Prof. Rajamani (Raj) Gounder received his BS in Chemical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin in 2006, where his interest in catalysis was sparked while performing research under Jim Dumesic. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from UC-Berkeley in 2011 under the guidance of Enrique Iglesia, and then completed a postdoctoral stay at Caltech with Mark Davis. He started his faculty career at Purdue in 2013, and is currently the R. Norris and Eleanor Shreve Professor in Chemical Engineering and the Director of the Purdue Catalysis Center.

Raj's research group studies the kinetic and mechanistic details of catalytic reactions, the design of zeolites and porous materials with tailored site and surface properties, and the development of methods to characterize and titrate active sites in catalytic surfaces. His research group has been recognized by the PECASE award, the Sloan Research Fellowship, the Early Career in Catalysis Award from the ACS CATL Division, and the Rutherford Aris Award from ISCRE.

Raj has also served as president and director of the Catalysis Club of Chicago, and co-organized technical programs for the North American Catalysis Society Meeting and the AIChE CRE Division.