Website of Dr. Gaurav Nilakantan
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About Me.

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Dr. Gaurav Nilakantan is a composite materials subject matter expert (SME) and a Boeing Designated Expert (BDE). He currently works at Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T) supporting Boeing Space & Launch programs primarily Boeing Satellites out of its El Segundo, California site. He is a Senior Composites M&P Engineer and serves as the Composites Technical Lead Engineer (TLE) for the El Segundo M&P group. He was awarded a BR&T Performance & Innovation Award (PI Award) in 2019, the same year he joined Boeing. Dr. Nilakantan focuses on technological and organizational transformation to continuously accelerate and mainstream enterprise-wide innovation, improvement, and productivity to enhance Boeing’s competitiveness. His various enterprise-wide initiatives and contributions at Boeing have resulted in major technology and business impact.

Dr. Nilakantan holds a PhD degree in Materials Science and Engineering, and Masters and Bachelors degrees in Mechanical Engineering. He has completed certificate courses in Leadership at all Levels (MIT), Accounting and Finance for the Non-Finance Manager (UCSD), and Six Sigma Green Belt for Process Improvement (USC). He has worked both in scientist and engineer type roles as part of his career spanning industry and academia. He joined Boeing in 2019, prior to that he worked as a Research Scientist at Teledyne Scientific & Imaging in Thousand Oaks, CA. His extensive breadth and depth of composites research work and first-author technical publications including >20 first-author journal papers have spanned the manufacturing, experimental characterization, and finite element modeling of textiles, polymer matrix composites, and ceramic matrix composites for armor, aerospace, space, and hypersonics applications. He has previously made both seminal and major research contributions in the field of composites. He has previously served as the PI/PM on DoD-funded CRAD programs and industry-funded IRAD programs, and closely collaborated with several DoD government agencies. He is extensively networked with government, industry, and academia. He has previously served as a symposium organizer and session chair at various technical conferences, and served as a reviewer for various technical journals. He has won various awards over the course of his career including a best university doctoral dissertation award.

Gaurav is a US citizen and lives in Los Angeles, California. He enjoys Los Angeles' beaches, hiking, basketball, and entertainment.

Education and Certifications

  • PhD, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, 2011
  • MS, Mechanical Engineering, University of Cincinnati, 2006
  • BE, Mechanical Engineering, Visveswaraiah Technological University (India), 2003

  • Leadership at All Levels, Massachusetts Institute of Technology xPRO, 2020
  • Accounting and Finance for the Non-Finance Manager, University of California San Diego, 2020
  • Six Sigma Green Belt for Process Improvement, University of Southern California, 2019

Work Experience

  • Sr. Composites M&P Engineer
    Composites Technical Lead Engineer

    Boeing Research & Technology
    El Segundo, CA

  • Research Scientist
    Teledyne Scientific & Imaging
    Thousand Oaks, CA

  • Senior Research Associate
    University of  Southern California
    Los Angeles, CA

  • Research Associate
    University of  Delaware
    Newark, DE

May 2019 - present



Feb 2015 - May 2019


Nov 2012 - Feb 2015


Dec 2010 - Oct 2012


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