Rajesh Akula is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto, Canada. His research focuses on the thermal and electrical characterization of Li-ion cells, numerical modeling of battery packs at both cell and system levels, and the design and optimization of advanced cooling solutions to prevent thermal runaway in Li-ion cells for electric vehicle and stationary storage applications. Additionally, he is interested in leveraging machine learning methods to tackle these research challenges.

He completed his Direct Ph.D. at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 2022, focusing on the thermal management of electronics and Li-ion cells using phase change material-based heat sinks. Prior to this, he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies, Nuzvid, in 2017.