faculty:

Dr. Kelkar, an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, is primarily interested in researching control theory, robust and nonlinear control, acoustic noise control, vibration control, flexible multibody dynamics, integrated design via multi-objective optimization, robotics, neural networks.

For example, in a recent project with NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., Dr. Kelkar’s aim was to quench the noise of machinery in an enclosed environment, like that generated in an airplane cabin from the plane's engines and fuselage. His approach uses active feedback control to modify the interior acoustic dynamics of the cabin in such a way that helps suppress the noise. The new method is based on research by Kelkar that has demonstrated energy extraction techniques in closed-loop systems. Kelkar says the method, if further refined, could find use beyond airplanes and aerospace structures to machinery in closed rooms, ranging from manufacturing environments to washers, dryers, lawn mowers and vacuum cleaners.