Kaveeshan Thurairajah

Kaveeshan Thurairajah is a Canadian mechanical engineering researcher and doctoral student at the University of Waterloo. He is known for research on fluid mechanics and for his work on urinal designs intended to reduce Splashback.

Education and research

Thurairajah studied mechanical engineering at the University of Waterloo and completed a Bachelor of Applied Science with a minor in physics in 2023. He subsequently became a doctoral student in mechanical and mechatronics engineering at the university. While an undergraduate, Thurairajah worked under the supervision of mechanical engineering professor Zhao Pan on research into splashback from urinals. The project used fluid dynamics, mathematical modelling, differential equations, and experimental testing to investigate how liquid streams behave when they strike a surface.

Splash-free urinal research

Thurairajah was the lead author of a 2025 study published in PNAS Nexus titled "Splash-free urinals for global sustainability and accessibility: Design through physics and differential equations". The research examined the relationship between the angle of impact and splashback and proposed urinal geometries designed to guide liquid along a surface more smoothly. The study presented several designs, including Nautilus, a curved design inspired by the shape of a nautilus shell, and Cornucopia. The researchers reported that splashback could be greatly reduced when the liquid stream struck the surface at a shallow angle, approximately 30 degrees or less, under the conditions tested. The researchers identified possible applications of the work in improving restroom hygiene, reducing cleaning requirements, and developing more accessible restroom designs.

Ig Nobel Prize

In 2026, Thurairajah, Zhao Pan, Randy Hurd, and Tadd Truscott received the Ig Nobel Prize in Physics for "theoretical and experimental attempts to design a splash-free urinal". The award ceremony took place in Zürich, Switzerland, on 3 September 2026. The University of Waterloo reported that Thurairajah and Pan attended the ceremony wearing yellow raincoats. The award and the research were covered by international media, including Agence France-Presse and Euronews.

Selected publication

Thurairajah, Kaveeshan; Song, Xianyu; Zhu, J. D.; Shi, Mia; Barlow, Ethan A.; Hurd, Randy C.; Pan, Zhao (2025). "Splash-free urinals for global sustainability and accessibility: Design through physics and differential equations". PNAS Nexus. 4 (4): pgaf087. doi:10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf087. PubMed Central: PMC11976717.