iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
Devesh Ranjan, a mechanical engineer and prominent leader at one of the nation’s top-ranked engineering programs, has been appointed as the tenth dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the university said.
Reacting to his appointment, Provost Charles Isbell Jr said, “We are very fortunate to bring an engineer with Professor Ranjan’s energy and vision back to Madison. His commitment to people and paving the way for their success is a perfect fit for a time of growth at the College of Engineering.”
Ranjan, currently the Eugene C. Gwaltney Jr. School Chair and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, reflectsed on the sense of promise he felt when he first arrived at UW–Madison in 2003 to begin graduate school in the very college he is set to lead. He will officially take on his new role on June 16.
“I’ve been blessed from that day onward,” Ranjan said. “The thing I say about UW–Madison is if you dream about doing something here, it will happen. It will happen because of the opportunity and the support here for you at UW–Madison.”
After earning his doctorate at UW–Madison in 2007 under the guidance of Prof. Riccardo Bonazza, Ranjan became a Director’s Postdoctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory before joining Texas A&M University’s faculty in 2009.
In 2014, he moved to Georgia Tech, where his research focused on the dynamics of high-speed fluids—such as airflow over supersonic jets, volcanic eruption plumes, and shock waves that fragment kidney stones. His work also includeed designing next-generation power cycles optimized for solar energy or incorporating supercritical carbon dioxide for efficiency, as seen in heat pumps.
In 2021, Ranjan was named a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, which recognized him with the Gustus L. Larson Memorial Award for outstanding achievement in Mechanical Engineering in 2023. He has received prestigious awards such as the National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award in 2013, and became Georgia Tech’s first recipient of the Department of Energy Early Career Award in 2016.
In January 2022, he became the School Chair of Georgia Tech’s George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, the largest school on campus with nearly 3,000 students and 95 faculty across 19 buildings. Amid the challenges of COVID-19, Ranjan worked to bridge the growing disconnect within the school’s community, launching initiatives such as Olympic-style games that quickly expanded to include faculty and staff from beyond the school.
Ranjan believes that the strength of institutions like UW–Madison’s College of Engineering lies in its people. By investing in and supporting their culture, he sees the path to success.
“We are a college which has absolutely phenomenal students both at undergraduate and graduate level. They are truly the best and the brightest in the world,” he said. “But they also have amazing faculty and staff members to support them — people who have been there for 15, 20 years. They love the place. They really want to do bigger things with this new building coming in.”
Ranjan believes the strength of institutions like UW–Madison’s College of Engineering lies in its people. He is confident that by investing in and nurturing its culture, the college can reach new heights.
“We have exceptional students, both undergraduates and graduates, truly the best and brightest in the world,” he said. “But equally important are the faculty and staff members who have supported them for years, some for 15 to 20 years. They’re passionate about the college and eager to achieve even greater things, especially with the new building underway.”
Ranjan is excited to begin his new role at a time when input from the college’s community — students, staff, faculty, and stakeholders from across Wisconsin — can help shape a strategic vision for the next five to ten years. He plans to leverage the fundraising skills he honed at Georgia Tech to support this vision.
He envisions expanding opportunities for students, fostering entrepreneurial growth, and utilizing the college’s assets to benefit the state and beyond. Ranjan aims for UW–Madison engineering graduates to be in such high demand that their success attracts both established companies and startups to Wisconsin.
On a personal note, Ranjan is looking forward to his homecoming with his wife, Dr. Kumuda Ranjan, a family physician, and their sons, Ailesh and Aayush, aged 9 and 8. He plans to learn to ice skate with his children — a skill he didn’t have the chance to develop in his native India, where hockey is played on grass due to the extreme heat.
(Photo courtesy: Mikey Fuller, Georgia Tech)
