Professor Ravi Jagadeeshan
Professor Ravi Jagadeeshan
Professor Ravi Jagadeeshan heads the Molecular Rheology group within the Department of Chemical Engineering at Monash University. His group is focussed on developing a theoretical and computational description of the flow behaviour of polymer solutions using a using a multiscale approach that combines molecular simulations at the mesoscopic scale with continuum simulations on a macroscopic scale. He is also interested in applying methods of soft matter physics to studying problems in biology. Professor Jagadeeshan attained his PhD in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Science in 1989. He undertook postdoctoral and research positions at the National Chemical Laboratory Pune (India), Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge (UK) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (Switzerland). He was a Humboldt fellow at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern from 1999 to 2000, and in 2001 Professor Jagadeeshan joined Monash University.
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy Ph.D.), Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
- Master of Science, Chemical Engineering, University of Akron
- Bachelor of Technology, Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
- Graduate Certificate, Higher Education, Monash University
Expertise
- Soft Matter & Rheology
My areas of interest and expertise spans the sub-disciplines of the “Dynamics of Polymer Solutions”, the “Flow of Granular Materials” and “non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics” of the discipline of “Rheology”, with interdisciplinary linkages to the disciplines of “Soft Condensed Matter” and “Biological Physics”. My major area of research interest and capabilities is in developing a theoretical and computational description of the flow behaviour of polymer solutions using mesoscopic molecular simulations. My broader expertise covers the fields of polymer physics and topics in biological physics in which the concepts of polymer physics are applied. My technical expertise is in the use of Brownian dynamics simulation methodologies to simulate coarse-grained models for polymers. I have a well-developed appreciation of the role of hydrodynamic interactions in determining the dynamics of polymer solutions.
Professional involvement
- Member of the US Society of Rheology Bingham Medal Award Committee (2017-2019).
- Australian representative on the International Committee on Rheology (2016 – 2025).
- Editor-in-Chief of the Korea-Australia Rheology Journal (2008 – 2020).
- Editorial Board member of the Journal of Rheology, (2022 – )
- Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the NCMAS scheme sponsored by NCI (2025 – )
Research Interests
Several systems such as granular materials, colloidal suspensions, polymeric liquids, and biological matter, are classified as complex fluids because their micro-structure crucially influences their material properties. These systems are inspiring several new technologies. A key challenge is to describe their flow behavior by understanding the connections between their microscopic structure and macroscopic properties. Ravi Jagadeeshan’s research is focused on developing a theoretical description of the complex flow of polymer solutions. Molecular models and a continuum level description are used in his group to advance the microscopic and the macroscopic description of complex fluid dynamics. The primary aim of the research is to gain fundamental insight into the computational modelling of complex fluid flow by using a multi-scale approach that combines insight at the microscopic scale with advanced numerical techniques on a macroscopic scale.
Professor Jagadeeshan’s research group is currently investigating:
- Sticky Polymers in Flow
- Dynamics of Chromatin Folding
- Internal Friction in Polymer dynamics
- Monitoring Drug Binding in Cells
- Modelling Bacteriophage Motion in the Mucus
- Modeling the Mechanical Properties of Biopolymer Networks
Research articles, papers & publications.
Selected publications
- I. Pincus, A. Rodger and J. R. Prakash, “Flow dichroism of DNA can be quantitatively predicted via coarse-grained molecular simulations”, Biophysical Journal, 23, 3771-3779, 2024.
- D. Robe, A. Santra, Gareth H. McKinley, and J. R. Prakash, “Evanescent Gels: Competition between Sticker Dynamics and Single-Chain Relaxation”, Macromolecules, 57, 9, 4220–4235, 2024.
- A. Santra, B. Duenweg, J. R. Prakash, “Universal scaling and characterization of gelation in associative polymer solutions”, J. Rheol., 65, 549-581 (2021).
- K. Kumari, R. Padinhateeri, B. Duenweg and J. R. Prakash, “Computing 3D chromatin configurations from contact probability maps by Inverse Brownian Dynamics”, Biophysical Journal, 118, 2193–2208 (2020).
- R. Kailasham, Rajarshi Chakrabarti, J. R. Prakash, “Wet and dry internal friction can be measured with the Jarzynski equality”, Phys. Rev. Res, 2, 013331, (2020).
- J. R. Prakash, “Universal dynamics of dilute and semidilute solutions of flexible linear polymers”, Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science, 43, 63-79 (2019).
- S. Pan, D. A. Nguyen, B. Duenweg, P. Sunthar, T. Sridhar, and J. R. Prakash, “Shear thinning in dilute and semidilute solutions of polystyrene and DNA”, J. Rheol. 62, 845-867 (2018).
- R. Prabhakar, C. Sasmal, D. A. Nguyen, T. Sridhar, J. R. Prakash, “Effect of stretching-induced changes in hydrodynamic screening on coil-stretch hysteresis of unentangled polymer solutions”, Rapid communication, Phys. Rev. Fluids, 2, 011301(R) (2017).
- C. Sasmal, K. Hsiao, C. M. Schroeder, J. R. Prakash, “Parameter-free Prediction of DNA Dynamics in Planar Extensional Flow of Semi-dilute Solutions”, J. Rheol., 61, 169–186 (2017).
- Emma Hodges, B. M. Cooke, E. M. Sevick, Debra J. Searles, B. Duenweg, and J. R. Prakash, “Equilibrium binding energies from fluctuation theorems and force spectroscopy simulations”, Soft Matter, 12, 9803–9820 (2016).
Teaching Commitments
- CHE2161 - Fluid Mechanics
- CHE3167 - Transport Phenomena and Numerical Methods
- CHE4180 - Chemical Engineering Research Project
- CHE4170 - Design Project
- CHE5112 - Advanced Fluid Dynamics
- CHE4162 - Particle Technology