Ranjeeth R. Naik, Ph.D.
I design and validate thermal systems for automotive electronics and lighting hardware — from chip-level heat sinks to full vehicle thermal architecture. Away from the simulations, I write fiction: my debut novel, The Echo Chamber, is out now.
The Echo Chamber
Twenty years ago, a girl got into a car and vanished. Nobody found her. Everybody stopped looking. A psychological thriller.
About
Engineer by training, novelist on the side — the short version of how those fit together.
Read more →Experience
11+ years across automotive electronics cooling, lighting thermal systems, HVAC co-simulation, and CFD research.
View roles →Research
18 journal and conference publications on thermal management and heat transfer, plus certifications spanning CFD, data science, and applied AI.
Read publications →AI
Generative AI, machine learning, and data science credentials built alongside the engineering work.
See credentials →Tools
Free browser-based calculators for thermal and simulation work — starting with a thermal resistance network builder.
Try them →Writing
My debut novel, The Echo Chamber, is out now — written alongside the day job.
See what's on the desk →Articles
Short pieces on thermal engineering, simulation, and whatever else is worth writing down.
Read articles →Contact
Email, LinkedIn, and my Google Scholar profile — the quickest ways to reach me.
Reach out →About
The short version: engineer by training, and a novelist on the side.
I'm a mechanical engineer with a Ph.D. from Michigan Technological University, where my research focused on the computational modeling of condensing and boiling flows — the physics of how heat actually moves through a cooling system. The work was funded by NSF and NASA, and much of it meant building simulation tools from scratch, then proving they matched what the lab rig did.
That research turned into a career. Over eleven-plus years I've moved across the automotive industry: CFD and meshing at BETA CAE, then nearly nine years at North American Lighting, where I ended up leading the thermal group for exterior lighting programs, and later 1-D HVAC and cabin-comfort co-simulation at Stellantis. Today I'm a Senior Thermal Hardware Engineer at General Motors, working on Central Compute Unit hardware for GM's software-defined vehicle architecture — in plain terms, keeping the computers that run a modern car from cooking themselves.
Outside of engineering, I write fiction. My debut novel, The Echo Chamber, co-written with Chandrika Abhang, published July 29, 2026 — a psychological thriller, and about as far from heat transfer as I could get. It's on the Writing page.
At a glance
Experience
Eleven years across automotive electronics cooling, lighting thermal systems, and CFD-driven design — plus the graduate research at Michigan Tech that built the foundation.
Professional Experience
- Thermal lead on Central Compute Unit (CCU) projects supporting GM's next-generation Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) architecture, driving simulation-based thermal design and validation.
- Performs thermal analysis for exterior lighting applications to assess performance under operating conditions.
- Collaborates with cross-functional design teams to integrate thermal requirements into unit-level hardware design.
- Performed 1-D HVAC system simulations using AMESIM and GT-Suite to evaluate system performance.
- Conducted co-simulations integrating MATLAB Simulink with Cabin CFD (STAR-CCM+, TAITHERM) to optimize thermal comfort and control strategies.
- Collaborated with powertrain and propulsion teams to define boundary conditions for integrated thermal management.
- Consults on CFD/CHT simulation projects for university research and industrial clients.
- Advises small businesses on adopting AI tools to streamline operations and improve efficiency.
- Partnered with SimScale as a Power User to develop conjugate heat transfer tutorials and provide software development feedback.
- Serves as a technical resource for the user community, resolving complex simulation issues.
- Led thermal analysis of exterior automotive lighting projects and supervised a team across thermal simulation, thermal testing, and optical sunlight-convergence simulation.
- Managed resource allocation and project prioritization for on-time delivery; represented the thermal group in design reviews.
- Developed process improvements for simulation methodology and testing accuracy; mentored team members through weekly support meetings.
- Led thermal analysis of exterior lighting projects, mentoring junior engineers on simulation and testing.
- Investigated tool enhancements and developed simulation guidelines for process standardization.
- Performed thermal analysis using Simcenter3D NX-Thermal and FLOEFD, focused on radiation and conjugate heat transfer for component durability.
- Evaluated thermal feasibility of LED/LDM electronics and solar convergence effects on Class A surfaces.
- Developed work instructions per OEM and FMVSS standards; conducted DV thermal testing and validation.
- Wrote Python scripts to support CAE software technology development.
- Conducted CFD and thermal analysis of automotive components using Fluent, OpenFOAM, and Radtherm.
- Prepared high-fidelity CFD grids using ANSA; contributed to surface-wrapping and meshing benchmarks.
- Developed ANSA Kinetics workflows for vehicle ride-height setup, demonstrated at the 2016 North America Open Meeting.
Education
Academic Research Experience
- Research on two-phase flows in thermal management systems, focused on boiling and condensing flows; funded by NSF and NASA under Prof. Amitabh Narain.
- Developed steady and unsteady algorithms for direct numerical simulation of internal condensing flows using COMSOL and MATLAB, validated against MTU lab experimental data.
- Studied destabilizing wave growth to predict transition from annular to non-annular flow regimes, and the role of gravity and surface tension in space-based and electronic cooling applications.
- Built a 1-D engineering tool based on coupled non-linear ODEs for annular flow boiling, used for heat-transfer estimates in experiment design.
- Authored proposals for federal agencies and industry on condensers and boilers for space, data center, and electronic cooling applications.
Teaching Experience
- Part of the instructor team teaching external/internal convection, heat exchangers, and radiation; administered quizzes, assignments, and exams.
- Presented computational heat transfer topics and tutorials to graduate students; designed assignments and graded coursework.
- Presented CFD topics and demonstrated pipe-flow tools covering pressure drop and related variables.
- Instructed students in DAQ and transducer calibration experiments spanning calorimetry, heat exchangers, and water rockets; provided feedback on written reports.
Research
Thermal system design and validation for automotive and electronics cooling applications, computational fluid dynamics and conjugate heat transfer, and simulation-driven engineering design methodology — with a research background in two-phase heat transfer (boiling and condensation).
Journal Articles
Conference Papers & Proceedings
Honors & Awards
- Doctoral Finishing Fellowship, Michigan Tech (2014–2015)
- Exceptional Graduate Student Scholar Award, Michigan Tech (2014)
- Outstanding Scholarship Award, Michigan Tech (2014)
- Best Paper Award, COMSOL Conference 2013, Boston
- Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award, Michigan Tech (2011)
Service & Affiliations
- Technical Paper Reviewer, SAE World Congress (2019–2026)
- Member & Volunteer, Society of Automotive Engineers
- Peer Reviewer, ASME IMECE (2009, 2012–2014) & ASME Summer Heat Transfer Conference (2013)
Certifications
- Product Management: An Introduction, IBM — July 2025
- Foundations of Project Management, Google — August 2021
- DaVinci Resolve 16: Certified End User, Blackmagic Design — May 2020
- DaVinci Resolve 15: Advanced Editing Certified End User, Blackmagic Design — May 2020
- MTI001x: Managing Disruptive Change, RWTH Aachen University — November 2017
AI, machine learning, and data credentials are listed on the AI page.
Technical Skills
Simulation Software
Engineering & Programming Tools
Technical Domains
AI
Alongside thermal engineering, I've been building a working knowledge of generative AI, machine learning, and data science — and applying it in my own simulation, analysis, and automation work.
Generative AI & LLMs
Data Science & Programming
Tools
Small, self-contained calculators for thermal and simulation work — the kind of first-pass estimate you'd otherwise rebuild in a spreadsheet every time. Free to use, nothing to install, and everything runs in your browser.
More tools are in progress — each one opens in its own page and works offline once loaded.
Writing
Away from thermal models and boundary conditions, I write fiction.
The Echo Chamber
Twenty years ago, a girl got into a car and vanished. Nobody found her. Everybody stopped looking.
Elena Vance is a disgraced journalist with nothing left but a true-crime podcast recorded out of a closet, and one message that's about to change everything.
An anonymous tip. A cold case. A story that could give her everything back.
She doesn't ask who sent it.
She doesn't ask what happens after.
As her audience explodes into the millions, Elena tears through a small town that already buried this story once: a police chief hiding behind an election, a lonely man hiding behind a locked door, a detective who never stopped believing the girl was still out there.
Somewhere along the way, finding the truth stops being the point.
Winning the audience does.
But the deeper Elena digs, the clearer one thing becomes: she isn't the only one watching this case.
She just doesn't know who else is.
A propulsive psychological thriller for readers who love true crime, unreliable narrators, and a twist you won't see coming until it's already too late.
Get it on Amazon →Articles
Short pieces on thermal engineering, simulation practice, and the occasional detour.
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Contact
Email, LinkedIn, and my publication record.