Mechanical engineering doctoral student Sharun Kuhar was recently named to the inaugural class of Quad Fellows—100 students hailing from Australia, India, Japan, or the United States who show exceptional promise in STEM fields.
Supported by philanthropy venture Schmidt Futures, the Quad Fellowship is an initiative of the partner countries, who sponsor the opportunity with support from corporate donors. Twenty-five fellows are selected from each country, and fellows receive funding, mentorship, and opportunities for cohort-wide trips and cross-cultural exchange.
Inspired by applied fluid mechanics research in medicine, Kuhar, who is from India, is pursuing a PhD in modeling gastrointestinal biomechanics under the guidance of Rajat Mittal, professor of mechanical engineering. Kuhar recently published papers on how the dissolution of oral tablets inside the stomach is affected by posture, and how the digestion inside the stomach is affected by gastric disorders. He loves reading fantasy and science fiction and learning new guitar licks, and he is always up for going on a run or playing chess. In the future, he wants to continue working on interdisciplinary research problems in the field of medicine.
Kuhar graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, with a B.Tech-M.Tech dual degree. Prior to pursuing his PhD, he designed and developed high-count fiber optic cables at Sterlite Technologies Limited.