Biography
Dr. Dheeraj Gupta
Dr. Dheeraj Gupta
Thapar University, Patiala, India, India
Title: Microwave Materials Processing: Past, Present and Future
Abstract: 
Microwaves have been extensively utilized in processing of food materials, processing of ceramic materials, processing of polymers, synthesis of various compounds, enhancements in chemical reactions, minerals processing, medical applications etc. The domain of microwave materials processing has increased many folds and based upon the processing temperatures the MW processes has diversified over a wide range. In engineering materials point of view, about 66% of the work carried out in the domain of microwave sintering of ceramics and this may be due to the fact that most of the ceramics and ceramic based materials are good absorber of the microwaves at room temperatures and at lower frequency of 2.45 GHz. Due to better absorption of microwaves in the ceramic materials, rapid heating with higher heating rates (> 400°C/min) was observed; which led to the lowering of processing time and energy requirements. However, limited research is carried out in the field of metallic based materials processing through MW energy. The main reason for this limited research is that metallic based materials being conductive cannot be heated effectively using MW.
Biography: 
Dr. Dheeraj Gupta, currently Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Thapar University, Patiala, India. He obtained his B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Shri Govindram Seksaria Institute of Technology and Science, Indore, India, and Master’s & Doctoral Degrees from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, India. He has more than ten years of teaching and Research Experience. He has worked on European Union Funded Project, In Lisbon, Portugal. He has published more than 70 articles in journals and conferences. He has filed two Indian patents on microwave processing of metals. Currently, he is a Principal Investigator for Indian government funded project. His areas of interest are microwave material processing, surface engineering and tribology.