University of Louisville.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Sunkara on his appointment, and wishing him success. I look forward to working with him, and to your support of his leadership.

Sincerely,

Neville G. Pinto, PhD
Dean
J.B. Speed School of Engineering
University of Louisville