Ashim Datta
Professor, Biological and Environmental Engineering
Ashim Datta is a Professor in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering. He is interested in the physics of food processes; in particular, how increased efficiency and competitiveness in food production, processing, and equipment design can be obtained from physics-based models of food quality and safety.
Education
Doctorate
University of Florida
1985
Master of Science
University of Illinois
1982
B. Tech.
Indian Institute of Technology
1979
Recent Research
Professor Datta’s research group develops mechanistic understanding of process, quality and safety for complex food processes, under various heating modes (such as microwave and infrared), with a goal to improve food safety and quality. Instead of focusing on any one process or product, his group’s aim is in developing frameworks that are useful for many food products and processes. A fundamentals-based approach is pursued that includes multiphase and multicomponent porous media, multiscale and multiphysics.
Awards & Honors
International Association of Engineering and Food (IAEF) Lifetime Achievement Award (2019)
American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) Excellence in Teaching Materials and Methods Award of the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Division (2019)
Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow, Cornell University (2014)
Fellow, Institute of Food Technologists (2013)
Courses Taught
Professor Datta teaches students fundamental engineering concepts and problem solving abilities, using transport processes as a vehicle. He teaches two coordinated courses; the first addresses the basics of energy and mass transport, followed by a more advanced application of transport to real-life biomedical processes. The second course is project-based, using research-grade computational software, and taught in the context of design. These courses are, respectively, BEE 3500 Biological and Bioenvironmental Transport Processes and BEE 4530 Computer-Aided Engineering: Applications to Biomedical Processes.
Heat and mass transfer in biological engineering (BEE 3500)
Computer-aided engineering: applications to biological processes (BEE 4530).