Praveen S Vulimiri

Hi, I'm

Praveen S Vulimiri

Recent PhD in Mechanical Engineering

Praveen Vulimiri recently completed his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh as part of the Ansys Additive Manufacturing Research Laboratory in October 2025. His thesis dissertation focused on including data-driven surrogate models for architectural and multiphysics constraints for topology optimization and product design. 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

PhD Candidate

University of Pittsburgh - Ansys Additive Manufacturing Research Laboratory

Thesis: Data-Driven Surrogate Modeling of Architectural and Multiphysics Constraints for Topology Optimization

Graduate Student Researcher

University of Pittsburgh - Ansys Additive Manufacturing Research Laboratory

Researching with the ANSYS Additive Manufacturing Laboratory with a focus on Topology Optimization

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

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

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

PhD in Mechanical Engineering

University of Pittsburgh

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

BS in Mechanical Engineering

University of Pittsburgh

  • Engineering Simulation in Design Certificate
  • Innovation, Product Development, and Entrepreneurship Certificate
  • GPA: 3.97/4.00
Passed dissertation defense on October 27th, 2025
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Publications
Praveen S Vulimiri, Shane Garner, Albert C. To (2026). Process-aware topology optimization leveraging deep learning surrogate model-based functions for laser powder bed fusion. AddMa.
PDF DOI
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.
PDF DOI
Praveen S Vulimiri, Hao Deng, Florian Dugast, Xiaoli Zhang, Albert C. To (2021). Integrating Geometric Data into Topology Optimization via Neural Style Transfer. ma.
PDF DOI
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