Thyagarajan honored for driving sustainability efforts

For Dr. Ravi Thyagarajan, professor of practice in the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, sustainability is not simply a topic for classroom discussion. It is an engineering challenge that gives students an opportunity to design, build and test solutions with the potential to improve people’s lives.

That philosophy has shaped a range of student-led projects at Texas A&M University and earned Thyagarajan the Faculty Sustainability Champion Award from the Office of Sustainability and Campus Enrichment. The award recognizes his contributions to building a culture in which sustainability, technical education and service are closely connected.

Through the senior capstone program, student organizations and industry partnerships, Thyagarajan encourages students to consider how renewable energy can be used in places where conventional infrastructure is unavailable or unreliable.

Thyagarajan advised mechanical engineering students who worked on a capstone team­­—in collaboration with Texas A&M AgriLife — to develop an off-grid, solar-powered shelter for people working in extreme heat environments. The climate-controlled shelter was designed to provide a portable place for workers to rest and cool down in remote locations without requiring a connection to the electrical grid. Agricultural laborers, construction crews and others who face the risk of serious health problems like heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and even death, are the main people who benefit most from this technology.

Another project expanded the role renewable energy could play in delivering health care. In collaboration with Texas A&M BUILD, Thyagarajan helped guide the development of a solar-powered medical clinic built inside a shipping container. Its energy system allows the clinic to operate without grid electricity or a conventional generator, making it better suited for communities where power and medical resources may be limited.

Thyagarajan has also incorporated renewable energy into his work as faculty advisor for Texas A&M’s Formula Electric Racing team. Students on the team design, manufacture and test an electric race car for collegiate competition in an annual cycle. The students also upgraded the team’s support trailer to run on solar power, allowing it to meet vehicle-charging and other energy needs while operating at remote events.

His student mentorship extends to projects that make engineering concepts accessible to the wider community. Thyagarajan advised the development of the ElectroCycle, an interactive exhibit created for the Boys & Girls Club of the Brazos Valley. The exhibit uses a bicycle and generator to show children how physical motion can be transformed into electrical energy for multiple uses.

Thyagarajan joined the Texas A&M mechanical engineering faculty in 2022 after a career spanning the automotive industry and federal service. He spent 17 years with Ford and Visteon, where his work included automotive design, safety, simulation and product development. He later completed 13 years of civilian service with the U.S. Department of Defense and the Army, ultimately directing a research portfolio supporting basic research and Army ground and air platforms.

His broader technical background includes lightweight structural design, vehicle occupant protection, crash and blast modeling, optimization and engineering simulation. He is a Fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International, holds five U.S. patents and received the Army Superior Civilian Service Medal in 2021.

By pairing that experience with project-based education, Thyagarajan strives to help students see sustainability as more than just an environmental objective. He sees it as a practical part of engineering — one that requires technical innovation, collaboration and a clear understanding of the people a design is intended to serve.

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