His research interest is in Helicopter dynamics, Floquet theory and Large-Scale and parallel computing.
Gaonkar is a recipient of American Helicopter Society's Fellow Award in 2005,[1] was the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Helicopter Society, and a member of the AHS Technical Council.
degree (1967) in Helicopter Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.
Prior to joining FAU, Gaonkar was a research professor at the University of Southern Illinois, Edwardsville and a professor of Aerospace Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
During the year 2009–2010, Gaonkar was a visiting professor at Washington University in St. Louis, his alma mater.