Viswanathan, Vimal

Vimal Viswanathan

Professor, Mechanical Engineering
BSME Program Coordinator
Carolyn Guidry Professor of Engineering Education

Email

Preferred: vimal.viswanathan@sjsu.edu

Telephone

Preferred: (408) 924-3841

Office Hours

(Fall 2026) M 10:00 am - 12:00 pm; other times by appointment only

Office Location: Mechanical Engineering Office Suite - E310

Education

Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, 2012

MS, Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, 2010

B-Tech, Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Calicut, India, 2005

Bio

Research Interests:

Primary research interests: Design & Manufacturing

Current research areas: design creativity, design automation, additive manufacturing, sustainable manufacturing, manufacturing automation, engineering education

Other roles @ SJSU

Director - Innovations in Design Engineering & Analyses (IDEA) Lab

Faculty Advisor - ASME student chapter

Past Academic Positions:

  1. San Jose State University, San Jose, CA - Associate Professor (2020 - 2025)
  2. San Jose State University, San Jose, CA - Department Chair (2021 - 2023)
  3. San Jose State University, San Jose, CA - Assistant Professor (2016 - 2020)
  4. Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL - Assistant Professor (2014-2016)
  5. Georgia Institute of Technology - Postdoctoral researcher & part-time instructor (2012-2014)
  6. Texas A&M University - Instructor (Senior Design) (2012)

Most Recent Publications:

(For a complete list, please visit the link below)

* indicates student co-authors

  1. Straetker*, J., Armani, A., Chan, E., and Viswanathan, V, 2026, “Stiffness Response of Topology-Optimized FDM Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced PLA Structures,” Applied Sciences special issue on Modelling and Simulation of Mechanical Properties for Additive Manufacturing Materials, 16, 10372, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/app162010372.
  2. Aditham*, V., James*, A., Schneider, Y., Zaidi, S., and Viswanathan, V, 2026, “Influence of carbon fiber reinforcement on the shape memory characteristics and mechanical properties of PETG,” Express Polymer Letters, 20(9), 974-989, DOI: 10.3144/expresspolymlett.2026.72. 
  3. Koti, B*, Schneider, Y., and Viswanathan, V, 2026, “Development and Characterization of Compression-Molded Chitosan Composite Films Reinforced with Silica and Titania Nanoparticles,” Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing, 10(1), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmmp10010019
  4. Pokras, D*, Schneider, Y., Zaidi, S., and Viswanathan, V**, 2024, “Shape Memory Polymers in 4D Printing: Investigating Multi-Material Lattice Structures,” Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing, special issue on Advances in Additive Manufacturing and Material Characterization Techniques, 8(4), 154, Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/jmmp8040154.
  5. Viswanathan, V., Nukala*, N.R., and Solomon, J., 2024, “Improving the Understanding of Course Concepts with Engineered Course Material Delivery,” Journal of STEM Education, 25(2), available at https://jstem.org/jstem/index.php/JSTEM/article/view/2500/2364.

  6. Vadla, M., Agumbe-Suresh, M., and Viswanathan, V.**, 2024, “Enhancing Product Design through AI-driven Sentiment Analysis of Amazon Reviews using BERT,” Algorithms, 17 (2), 59, Available at https://doi.org/10.3390/a17020059.

  7. Keles, O., Brubaker-Gianakos, V., Viswanathan, V., and Marbouti, F., 2023, “Experimental Learning of Engineering Concepts in Immersive Virtual Learning Environments,” Journal of STEM Education, 24 (2), Available at https://www.jstem.org/jstem/index.php/JSTEM/article/view/2577/2324

  8. Machado*, M. D., Viswanathan, V., 2023, “Design and Characterization of a Single Lever Bicycle Brake with Hydraulic Pressure Proportioning,” Applied Sciences, 13, 1767, DOI: 10.3390/app13031767 .

  9. Dei Rossi*, J., Keles, O., and Viswanathan**, V., 2022, “Fused Deposition Modeling with Induced Vibrations: A Study on the Mechanical Characteristics of Printed Parts,” Applied Sciences. 2022; 12(18):9327. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12189327
  10. Pham*, H.; Bandaru*, A.P.; Bellannagari, P.; Zaidi, S.; Viswanathan, V., 2022, "Getting Fit in a Sustainable Way: Design and Optimization of a Low-Cost Regenerative Exercise Bicycle," Designs, 6 (3), pp. 59, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/designs6030059.
  11. Bose*, A., and Viswanathan, V., 2021, “Mitigating the Piston Effect in High-speed Hyperloop Transportation: A Study on the Use of Aerofoils,” Energies Special Issue on Hyperloop and Associated Technologies, 14 (2), pp. 464, DOI: 10.3390/en14020464, available here.
  12. Viswanathan. V., and Linsey, J., 2020, “Designing with Examples: A Study on the Role of Familiarity, Warnings and Physical Modeling,” Journal of Engineering Design, DOI: 10.1080/09544828.2020.1851356.

     

    Courses at SJSU:

  • ME 20 - Design & Graphics
  • ME 101 - Dynamics
  • ME 136 - Design for Manufacturing & Assembly
  • ME 154 - Mechanical Design I
  • ME 195 A &B - Senior Design Project
  • ME 256 - Product Design
  • ME 265 - Computer-Aided Design for Mechanical Engineers
  • ME 268 - 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing
  • ME 291 - Project Planning

Links

List of publications: Click Here

Visit Dr. Viswanathan's lab webpage here.