Professor Raja excited to help expand GU's engineering program
Published: April 11, 2024
Author: Dave Bell
Nearly two years ago, Dr. Daniel Raja learned of an opportunity to help develop the engineering program at Greenville University. He jumped at the chance.
The native of Bangalore, India, had just completed his doctoral work at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and was ready to take on the challenge.
“It was an exciting opportunity to help expand the engineering program,” Raja said. “The more I talked with Dr. David Probst (chair of GU’s departments of physics and engineering), the more excited I got. I’d been doing post-doctoral research and some teaching at SIUE, but I saw so much potential in the program here.”
Raja’s areas of expertise include mechanical engineering, automotive engineering, and material science, but he teaches a wide variety of classes in the engineering curriculum. Those include Introduction to Engineering, Thermo Dynamics, Fluid Dynamics, Senior Design, Material Science and Engineering, Engineering Design on CAD, Computational Modeling, Engineering Dynamics, Manufacturing Processes, Machine Design, and Vehicle Dynamics.
“As an engineer, it’s easier to teach things I can see and things that move,” he said. “I want to help our students understand through experiential learning – to see engines operating and other physical things moving. I get excited when a student understands a concept or makes a connection.”
His research altering metals to better handle extreme temperatures or pressure loads has led Raja to adopt an unusual hobby – designing swords and knives. Making those blades extra durable is yet another way he demonstrates the practical application of scientific knowledge.
“I want to create more projects so our students can experience scientific principles, and then be able to explain how they work and apply them in real life,” he said. “Especially in science, experiential learning is a good way to teach. Through that approach, they learn to study a product and then figure out a way to build it even better.”
Though some engineering students arrive at GU knowing precisely the type of engineering they want to pursue, Raja wants to create a program in which students are introduced to several options within the engineering field during their freshman year and then select a specialization area.
“I believe that type of introduction gives students a better appreciation for all the avenues available to them in engineering,” Raja said. “They are then better able to choose the specific area they want to pursue. We also want them to learn about patent law as well as the basics of business and marketing, because sometime in their careers they will need to know about those things.”
Raja was born into a Christian home and attended the Church of South India denomination when he was growing up. He found that the study of science reinforced his spiritual beliefs.
“I am able to understand God through science, particularly physics,” he said. “The laws of physics are God’s laws – they are fundamental truths. I see the rules of his creation in everything I do. Thus, through the study of physics, I can better understand God’s design.”
