He is a professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the founding director of the Applied Physics Research Group at the University of Florida.

[9] Subrata Roy's research and scientific work encompasses computational fluid dynamics (CFD), plasma physics, heat transfer, magnetohydrodynamics, electric propulsion, and micro/nanoscale flows.

[1] In 2003, Roy incorporated Knudsen's theory that handles surface collisions of molecules by diffusive and specular reflections into hydrodynamic models,[10][11][12] which has been used in shale gas seepage studies.

[17][18][19] Roy is known for introducing various novel designs and configurations of plasma actuators for applications in mitigation of flow drag related fuel consumption,[20][21][22] noise reduction, and active film cooling of turbine blades and propulsion.

[2] Roy serves as a nation appointed member to the NATO Science and Technology Organisation working group on plasma actuator technologies;[38] a member of the editorial board of Scientific Reports-Nature; and, an Associate Editor of Frontiers in Physics, Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences, and Journal of Fluid Flow, Heat and Mass Transfer.