Pallav Ranjan

I’m passionate about accessibility of science and participate in my capacity to share the knowledge I have been fortunate to receive. I am specially keen to outreach to under-privileged section of the society and spread awareness about science and engineering. Towards this end I have participated in many activities throughout my college life, some of which are highlighted below.

Engineering Open House (2017-present)

I have been participating in Engineering Open House (EOH) by designing new exhibits to showcase ongoing research in our department and generating awareness about mangrove replantation. EOH presents an unique opportunity to communicate science to broader audience (middle school students, parents, educators) without using jargon. I’ve built Schlieren imaging setup and used it to demonstrate aerodynamics of cars, urban flows, and spread of human droplets. Check out the video I made (with help of fellow PhD students) for EOH 2021 to raise awareness about effectiveness of face masks in limiting the spread of COVID19. Our team was awarded the first prize across the university in the most engaging category.

DREAAM volunteer (2017-present)

DREAAM is a project to enhance achievement, engagement, and behavioral health among boys and young men ages 5–24 years old. Many DREAAM participants are from a difficult socio-economic background and interacting with them rejuvinates my drive for science. As a DREAAM volunteer I have helped in hosting DREAAM participants in Hydrosystems lab at UIUC. I have been active in preparing scientific demonstrations for the students and present about the pathways to a career in engineering and sciences.

Tutoring (2011-2015)

We taught science to middle school children of Bhangeri village (India) every Saturday. Many families discouraged sending their girl child to school, so we talked to the families and encouraged them to enroll them in schools. We conducted yearly talent search examinations in the local schools.