Dr Isha Gupta specialises in materials failure, with a particular focus on the effects of high temperatures on coatings. While her own research focuses on the next-generation coatings for aerospace applications, her expertise is applicable in any industry where coatings are subjected to extreme heat conditions or thermal shocks.
Isha provides additional expertise for client projects involving the performance or failure of coatings under severe thermomechanical loads. She combines experimental methods with finite element modelling to characterise and analyse coating properties, microstructure, and damage, using cutting-edge University of Southampton facilities including the Advanced Microscopy, Testing and Structures Research Laboratory, and the µ-VIS X-Ray Imaging Centre.
Dr Isha Gupta
Before joining the University of Southampton in 2024, Isha was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where her research focused on developing thermal-shock resistant coatings for space applications. She received her PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, working on high-temperature degradation of oxide films. She has previously contributed to feasibility studies on a rocket nozzle coating for Agile Space Industries and design of composite fan blades for GE9x jet engine.