Dr Saikat Dutta

Profile

I am a lecturer at the School of Mechanical Engineering focusing on Automotive Engineering. I am a Chartered Engineer and a Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. I have previously held academic positions at different universities in the UK and South Korea after completing my doctoral research at IIT Kharagpur, India.

As a researcher in the field of vehicle dynamics and mechatronics, I am always keen on solving engineering problems with an innovative approach. My research expertise includes developing adaptive controllers for smart automotive suspension, steering systems, torque vectoring of electric vehicles, and autonomous vehicles. Previously, I have researched Railways through a number of collaborative projects, such as the REPOINT, In2Rail, In2Track2, S-Code, funded by RSSB, and Shift2Rail where my research was primarily focused on developing novel railway track switches.

My academic experience includes teaching, supervision, and curriculum development. Through my employment, I have worked and supervised a range of research projects on automotive and railway mechatronic systems focusing on suspension systems, actuator design, dynamic modelling, electric vehicles, and autonomous vehicles. My recent works are looking at the dynamics and control of automotive suspension systems, vehicle handling, and connected and autonomous vehicles using software such as MATLAB/Simulink, Simscape, and Simpack. I am also interested in the application of machine learning in automotive systems. 

I am seeking motivated PhD students to join my research group. I am particularly interested in students with a strong background in dynamics and/or control engineering. If you are interested in pursuing a PhD in these areas, please feel free to contact me to discuss your research interests.

Responsibilities

• Academic Integrity Officer of the School

Research interests

• Vehicle Dynamics Characteristics in Electric Vehicles – Torque Vectoring, Smart Suspension System, Anti-lock Braking System, Active Steering System

• Controller Development Aspects of Automated Driving – Robust path planning, Longitudinal and Lateral Controller Development, Integrated Vehicle Platooning  

• Actuator Development – High-Redundant Actuation system, Fault-tolerant Controller Development

• Vibration Analysis –  Nonlinear Vibration Isolators, Catenary Vibration

Qualifications

• PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India
• MTech in Mechanical Systems Design, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India
• BE (Hons.) in Mechanical Engineering, Bengal Engineering and Science University Shibpur, India

Professional memberships

• Member of Institution of Mechanical Engineers
• Associate Fellow of Higher Education Academy

Student education

MECH3890 Individual Engineering Project 

MECH3470 Vehicle Design and Analysis

XJME3470 Vehicle Design and Analysis

Research groups and institutes

• Institute of Thermofluids