Dr. Amit Kumar Thakur

Dr. Amit Kumar Thakur is a passionate educator with expertise in teaching, motivating, and mentoring students. He possesses a strong background in research and is committed to fostering innovation in teaching methods, ensuring a top-notch learning experience for his students both inside and outside the classroom. Dr. Thakur holds a B. Tech degree in Chemical Engineering from BIT Sindri, Dhanbad, an M. Tech degree in Chemical Engineering from IIT Bombay, and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from UPES, Dehradun. His classroom teachings are enriched by his hands-on experience with various machinery and equipment in the process industry. Dr. Thakur firmly believes in experiential teaching-learning and adopts a student-centric approach. His research spans diverse fields, including polymerization reactor modelling and optimization, pharmaceutical crystallization, and environmental remediation.

Before joining UPES in 2014, he served as an Assistant Manager in Haldia Petrochemicals in the HDPE (Mfg.) division. Currently, he is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Energy Cluster, at UPES since July 2014. He has been actively involved in teaching and research. His combined work experience in the industry and academia has equipped him with a diverse skill set and a deep understanding of chemical engineering principles, enabling him to contribute effectively to both teaching and research endeavours.

Dr. Thakur's research interests include polymerization reactor modelling and optimization, pharmaceutical crystallization, environmental remediation, and CFD.

Dr. Thakur believes in a student-centric teaching and learning approach, striving to create an environment where students are actively engaged and empowered in their educational journey. He is dedicated to bringing innovation into the classroom, constantly seeking new ways to enhance the teaching and learning experience. His pedagogical initiatives include a project-based learning approach, encouraging students to apply theoretical concepts to real-world scenarios. He also embraces open book and open notes exams, promoting critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Additionally, he integrates the use of mathematical tools and open-source software to facilitate a deeper understanding of complex concepts.

Dr. Thakur has taught a variety of courses like Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics, Numerical Methods in Chemical Engineering, Process Dynamics and Control, and Fluid Mechanics.

Dr. Amit also received a SEED grant from UPES for his project “Solubility & dissolution rate enhancement of herbal compounds”.

Dr. Amit’s scholarly pursuits include various research publications in SCI/SCIE-indexed peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. He has also been a convener of the Energy Summit-2022 at UPES Dehradun. Additionally, he has been a Guest Editor International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering (IJCRE), De Gruyter, GmbH, Managing Editor and Guest Editor for Materials Today: Proceedings, Elsevier USA and SSRN, Elsevier USA. Dr. Amit also received a SEED grant from UPES for his project “Solubility & dissolution rate enhancement of herbal compounds”. He has also been granted a patent for a reusable article for absorbing oil from oil Spills.

akthakur@ddn.upes.ac.in