Vice Chancellor

Professor (Dr.) Bhrigu Nath Singh

(Vice Chancellor)

Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University

Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India

Fursatganj Airfield, Amethi, Uttar Pradesh - 229302

Email: vc[at]rgnau[dot]ac[dot]in

Ph : 0535-2978065

(Campus: Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University )

Professor Bhrigu Nath Singh (FAScT, FIE, MIE, MISTE) is the Vice Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University (RGNAU)-A Central University at Fursatganj, Amethi with effect from 22nd August, 2024. Prior to it, he served as the Director General, IITRAM University at Ahmedabad- A State University of Govt of Gujarat (2023-24). Prof. Singh is a Full Professor (HAG) on lien, Department of Aerospace Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) Kharagpur. Prof. Singh has completed his Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) in Civil Engineering (MNNIT Allahabad-erstwhile MLNREC) in 1990, Master of Engineering (M.E.) in Analysis and Design (MNNIT Allahabad- erstwhile MLNREC) in 1992 and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering (IIT Kanpur) in 2001. He is the Former HAL Chair Professor (2018-21), Former Head of Aerospace Engineering Department (2013-16), Former Dean of HR (2016-2020), Former founder Director of three Section-8 companies and former officiating Registrar (2018-2020) at IIT Kharagpur, India and Former Director of Institute of Defence Studies and Research Foundation (IDSR)- A Section-8 company of IITRAM, Gujarat Govt. and Gujarat University (2023-24). Prof. Singh has been Secretary of Board of Governors (BoG), Senate, Finance Committee, Building and Works Committee (B & WC) and Human Resource (HR) Committee of IIT Kharagpur during 2018-20 and played very important and key roles in the functioning of the Institute of Eminence (IoE). Prof. Singh has been a member of 5-member IOE team of IIT Kharagpur along with the Director at national level and participated in the presentation of IOE proposal before the High Powered Expert Committee of GOI. Prof. Singh has coordinated several external projects/reviews of IIT Kharagpur such as IOE, Viswajeet project, Departmental peer review (2014), Institute peer review (2014), etc. 

Prof. Singh is a fellow of West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology (FAScT, India), fellow of Institute of Engineers (IE, India), member of Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE, India). He is also the Associate Editor of Sadhana Journal of Springer publications and Editor of International Journal of Aerospace System Engineering and was Guest Lead Editor for new Special Collection on Load Bearing Components in Composite Structures since 2017, 2016 and 2019-20 respectively. Prof. Singh is a member of the Academic Council, Gujarat Technical University since 2024, member of Academic Senate of NIT Jamshedpur since 2023 and member of the Board of Studies of MNNIT Allahabad since 2023. Prof. Singh was a member of Aerospace Resource Panel of the DRDO, New Delhi, India at national level during 2013-16. Prof Singh has been member in selection committee/board of IISc, IITs, NITs and University for selection of faculty, Deputy Director, Registrar and non-faculty posts. 

Prof. Singh has more than 31 years of teaching and research experience in the institutes of national importance in India and abroad. Prof. Singh is working in the area of Aerospace Structures and Design, Solid Mechanics, Stress, Composite Structures, 3D Textile Composites, CNT, FGM, Damage Mechanics, Aeroealsticity and its Uncertainty Quantification. Prof. Singh has developed several stochastic and deterministic mathematical models and its applications in the structural components made of laminated and smart composites and 3D textile composites and FGM in aerospace applications. Issues and concerns related to nonlinear problems in both random and deterministic environments in composite structures have been handled by Prof. Singh extensively and are being largely applied by the research community around the world. 

Prof. Singh has so far published 183 papers in the International Journals of repute such as AIAA J, ASME J, ASCE J, JSV, CM, CS, IJMS, IJNM etc. and more than 124 papers mostly in refereed International Conference proceedings/book chapters/ and one edited book on Lecture notes in Mechanical Engineering (Springer). Prof. Singh has been listed in World’s Top 2% scientists-researchers brought out by Stanford University, USA and Elsevier publications in 2021.  Prof. Singh is also listed in top 50 researchers in India (ranked at 47th position) and also ranks 1947th in the World in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering brought out by the Research.Com (2024) and; was also listed in Research.com rankings for the years 2022 & 2023 based on the quality and impactful Journal publications. Prof. Singh is listed among top about 10 researchers within IIT Kharagpur in terms of the journal publications in Engineering and among about top 25 researchers in terms of journal publications across the disciplines at IIT Khargapur having faculty strength of around 770+ as per Scopus database.

Prof. Singh has organised so far five international conferences and edited their proceedings having mostly ISBN (ICTACEM 2007, 2010, 2014, 2017 & 2021) in which about 250 delegates from India and abroad attended in each of its editions. Prof. Singh has been organising Secretary of ICTACEM 2010, Conference Chair of ICTACEM 2014 and Technical Chair of ICTACEM 2017 respectively and Vice-chairman & Secretary of Joint Conference of ICTACEM, APCATS and AJSAE 2021 & AeSI. His h-index and i-index are 47 and 150 respectively in Google scholar (GS), h-index is 43 in Scopus and citations more than 6762 in Google Scholars and 5755 in Scopus index (as on Aug-2024), which reflects the hard work and devotion towards research in the narrow field of aerospace engineering and other allied fields. He has guided 24 Ph.D. including one submitted, 61 M. Tech and several B. Tech students so far and is currently supervising 01 Ph.D. student. 

Prof. Singh has put forth his knowledge and ideas in some of the best Journals handling in the areas of aerospace (composite) and mechanical engineering and civil engineering as reviewer such as AIAA J, ASME J, ASCE, JSV, IJMS, CS, etc. Prof. Singh is listed among Top researchers in the area of uncertainty quantification in Analysis and Design of Composite Structures etc. in Scopus/Web of Science. His several research articles have been listed as most cited papers in the reputed Journals such as Finite elements in Analysis & Design, Composite Structures, AIAA Journal, Aerospace Science & Technology, and International Journal of Mechanical Sciences etc.

Prof. Singh has been deeply involved in the research and development and carried out many such projects. He has been reviewers of many projects on the research and development of DST, DRDO, ISRO and SPARC. Prof. Singh has been also involved as Principal Investigator (PI) in handling several sponsored research projects of DRDO, ARDB, ISRO and development projects of DST valued about Rs. 4.5 Crores so far. Prof. Singh has been very instrumental in strengthening research facilities of the department as a faculty and Head of the Department. Prof Singh has also imparted training of research personnel in different fields of Aerospace Science & Technology and he was also involved in several high value amounting about Rs. 91 Lakhs academic trainings programme for HAL design and management trainees and one for Korean students as coordinator and principal coordinator.  

Prof. Singh is well known for grooming under graduate and post graduate students to carry out research and build up their career through research route. Several students of Prof. Singh are working as faculty members in best Institutions/organisations including three in IITs, two in NITs; four as scientists in ISRO & DRDO, 12 as faculty in top NIRF ranked national universities etc. and many also in very good private companies around the world.