Dr. Shailesh I. Kundalwal
Banting Fellowship and SERB Early Career Research Awardee
Shailesh I. Kundalwal is a full Professor of Mechanical Engineering who specializes in Design Engineering stream. Before joining IIT Indore in 2017, he was a Banting Fellow at the University of Toronto (UofT). In fact, he was the first holder of Banting Fellowships Award in the MIE Department, UofT. He obtained his M.Tech and Ph.D. degrees in Applied Mechanics from IIT Kharagpur. By the end of MTech (Mechanical Systems Design) program, he was awarded with an honorary Prof. D. P. Ghosh Memorial Award for securing the first rank and being best outgoing PG students enrolled in Applied Mechanics specializations. He proposed a novel multifunctional Fuzzy Fiber Reinforced Composite in his doctoral studies which led to a critical breakthrough in the field of hybrid nanocomposites. He founded the ATOM Laboratory at IIT Indore which undertakes research mainly in computational and experimental investigations of nanostructures. He received the SERB Early Career Research Award in 2018 in the field of flexoelectricity. He guided 10 PhD, 11 MTech, 2 MS(R) and 18 BTech students as well as completed seven projects successfully funded by national/international funding agencies. He secured total externally funded 15 projects as PI worth Rs. ~47 Cr. He has authored 105 research articles (excluding conference papers and chapters) in reputed international journals. His name is featured in the list of top 2% global scientists published in PLOS Biology by Stanford University since 2021. In view of the quality of his research output, he was appointed as one of the Nodal Officers of ANRF-PAIR in Dec 2024 at IIT Indore. He coordinated with the team of 70 faculty members from 7 institutions/universities (Bundelkhand university, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, IIIT Bhopal, NIT Kurukshetra, RTM Nagpur University and Vikram University) to prepare one of the themes of PAIR proposal titled “DREAM: Driving Research in Engineering Advanced Materials for Functional Applications” in the field of Advanced Materials as a Theme Leader. In March 2025, IIT Indore Network was awarded with PAIR project and is one of the seven national networks to receive competitive funding of Rs. 116 Cr. Prof. Kundalwal will lead multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional DREAM project worth Rs. ~40 Cr for the next five years as a Coordinator and Theme Leader.
Professor, IIT Indore
Education
PhD, Solid Mechanics | IIT Kharagpur | 2013
MTech, Mechanical Systems Design | IIT Kharagpur | 2009
BE, Mechanical Engineering | Institution of Engineers (India) | 2006
BSc, Physics | Dr. B.A. Marathwada University | 2004
Employment
Professor | ME Dept., IIT Indore | Sept 2024 - present
Adjunct Faculty | Center for Electric Vehicles and Intelligent Transport Systems, IIT Indore | Apr 2021 - present
Associate Professor | ME Dept., IIT Indore | Aug 2019 - present
Assistant Professor | ME Dept., IIT Indore | Feb 2017 - Aug 2019
Visiting Assistant Professor | ME Dept., IIT Indore | Jan 2017 - Feb 2017
Banting Fellow | MIE Dept., University of Toronto, Canada | Oct 2015 - Dec 2016
Postdoctoral Researcher | Mechanical & Materials Engineering Dept., Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, UAE | Apr 2015-Sep 2015
Postdoctoral Fellow | MIE Dept., University of Toronto, Canada | Dec 2013 - Feb 2015
Scientist ‘B’ | ME Dept., Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune (Direct Entry - DRDS Cadre) | May 2007- Sep 2007
Professional Recognition/Award/Prize/Certificate
Invited Keynote Speaker | Int Conf on Thermal Stresses, Hongkong | 2025
Invited Speaker | Int Conf of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Daegu, Korea | 2024
Founding Editorial Board Member of "Nano Micro Mechanics Reviews" | 2024
Dr. Kundalwal’s name featured in the list of top 2% global scientists | PLOS Biology by Stanford University | 2021-2023
Best Research Paper Award | IIT Indore | 2023
Member, Spark Evaluation Comittee | Swiss National Science Foundation | 2020-23
Finalists in the “Dare to Dream” DRDO Innovation Contest 2019 | Certificate Awarded by DRDO | 2019
SERB Early Career Research Award and Grant | SERB-DST | 2018
Nomination for John Charles Polanyi Prize | University of Toronto | 2016
Judge for the MIE Research/Graduate Symposium | University of Toronto | 2014-16
Banting Fellowships Award | Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada | 2015
CSIR Senior Research Associate Fellowship (Scientists’ Pool Scheme) | CSIR | 2013
Special Doctoral Support Grant | IIT Kharagpur | 2013
First Rank Certificate in Applied Mechanics PG Specializations | IIT Kharagpur | 2009
Professor D. P. Ghosh Memorial Award | IIT Kharagpur | 2009
Teaching at IIT Indore
Machine Design II (ME401) | UG | Seven times
Composite Materials (ME738) | PG | Five times
Vehicle Dynamics (EV401/601)* | PG | Five times
Kinematic and Dynamics of Machines (ME 303) | UG | Five times
Kinematic and Dynamics of Machines Lab (ME 353) | UG | Five times
PhD Seminar Course (ME797) | PG | Four times
Machine Drawing (ME257) | UG | Twice
Micromechanics and Nanomechanics (ME443/643)* | PG | Twice
Machine Design I (ME306) | UG | Once
Engineering Mechanics – Section B (ME101) | UG | Once
*Developed and started new courses at IIT Indore.
Supervision, Research, and Academics Contribution
Supervision | Completed | Ongoing
Postdoc Mentorship | 1
PhD | 9 | 6
MS(R) | 2
MTech | 10 | 2
BTech | 19
UG/PG Interns | > 25
Activity | Completed | Ongoing
Projects | 5 | 2
Patent Filed | 3
Technologies Developed | 3
New Courses | 2
CEPs | 2
Laboratories Developed | 2