Upadrasta Ramamurty

Ram is an internationally recognized leader in the field of materials engineering and he has made major contributions in a range of scientific areas related to the deformation, fracture, and fatigue in several different classes of advanced materials, with the common theme of developing a deep understanding of the microstructural development, effects of thermo-mechanical processing, mechanisms of mechanical deformation—over a range of length scales—fracture mechanics and physical metallurgy. Few of his accomplishments are highlighted below.

Metallic glasses exhibit attractive combinations of mechanical properties—particularly high strength and yield strains. Ram's studies resulted in the elucidation of pressure sensitivity of plastic deformation, localization of flow into shear bands by using the bonded interface technique, embrittlement due to structural relaxation, and the mechanics and mechanisms of ductile and brittle fractures that led to the identification of the characteristic length scales that control the micromechanisms in BMGs and their composites. (cf. Acta Mater. 2007;55:4067)

Ram's work on mechanical properties of pharmaceutical products, including effects of hydration, has been ground-breaking. Many such products are agglomerated powders, but they are rarely studied in terms of mechanics—despite the potential importance.  Ram has used his expertise in fine scale mechanical testing—particularly nanoindentation—to obtain valuable insights and establish structure-property correlations in molecular crystals. (cf. Cur. Opinion in Solid State & Mat. Sci. 2016;20:361)

AM is an active area of research, given its importance in advanced manufacturing of metallic components. Ram has extensively investigated the structure-property correlations in AM alloys, with emphasis on fatigue and fracture related to structural integrity. He demonstrated as to how the multi-scale nature of the process-induced micro- and meso-structures can be exploited for designing strong, tough, and fatigue resistant alloy components. (cf Acta Mater. 2021;219:117240)

Ram has supervised ~70 PhD and Masters students, published 400+ journal papers that received ~27,600 citations (h-index of 86, see google scholar for current metrics), has given over 100 invited plenary and keynote lectures, and is an editor of Acta Mater.—the premier materials engineering journal.  He has been awarded over a dozen major prizes, notable ones being SS Bhatnagar and TWAS Prizes, both in the Engineering Sciences category. He is Fellow of INAE, INSA,^[2] and TWAS.

Ram has also overseen a large number of high-value projects—majority of them being industry-sponsored. He is leading the current national Singaporean programme on structural metals & alloys. His highly collaborative character has fostered many international links and activities.  He has held Visiting Professor positions at more than a dozen Universities and Research Centres. He has given lecture courses in The African University of Science and Technology, Nigeria, as part of a World Bank initiative to create institutions similar to the Indian IITs in Africa.

Ram has received numerous prestigious awards throughout his career, including:

• Lee Hsun Lecture Award, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2017^[3]
• TWAS Prize (Engineering Sciences), The World Academy of Sciences, 2015^[4]
• CNR Rao Prize Lecture in Advanced Materials, Materials Research Society of India, 2014^[5]
• J.C. Bose National Fellowship, Government of India, 2013 – 2018
• Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (Engineering Sciences), 2011^[6]
• Metallurgist of the Year, Metal Sciences category, Indian Institute of Metals and Ministry of Steels, Government of India, 2008^[7]
• Swarnajayanthi Fellowship (Engineering Sciences), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, 2008 – 2013
• Scopus Young Scientist, Materials Science category, 2007
• University Fellowship, Brown University, September 1991 – May 1992
• K. P. Abraham Medal (Best M.E. Project), Indian Institute of Science, 1991
• A. A. Krishnan Medal (Highest GPA in the M.E. Class of '91), Indian Institute of Science, 1991

Ram has also been recognized for his contributions and expertise with several notable honors, including:

• Speaker in the Distinguished Seminar Series of Center for Materials Processing and Tribology, Purdue University.^[8]
• Co-chair, Fourth as well as Fifth Indo-American Frontiers of Engineering (IAFOE) Symposia, held respectively in Washington DC, USA (March 2012)^[9] and in Mysore, India (May 2014).^[10]
• Listed in Essential Science Indicators (ESI), which tracks top 1% of scientists, in the Materials Science category since July 2007.^[11][12][13]

Ram has been recognized for his significant contributions to science and engineering through election to prestigious fellowships in several distinguished academies:

• Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) (Elected 2016).^[14]
• Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (Elected 2012).^[15]
• Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (Elected 2010).^[16]
• Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (Elected 2010).^[17]