Our Team
Luciano Castillo
Prior to joining Purdue University as the Kenninger Chair Professor of Renewable Energy & Power Systems, Luciano was the inaugural Center Director of the National Wind Resource Center and the Don-Kay-Clay Cash Distinguished Engineering Chair in Wind Energy at Texas Tech University. For many years he was Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the Mechanical & Aerospace Department. His areas of research interest include turbulence, renewable energy and bioengineering. He has published over 100 publications, edited several books on renewable energy and co-authored several patents. Some of his awards include: Fellow of American Physical Society (APS), Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the NASA Faculty Fellowship, the Martin Luther King Faculty Award, the Robert T. Knapp Award Best Paper Award from the ASME, the Best Paper Award from the Journal of Renewable Energy, the Best Paper Award from IEEE, the Rensselaer Faculty Award, College of Engineering Dean H. T. Yang Faculty Excellence Award at Purdue, and recently was elected as member of the College of Engineering Advisory Council at Purdue.
He gave several keynotes lectures, plenary lecture, and distinguished lectures on wind energy. Currently, he served as Associate Editor of Wind Engineering & Science and serves in various scientific committees on renewable energy in Europe. He is passionate about inclusiveness and mentoring students and young faculty and founded and organized several summer research institutes on renewable energy & medicine, which included students, faculty and K-12 teachers. For his contributions and impacts on inclusiveness he received in 2016 the McDonald Mentoring Award from ASME and served as the School of Engineering as a Dean’s Faculty Fellow for Hispanic Engagement at Purdue University. In 2020, he received the Faculty Award from C-Prep, for his impact in teaching & inspiring minority student. In 2021 he was inducted in the National Academy of Engineering of Mexico (Foreign Corresponding Member) for his contributions to the USA/Mexico border and his scholarship contributions in renewable energy. In 2023 he received the 2023 Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Distinguished Career Alumni Award from the University at Buffalo for his contributions to society and engineering, and The Acorn Award at Purdue University.
Venkatesh Pulletikurthi
Dr. Pulletikurthi earned his Master's and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University in 2023. He graduated with honors from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 2016, from one of India's premier engineering universities, with Bachelor of Technology degree majoring in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Industrial Engineering. With over 7 years of extensive experience, Dr. Pulletikurthi specializes in computational fluid dynamics, proficiently utilizing both commercial and in-house numerical solvers. His expertise encompasses the development of low-order models and the design of experiments in the fields of aerodynamics and wind energy. Furthermore, he has provided mentorship to numerous high school, undergraduate, and graduate students from minority-serving institutions, focusing on wind energy and climate change projects. Dr. Pulletikurthi has published several scientific publications, and his work on CO2 capture has been featured in various press releases. Additionally, he is a co-inventor on patents related to infection prevention and CO2 capture, underscoring his valuable contributions to innovative solutions in these critical areas.
Suranga Dharmarathne
Dr. Suranga Dharmarathne is an expert in computational fluid dynamics, low-order modeling, engineering design, and entrepreneurial thinking. He has completed several projects on drag reduction and heat transfer in turbulent wall-bounded flows particularly related to wind turbine and aerospace applications. He has vast experience in developing parallel programs with MPI with FORTRAN and executing them in high-performance computers. His experiences include using MATLAB and Python for big data analysis and 3-dimensional visualization as well. Dr. Dharmarathne earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering specializing in computational fluid dynamics from Texas Tech University in 2015.
Jhon Quiñones
Dr. Jhon Quiñones holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, specializing in renewable energy systems, computational fluid dynamics, and artificial intelligence. With over a decade of experience in academia and industry, Dr. Jhon´s research focuses on predictive modeling for resilient energy systems. He has contributed to pioneering projects in deep learning algorithms and collaborated on innovative solutions for airborne disease control. Dr. Jhon's expertise extends beyond research; he has served as an industry professional, specializing in innovation, project management, and continuous improvement. He provided invaluable guidance on multidisciplinary projects and played a pivotal role in developing innovative solutions. Passionate about innovation, Dr. Quiñones has contributed patents in infection prevention and renewable energy solutions. His work reflects a commitment to addressing global challenges through interdisciplinary research and technological advancement.