Sudarshan Krishnan, Ph.D.

Biography

Sudarshan Krishnan has academic and professional experience in both architecture and structural engineering. He earned his B.Arch from Sir J.J. College of Architecture, University of Mumbai, and Ph.D. in Structural Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. From 2004-2007, he was a Visiting Lecturer in the Illinois School of Architecture and ENSAV-Versailles Study Abroad Program (2004-06) in France. He joined as an Assistant Professor of Structures in 2013.

Professor Sudarshan has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on fundamentals of structures, structural systems, advanced analysis and design. His research looks for unique crossovers in geometry, architecture, and engineering. He firmly believes that (1) architecture of the future should be adaptive to serve human needs better, (2) buildings of the future will be recognized by their use of fewer resources and minimal technology, and (3) future architects and engineers may be distinguished by their designs for outer-space and not just for terrestrial architecture. In this spirit, his work focuses on lightweight structural systems and transformable structures for terrestrial and outer space applications. Professor Sudarshan is a recipient of the School of Architecture’s Excellence in Teaching Award, the College of Fine and Applied Arts’ Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, and has been consistently listed on the UIUC List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent/Outstanding by their Students for 16 different architecture and civil engineering courses. His research and teaching at the University of Illinois was recognized in the Big Ten Network’s (BTN) Stories of Innovation, Impact and Inspiration.

Professor Sudarshan is an active member of Working Group-6: Tensile and Membrane Structures, and Working Group-15: Structural Morphology, of the International Association of Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS). He serves on the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Aerospace Division’s Space Engineering and Construction Technical Committee, and the ASCE/ACI-421 Reinforced Concrete Slabs Committee. He is the past Program Chair of the Architectural Engineering Division of American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).