Dr. Sudhir ‘Sid’ Kumar is Founder, Chairman and President of Tranergy Corporation, Bensenville, IL, a company dedicated to innovative technology for improving railroad energy efficiency, productivity, and safety. He is a recognized world authority in mechanics of wheel rail interaction. Dr. Kumar was the Director of the Academy of Railroad Engineering and a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology for 24 years and Chairman for eight years. Prior to that, he was an Associate Director of Engineering Sciences in the U.S. Army Research Office and also served on the Civil Engineering Faculty of Duke University. Dr. Kumar served as an Advisor to the Ministry of Railways of China and India. He trained railway officers from China, India, Africa, and the Middle East. He also started Friction Management Services, LLC, a joint venture of Tranergy and Timken Co. Dr. Kumar invented and developed several systems currently used by railroads. These include TracGlide, YardGlide, SwitchEnhancer, CurvGlide, and SwitchCurvGlide.

Dr. Kumar has a Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics from Penn State (1958); a Masters degree from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; and a second M.S. from Agra University. He has authored over 60 research papers and 14 patents.

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