Akanksha Baranwal, a graduate student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named a 2020 Amelia Earhart Fellow by the Zonta International Foundation. The very prestigious $10,000 fellowship is awarded annually to up to 35 women worldwide pursuing doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences.
Baranwal’s research, which focuses on hypersonic turbulent boundary layers and thermal non-equilibrium, will contribute to the development of hypersonic flight capabilities for aircraft. She is pursuing her doctoral degree in aerospace engineering under the supervision of Dr. Diego Donzis, professor in aerospace engineering. She holds Bachelor of Technology and Master of Technology degrees in aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India.
"I feel honored to receive this prestigious award and for my research to be recognized. It reassures me that my dedicated endeavors and learning at Texas A&M have been on the right track,” said Baranwal. “I am highly obliged to my advisor, Dr. Donzis, for his kind guidance and trust in me. I hope this award will inspire other female students in putting efforts to the best of their potential in their field of study."
The main focus of Baranwal’s research is the understanding and modeling of momentum transport and non-equilibrium energy transport processes in hypersonic turbulent flows using massive numerical simulations. The lack of fundamental understanding limits severely the ability to predict these flows and to design better and more robust hypersonic systems. Her results using direct numerical simulations that resolve accurately all temporal and spatial scales of motion for compressible turbulent boundary layers on massively parallel supercomputers at realistic flight conditions will have an impact in high speed flow control, thermal insulation on hypersonic aircrafts, mixing and reaction rates in combustion systems.
The Amelia Earhart Fellowship was established in 1938 in honor of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart in an effort to carry out its mission that women in the aerospace industry have access to all resources and are represented in decision-making positions on an equal basis with men.