Ramana Pidaparti

A new textbook written by an associate dean in the University of Georgia College of Engineering encourages students to open their minds to new ideas while also drawing on traditional engineering methods and strategies to solve complex design challenges.

Design Engineering Journey by Ramana Pidaparti provides undergraduate students an introduction to the engineering design methodology across multiple disciplines. The book was recently released by Morgan and Claypool Publishers.

The textbook provides a framework for teaching the broad range of skills that today’s engineering students need to solve complex design problems, according to Pidaparti. These skills include innovation, creativity, design thinking, collaboration, communication, problem solving, and technical skills.

“For example, students are provided with design solutions inspired by nature as well as the arts to nurture their creative problem solving skills,” said Pidaparti.

In addition to introducing freshmen and sophomores to engineering design tools and techniques, Pidaparti says Design Engineering Journey can serve as a reference for senior capstone design projects.

Pidaparti is a veteran educator and researcher with more than 25 years of experience. He serves as a professor and the associate dean for academic affairs and assessment in the UGA College of Engineering. Prior to joining the UGA faculty, he was a professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

Pidaparti holds a doctorate in aeronautics and astronautics from Purdue University, a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland, and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Andhra University.

Pidaparti is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Royal Aeronautical Society.

His current research interests include multidisciplinary design from arts and biomimicry, bioinspired materials and structures, and computational mechanics and informatics.