Summary
As vice president for research and innovation and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno, Dr. Mridul Gautam leads the articulation and implementation of a shared vision for research and guides the administrative division focused on developing world-class research and discovery, the careers and competitiveness of faculty, and the institution’s capacity as an R1 comprehensive/doctoral university with very high research activity, as classified by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, and an economic cornerstone of Nevada. Dr. Gautam also serves as President of the Nevada Research and Innovation Corporation. Prior to joining the University in 2013, he served as associate vice president for research at West Virginia University (WVU) as well as the vice president for the WVU Research Corporation.
Under his leadership, Research & Innovation provides high quality services and infrastructure to enable faculty, students and staff to excel in their research, scholarly and creative endeavors and to advance innovation and commercialization. The division helps build interdisciplinary collaborations, assist researchers in obtaining and managing extramural funding, and maintain a safe, healthy and ethical environment in which to conduct research. The division is committed to facilitating connections with industry and fostering regional entrepreneurship and collaboration through an innovative ecosystem, anchored by the Nevada Center for Applied Research and the University of Nevada, Reno Innevation Center.
Dr. Gautam is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and is chair of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Coalition of EPSCoR/IDeA States. He serves on additional boards and committees including the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities' Commission on Economic and Community Engagement, Board of Directors of the Desert Research Institute Research Park, Board of Directors of the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems, and South Coast AQMD’s (Air Quality Management District) Clean Fuels Advisory Committee. He is a University Counselor for Oak Ridge Associated Universities and a member of the National Academies’ Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable. As a member of the President's Council at the University, Dr. Gautam advises on major policy issues and addresses state and national issues of compelling interest to the University’s research community.
Dr. Gautam is an internationally recognized researcher and expert in the area of heavy-duty mobile source exhaust emissions, aerosol sampling, and particulate matter measurement, characterization, and control. He has over 30 years of experience in initiating and managing large interdisciplinary and multi-institutional programs and has served as a principal investigator and/or co-principal investigator on over $90 million in funded research. Dr. Gautam has published more than 400 technical articles including refereed journal articles, symposia/published proceedings and published abstracts of papers presented at professional meetings. In addition to having a licensing agreement to his credit, he is a recipient of the Outstanding Aerosol Paper Award through the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, the Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award through the Society of Automotive Engineers, and several Outstanding Researcher of the Year awards at WVU.
Dr. Gautam received his doctorate in mechanical engineering from West Virginia University in 1989 and his master’s in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 1984.
Education
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, West Virginia University, 1989
M.Tech., Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, 1984
B.Tech., Mechanical Engineering, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, 1982