Ravi Palakodeti(expects to obtain Ph.D. Summer 2008)

Department & Program: Environmental Engineering 

Hometown: Hyderabad, India 

Undergraduate degree from: Osmania University, Hyderabad 

Outside interests/activities: Carnatic music, audio engineering, traveling, cricket, tennis, hiking, reading fiction/non-fiction,  helping at the Nashville Sri Ganesha Temple for various music related events.  

Why Vanderbilt: I originally came to Vanderbilt for a Master’s degree. My interests in environmental modeling matched well with the department’s ongoing research activities and I stayed back for my Ph.D. The department has excellent computational research facilities and a dedicated faculty. The program is truly multidisciplinary in nature and provides ample scope for diversity in future career paths. For a nature and art lover like me Nashville is a great place to live in. It is surrounded by beautiful state parks which provide exciting outdoor activities. The ‘Great Performances’ series in Vanderbilt and others in TPAC give me a spectrum of opportunities to quench my art cravings.  

Likes best about Vanderbilt Engineering: The small class size allows better student-teacher interaction, and I thoroughly enjoyed discussions in the classes that I’ve taken. Students are encouraged to explore courses in various engineering departments enabling a well rounded education. The departmental seminars attract world-class speakers who provide interesting perspectives to a variety of research problems.  

Research Area: Environmental engineering: Groundwater/Surface Water Interface Modeling. Traditionally, groundwater and surface water have been treated as separate entities in environmental modeling. However, these are inter-connected in the hydrologic continuum through the groundwater/surface water interface (GWSWI). This interface is a biogeochemically active region with a potential for enhancing natural attenuation or increasing the toxicity of contaminants. Therefore, understanding contaminant transport across GWSWI is a key component of overall ecological risk assessment. My work involves integrating groundwater and surface water models as a means to understand contaminant transport across GWSWI.