Professor Rajarathinam Parthasarathy

Areas of research and consulting expertise

• Multiphase mixing in agitated vessels
• Solids suspension and solid-liquid mass transfer in agitated vessels in mineral processing
• Process intensification
• Anaerobic digester hydrodynamics
• Sludge rheology
• Siodegradation of polymer nanocomposites
• Nanoemulsions
• Laminar mixing studies on isolated mixing regions and caverns

Employment history

• 2012: Acting Director, Rheology and Materials Processing Centre, RMIT University
• 2008–2012: Program Director (Chemical Engineering), School of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne
• 1999–present: Senior Lecturer, School of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne
• 1996–1998: Lecturer, Department of Chemical & Metallurgical Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne
• 1995: Research Associate, Ian Wark Research Institute, University of South Australia, Adelaide
• 1993–1995, Lecturer, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• 1992: Research Associate, The University of Newcastle Research Associates (TUNRA) Ltd, NSW
• 1984–1988: Production Engineer, Bombay Offshore Project, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, India

Honours and awards

• 2012: The best poster award for "Studies on unmixed regions in a mechanically agitated anaerobic digester" Chemeca 2012, Wellington, New Zealand
• 2012: The best poster award for "Effect of baffles on solid-liquid mass transfer coefficient in high solid concentration mixing", Chemeca 2012, Wellington, New Zealand
• 2011: Innovation in curricula, learning & teaching – Team award, RMIT University
• 1988: International postgraduate award, University of Newcastle

Current research activities

• Improving the mixing performance of anaerobic digester using flow visualization and computational fluid dynamic studies
• Novel and cost effective mixing technique for anaerobic digesters in municipal wastewater plants using computational fluid dynamic simulation and electrical resistance tomography
• Intensifying solid-liquid mass transfer in agitated vessels with high solids concentration
• Process intensification of leaching in agitated vessels using cavitation
• Impact of temperature and thermal history on the rheological characterization of municipal sludge
• Rheological characterisation of the blends of primary and secondary sludge
• Rheological characterisation of the sludge under high temperature and pressure

Current teaching activities

• Process Principles (PROC2078)
• Chemical Engineering Specialisation (PROC2087)
• Process Systems Integration (PROC2091)
• Research Project (PROC2092)
• Process Plant Design and Economics (PROC2089), Course Coordinator
• Process Systems Design (PROC2088)
• Design Project (PROC1025)

Past teaching activities

• Chemical Engineering Design (PROC2076)
• Fluid Flow and Particle Mechanics (PROC2079)
• Transfer Processes (PROC2085)
• Advanced Chemical Engineering Specialisation (PROC2094)
• Process Control and Instrumentation Technology

• PhD, (Chemical Engineering), 1993, University of Newcastle, N.S.W, Australia
• MEng, (Chemical Engineering), 1983, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
• BTech, (Chemical Engineering), 1981, University of Madras, India

Professional affiliations

• Fellow, Insitution of Chemical Engineers (UK)
• Member, Australian Society of Rheology
• Core member, RMIT University Platform Technology Research Institute (PTRI)
• Core member, RMIT University WETT (Water- Effective Technology and Tools) Research Centre

Industrial experience

Offshore oil and gas production, start-up and emergency shutdown of process platform operations, pipeline pigging, production testing, computer simulations of oil-gas separation processes, process development of heavy crude oil upgrading and gas sweetening, process engineering lab feasibility study and development, performance evaluation of gas flow meters, safety auditing of LPG extraction plant

Industry and university collaboration

• IRSTEA, a public research institute in France which focusses on land management issues such as water resources and agricultural technology
• Melbourne Water Corporation, a company owned by the Victorian Government, manages Melbourne’s major sewerage infrastructure and treats about 40% of Melbourne sewage (about 330 million litres a day)
• South East Water, a company owned by the Victorian Government, providing water and sewerage services to over 600,000 customers in the South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne.
• CSIRO, Process Science and Engineering Division, Highett, Australia
• Kobe University, Japan

Leadership and contribution to profession

• Present: Acting Director, Rheology and Materials Processing Centre, School of Civil, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, RMIT University
• 2008–2012: Program Director (Chemical Engineering), School of Civil, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, RMIT University
• 2003–2008: Higher Degrees by Research Co-ordinator, School of Civil, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, RMIT University
• Present: Co-Chair, International Symposium of Industrial Mixing 8, Melbourne, 2014
• Present: Member, Organising Committee, 15th Asia Pacific Confederation of Chemical Engineering Congress, Melbourne, 2015
• 2012–present: Vice-Chair, Education Subject Group, Institution of Chemical Engineers, UK
• 2010–2012: Chair, Education Subject Group, Institution of Chemical Engineers, UK
• 2012: Assessor of Chartered Membership Applicants, IChemE
• 2012: Member, IChemE accreditation panel to University of Adelaide

Peer assessment

• Assessor for Australian Research Council Discovery and DECRA grant applications
• Assessor of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Canada grant application
• Assessor Czech Science Foundation grant application
• Reviewer of manuscripts from the following international journals: The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, AIChE journal, Indudtrial Engineering Chemistry and Research, Chemical Engineering Research and Design, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, The Journal of Chemical Engineering of Japan, International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering, Chemical Engineering Communications