Dr. Chandramouli Madhuranthakam is a well-known and well-respected professor from the Chemical Engineering department, loved by his students for his evident enthusiasm for his course material and passion for teaching. Completing his Bachelor and Master’s degrees in India, he soon moved to Canada to pursue his PhD degree and research career at the University of Waterloo.
This month, the Iron Warrior took some time to chat with this awesome professor.
Here’s what he had to say:
Which courses are you teaching this semester?
This semester, I am teaching two courses in Chemical Engineering. One is Process Data Analysis, a 2A course, and the other is a 3B course called Heat and Mass Transfer.
Why did you choose to pursue a career in Chemical Engineering and become a professor?
After high school, I wanted to pursue Electronics Engineering, but I would have had to move out from my hometown to do that. My parents insisted that I stay in my hometown, so I attended Sri Venkateswara University. The options I had were chemical, mechanical and civil engineering. At that time, out of those three, chemical was an emerging field, so I thought there would be a promising career in that, and I ended up taking chemical engineering. I did a good job in my undergrad, and after I graduated, immediately there was an opening in the same department, as a junior faculty member. Most of the professors who taught me, they know me, and then they offered me that position. So for one year, I was teaching undergraduates immediately after my graduation. I used to get very good applause when I used to teach, and I enjoyed it. Then, when I was deciding whether to continue this or not, my colleagues, who used to be my professors, advised me to pursue a research career, after which I could always come back and teach. I then completed my Masters at the Indian Institute of Science, which is a premier institute in India. There I got exposed to research experience and I enjoyed it. Then I quickly realized if I chose to pursue a career in academics, I could have the privilege of teaching and also doing research. Further, if you want to settle in academics, you have to do a PhD, so that’s what drove me to do a PhD here in Waterloo.
Why did you come to Canada to pursue your graduate studies?
I had a couple of friends here in Waterloo who did their PhD and told me about an industrial project which was an application of what I learned, and which I was interested in. So when I got the offer from the University of Waterloo, I accepted it.
What are your research interests?
My research focuses on designing microreactors and static mixers to make advanced materials. So what usually happens is that the properties of most materials depend on their structure, or morphology. You can actually control the structure when you make them in tiny reactors because you will have minimum diffusion limitations, or minimum heat transfer limitations. For example, the systems that I am working with are polymeric materials. Depending on whether the polymer chains are linear or cross-linked, you can have different properties of the material. In my research I design microreactors which are at a scale of 50 to 100 microns that can facilitate the polymer molecules to grow in one direction, uniformly and efficiently. My focus is also on using them for making value-added products such as biocomposites and advanced materials in drug delivery systems. Within this research area, I also work on the feasibility studies, hydrodynamics of multiphase flows in static mixers and microreactors, control and optimization with respect to operating procedures.
With my expertise in modeling and simulations, right now I mostly create simulations, but wherever possible I will verify it with experimental data when I have a lab. To explain you further, there could be many different structures or geometries, let’s say you want to design a specific structure for the microreactor, so how you actually do it is you make a 3D geometry of that structure, using AutoCAD. Then import this AutoCAD structure into a CFD software such as COMSOL, solve the multiphysics models which are nothing but heat, momentum and mass balances and postprocess the results. So that’s about my research in a nutshell.
What has been the most memorable experience so far in your career?
The most memorable event in my career was the offer I got from the University of Waterloo, not for a PhD, but the offer to be a faculty member. That was the most memorable event, to have the offer to teach and do scholarly work.
What do you like about being a lecturer?
I like to interact with the students. I love to explain things, especially when you see them feel happy when they understand something, and you see a glow on their face. I really like that.
Have your students taught you anything during your time as a lecturer?
It has taught me a lot. I am open to learn from anyone, and that’s what I tell students, that you have to be eternal learners. You should be ready to learn from anyone, because some things you might know better than me; it’s not always about the subject material. So you have to be open minded and open ended. I always learn a lot from students. For example, I might think that a certain way of explaining a concept would be the best, but from the questions they ask, or from the doubts that arise during the class, that will actually convince me that I should probably do it in a different way, a way that they want.
Do you have any advice for your students about how to be successful in their university career?
Overall, what I can say is that during this part of your life, you have a huge reservoir of energy, and you need to focus this for learning, gaining experience and acquiring knowledge. That should be your first priority, and it will help you down the road for the rest of your journey in life. Other than that, what I can suggest to students is the importance of planning and perseverance. Once you set your objective I think what you need to do is plan it accordingly, plan your time, and persevere for it. You have to throw yourself into whatever you do and you have to do it wholeheartedly. Otherwise, if you do it half-heartedly it will actually leave you with bitterness everywhere. You will get nothing out of it.
Another important thing I want to tell you from my experience, is that good and bad, they never come separately; they always come together. It’s up to you to choose and identify what is good, and the results depend on your decision. Even when you work in a co-op or in an industry or anywhere, good and bad, they will be together everywhere. These are some practical things that life will teach you, no university offers a course on this! As you move on in your career, you have to always keep this in mind that they come together, but you have to always choose ‘good’. Momentarily you might face some difficulties but overall you will be the winner.
What were some challenges you faced as a university student?
As an undergraduate student, I was tutoring math and physics to high school students. So at some point it became a challenge to manage my time, because I had to spend time tutoring, and at the same time I had to study for my coursework. That’s the only challenge I can remember. Other than that I enjoyed my undergraduate studies experience. I persevered a lot, and I did a very good job.
Another challenge I faced was getting admission at the Indian Institute of Science where I did my Master’s. Like I said before, this is a premier institute, and you have to go through an entrance exam and a personal interview with a panel of faculty members. The interview was a very scary thing because you basically had to know 32 courses worth of material from your undergrad for this interview, and they can ask you anything. So that was really challenging, but it went well.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I listen to a lot of music. During summer I play badminton. I also enjoy chatting with friends, spending time with colleagues, and calling home to India.
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