Purushotham Tukkaraja
(2009)
Education
B.Tech, Kakatiya University
M.Tech., Indian Institute of Technology (BHU)
Ph.D., Indian Institute of
Technology Kharagpur
Purushotham Tukkaraja, Ph.D. research expertise is subsurface ventilation and air conditioning, including design of effective ventilation systems for subsurface facilities, applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in mine ventilation, subsurface environment, climate, and numerical methods connected to these areas. Dr. Tukkaraja has received funding for a major research grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) –National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for modeling gas emissions and ventilation in block caving mines. He also has received grant funding from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). At the state level, he has been successful in obtaining funding as co-principal investigator with the Shale Research Initiative and Research & Development Innovation Grant, as well as competitive research funded by the South Dakota Board of Regents (SDBOR).
Dr. Purushotham Tukkaraja is an Associate Professor in the Mining Engineering & Management Department at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SD Mines). Prior to joining SD Mines, he worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). He a recipient of the Banaras Hindu University’s Institute of Technology Gold Medal. He is an Associate Editor for the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration's (SME) Mining Engineering and for the Mine Water and the Environment Journal; an ABET Program Evaluator (PEV); Peer reviewer; and MSHA-approved instructor. He is currently serving as the President for the Black Hills Chapter of the International Society of Explosives Engineers (ISEE). Dr. Tukkaraja published several papers in international journals and conference proceedings and has presented his research findings at several conferences. He served as a technical session chair, and on organizing committees of several national and international conferences.
Purushotham Tukkaraja, Ph.D. teaching spans all areas of mining engineering. Courses taught at an undergraduate level include Mine Ventilation, Mine Design, Fluid Mechanics for Mining Engineers, Underground Mining Methods, Materials Handling and Transportation, Geostatistics, and Rock Mechanics. At graduate level, he taught Advanced Mine Ventilation and Environmental Engineering and Advanced Geostatistics. Dr. Tukkaraja also taught several mandatory MSHA Annual and Refresher Training Courses through SD MSHA State Grants Program.