E Natarajan,dean of Anna University’s College of Engineering, Guindy, passed away on Thursday, following a cardiac arrest. He was 52.

Natarajan is survived by two daughters and a son.

A postgraduate from IIT-Madras on Combustion and Propulsion, Natarajan began his career as lecturer in the then Vellore Engineering College in the 1990s and has later worked in SRM Engineering College before joining Anna University’s department of mechanical engineering.

As he worked, he obtained a doctorate in renewable energy from Anna University and specialised in research on renewable energy. His research area was in biomass gasification & pyrolysis, solar PV system design and optimization, solar thermal – PV Systems, energy efficient buildings and heat exchangers and power plants.

He also co-authored several papers on different facets of renewable energy and its technology in internationally renowned journals.