Education

• Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, PA, 2022
• M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, NY, 2018
• B.E., Mechanical Engineering, PES Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India, 2016

Background

Ashwini Karmarkar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Carolina since Fall 2025. Her research focuses on experimentally characterizing the effects of fuel properties on combustion performance and the durability of jet engines. Her current research areas include: hydrodynamic and acoustic instabilities, flame–flow interactions, coking and deposition in fuel injectors, and the role of internal geometry in fuel spray dynamics.

Before joining USC, Dr. Karmarkar was a postdoctoral researcher at Argonne National Laboratory, where she employed advanced x-ray diagnostics to study alternative fuels and novel technologies for the decarbonization of transportation and power systems. She earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University in 2022, conducting her doctoral research at the Reacting Flow Dynamics Lab. Her research was focused on applying laser diagnostics and advanced data decomposition methods to investigate the flow-flame coupling mechanisms driving combustion instabilities in jet engines.

In addition to her research, Dr. Karmarkar is committed to advancing diversity in engineering education. She has mentored high school students through the DuPage County ACT-SO program, supporting academic enrichment for African American students, and has served as a speaker at the Lake County STEM Conference to inspire middle school girls to pursue careers in science and engineering.

Awards

• 2022 Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship for Women in Aerospace.