Praveen S Vulimiri

Praveen S Vulimiri

Biography

Praveen Vulimiri is a PhD Candidate in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh as part of the Ansys Additive Manufacturing Research Laboratory. His thesis dissertation is focused on including data-driven surrogate models for architectural and multiphysics constraints for topology optimization and product design with an anticipated graduation date of June 2025. Prior to the PhD program, Praveen received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in August 2019 with certificates in Simulation in Engineeering Design and in Innovation, Product Design, and Entrepreneurship. For two years, he worked as a Thermal Engineer for Iris Rover to successfully land the first American lunar rover.

Code Development and Machine Learning

Code Development and Machine Learning

PyTorch for machine learning, C++, CUDA, Python, MATLAB, Git

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Engineering (CAE)

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Engineering (CAE)

Ansys Mechanical Workbench and APDL, Autodesk Inventor & Fusion, SolidWorks

Astronomy

Astronomy

Inspired by NASA New Horizons mission, seen 2 total solar eclipses

Running

Running

2x Marathoner, 3x Half marathoner

Experience

  1. PhD Candidate

    University of Pittsburgh - Ansys Additive Manufacturing Research Laboratory
    Thesis: Data-Driven Surrogate Modeling of Architectural and Multiphysics Constraints for Topology Optimization

  2. Graduate Student Researcher

    University of Pittsburgh - Ansys Additive Manufacturing Research Laboratory
    Researching with the ANSYS Additive Manufacturing Laboratory with a focus on Topology Optimization

  3. Software Development Co-Op

    Ansys, Inc.
    • Performing software testing and development changes to their flagship product using C# and C++.
    • Improving Data Analytics technology with Python, SQL, and Golang

  4. Software Development Co-Op

    Ansys, Inc.
    • Worked within Microsoft Azure cloud in Python and SQL to create a data analytics tool for all departments. Added a new feature to automate an input between two flagship programs with C++.
    • Created a server monitoring tool using Golang to alert others of issues with data collection.
    • Learned all languages while on the job and about best practices for coding in a large database

  5. Undergraduate Student Researcher

    University of Pittsburgh Human Movement and Balance Laboratory (HMBL)
    • Work to determine what causes and how to prevent slips in the workplace (tribology).
    • Tested various slip-resistant shoes to determine how slip resistant they are in different surface and wear conditions.

Education

  1. PhD in Mechanical Engineering

    University of Pittsburgh
    Coursework focused on Continuum Mechanics, Design for Additive Manufacturing, and Deep Learning

  2. BS in Mechanical Engineering

    University of Pittsburgh
    • Engineering Simulation in Design Certificate
    • Innovation, Product Development, and Entrepreneurship Certificate
    • GPA: 3.97/4.00
Publications
Praveen S Vulimiri, Shane Riley, Florian X. Dugast, Albert C. To (2025). A mean–variance estimation bidirectional convolutional long short-term memory surrogate model predicting residual stress and model error for laser powder bed fusion. AddMa.
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Hao Deng, Praveen S Vulimiri, Albert C. To (2022). CAD-integrated topology optimization method with dynamic extrusion feature evolution for multi-axis machining. j.cma.
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Praveen S Vulimiri, Hao Deng, Florian Dugast, Xiaoli Zhang, Albert C. To (2021). Integrating Geometric Data into Topology Optimization via Neural Style Transfer. ma.
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Hao Deng, Praveen S Vulimiri, Albert C. To (2021). An efficient 146-line 3D sensitivity analysis code of stress-based topology optimization written in MATLAB. Optim Eng.
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N. S. Johnson, Praveen S Vulimiri, A.C. To, X. Zhang, C. A. Brice, A. P . Stebner (2020). Machine Learning for Materials Developments in Metals Additive Manufacturing. AddMa.
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