Meghana Mekala

meghana.mekala@kuleuven.be

Meghana Mekala was born in 1998 in India. She obtained her Bachelor of Technology degree from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Anantapur (JNTUA) in 2020, where she stood out as the gold medalist of her batch. Her bachelor’s project focused on the bio-production of ethanol from rice husks and groundnut shells.

In June 2023, Meghana attained her master’s degree in chemical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Her master’s research focused on the Rheology and microstructure of filled worm-like micellar solutions, wherein she investigated the rheological and microstructural properties of surfactant-nanoparticle mixtures. During her master’s, she also secured a Thinkswiss research scholarship which facilitated her to work at ETH Zurich for 3 months.

Meghana joined PARASOL in September 2023 and is hosted at KU Leuven in the SMART group and will be working with Dr. Ruth Cardinaels. During her PhD, she will explore the feasibility of utilizing cold spraying techniques to create EMI shielding coatings using polymer composites. These coatings will be developed with the aim of striking a balance between exceptional electromagnetic shielding performance, resilience under mechanical and thermal stress, resistance to scratches, strong adhesion, and environmentally sustainable end-of-use options.