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Contact Information
| Name | Prakash Thakolkaran |
| Professional Title | Postdoctoral Scientist |
| tprakash@ethz.ch |
Experience
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2025 - present Zurich, Switzerland
Postdoctoral Scientist
ETH Zurich
Large-scale generative modeling of graph-based metamaterials; interpretable analysis of ferroelectric structure–property relationships.
- Generative modeling of graph-based metamaterials
- Ferroelectric structure-property relationship analysis
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2021 - 2021 Zurich, Switzerland
Research Assistant
ETH Zurich
Developed property-guided generative models for complex shell-based metamaterials using language-inspired sequence modeling approaches.
- Property-guided generative modeling
- Language-inspired sequence modeling
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2019 - 2020 Zurich, Switzerland
Development Engineer Intern
Helbling Technik AG
Mechanical design, prototyping, and experimental validation of robotic systems.
- Mechanical design and prototyping of complex robotic gripper
- Development of Raspberry Pi-based webcam monitoring system
Education
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2021 - 2025 Delft, The Netherlands
Ph.D.
Delft University of Technology
Mechanical Engineering
- Advisors: Prof. Dr. Siddhant Kumar, Prof. Dr. Marcel H.F. Sluiter
- Topic: Data-driven design and modeling of complex materials across scales
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2018 - 2021 Zurich, Switzerland
M.Sc.
ETH Zurich
Mechanical Engineering
- Thesis: Language-based modeling of triply periodic metamaterials
- Advisors: Prof. Dennis Kochmann, Prof. Siddhant Kumar
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2015 - 2018 Zurich, Switzerland
B.Sc.
ETH Zurich
Mechanical Engineering
- Thesis: 3D fabrication of fully iron magnetic microrobots
- Advisor: Prof. Bradley J. Nelson
Awards
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2022 Finalist, Robert J. Melosh Medal
Duke University
Selected as one of six finalists at Duke University for outstanding research in finite element modeling.
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2022 Invited Speaker, Engineering Mechanics Symposium
Engineering Mechanics Symposium
Delivered a workshop talk about unsupervised modeling of hyperelastic materials.
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2025 Invited Speaker, AI4S3M2
Lorentz Center Leiden University
Delivered a workshop talk about attention score analysis to reveal structure-property relationships in covalent organic frameworks.
Skills
Programming (Advanced): Python, MATLAB
Tools & Frameworks (Advanced): Git, Jupyter, LaTeX, Linux, PyTorch, Keras, pandas, numpy
Languages
Swiss German : Native
German : Native
English : Fluent
Malayalam : Native
Interests
Materials Science: Metamaterials, Data-driven design, Inverse design, Structure-property relationships
Machine Learning: Generative modeling, Physics-constrained learning, Interpretable AI
Hobbies: Hiking, Basketball, Gaming, Espresso brewing