Pranjal Nautiyal, a postdoctoral associate in the Carpick Research Group in the department of mechanical engineering and applied mechanics in Penn Engineering, has been honored with an Early Career Award from the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE), and has been named to the 2023 class of senior members of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).

Both accolades acknowledge not only the technical achievements of the published author and patent recipient, but also their impact on society at large. As an STLE member, Dr. Nautiyal is one of many experts who research, develop and market the methods and products that make industry more successful and that enhance the well-being of people worldwide. As an NAI senior member, Dr. Nautiyal has demonstrated success in patents, licensing and commercialization, and has produced technologies that have caused, or aspire to cause, real impact on the welfare of society.

“Pranjal has been an outstanding postdoc, working on multiple projects and producing exciting and novel results, mentoring students, helping write proposals that we have successfully secured, and contributing to teaching and creating laboratory experiences for courses,” said Robert W. Carpick, the John Henry Towne Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics. “He has a bright future, and I’m delighted to see his hard work and creativity be recognized by these two awards.”

Before starting at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Nautiyal studied materials science and engineering at Florida International University, receiving a doctorate in 2020. Soon after, he decided to switch his area of concentration; his work currently focuses on tribology, or the study of friction, wear and reactions at sliding and rolling interfaces.