Upadrasta Ramamurty

Upadrasta Ramamurty
Born	1967 Andhra Pradesh, India
Nationality	Indian
Education	Brown University, 1994, Ph.D Indian Institute of Science, 1991, Master of Engineering Andhra University, 1989, Bachelor of Engineering
Scientific career
Fields	Materials science, Mechanical Engineering
Institutions	Nanyang Technological University Massachusetts Institute of Technology University of California, Santa Barbara
Doctoral advisor	Subra Suresh

Upadrasta Ramamurty (born 1967) is the President's Chair Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. Prior to joining NTU, he was a professor in the Department of Materials Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India, from 2000 to 2018.

Research Contributions

Ram is an internationally recognized leader in the field of materials engineering. Over the past three decades, 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 themes 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.

Scientific

Bulk Metallic Glasses (BMGs)

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)

Molecular Crystals / Pharmaceuticals

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)

Additively manufactured (AM) Metals

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)

Metrics and Recognition

Ram has supervised ~70 PhD and Masters students, published 320+ journal papers that received ~20,000 citations (h-index of 71), 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, and TWAS.

Leadership and International Connectivity

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 (without payment) lecture courses in Nigeria, as part of a World Bank initiative to create institutions similar to the Indian IITs in Africa.

Awards and Honors

Awards

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

• Lee Hsun Lecture Award, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2017
• TWAS Prize (Engineering Sciences), The World Academy of Sciences, 2015
• CNR Rao Prize Lecture in Advanced Materials, Materials Research Society of India, 2014
• J.C. Bose National Fellowship, Government of India, 2013 – 2018
• Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (Engineering Sciences), 2011
• Metallurgist of the Year, Metal Sciences category, Indian Institute of Metals and Ministry of Steels, Government of India, 2008
• 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

Honors

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.
• Co-chair, Fourth as well as Fifth Indo-American Frontiers of Engineering (IAFOE) Symposia, held respectively in Washington DC, USA (March 2012) and in Mysore, India (May 2014).
• Listed in Essential Science Indicators (ESI), which tracks top 1% of scientists, in the Materials Science category since July 2007.

Fellowships

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).
• Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (Elected 2012).
• Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (Elected 2010).
• Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (Elected 2010).

Membership of Committees

Ram has actively contributed to the scientific and engineering communities through his involvement in several high-profile committees, including:

• Member, Membership Advisory Committee (MAC) in Engineering Sciences, TWAS (2019 onwards).

• Member, Research Council, CSIR – National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Trivandrum, India (2017 – 2020).
• Member, Sectional Committee for Engineering, Indian Academy of Sciences (IASc) (2016 – 2018).
• Member, Sectional Committee - VI (Materials Science & Engineering), Indian National Science Academy (INSA) (2016 – 2018).
• Member, Sectional Committee - VIII (Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering), Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) (2014 – 2018).
• Member, Academic Advisory Council, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (2012 onwards).
• International Review Panel, Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development (r4d), Switzerland (2013 – 2018).
• International Review Panel, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Germany’s Priority Programmes:
  • SPP 1594: Topological Engineering of Ultrastrong Glasses (2012 – 2016).
  • SPP 2006: Compositionally Complex Alloys – High Entropy Alloys (2017 – 2021).
• Member, Scientific Committee, Materials Science Division, National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore (2011 – 2014).
• Member, International Organizing Committee, International Indentation Workshop series.
• Member, Scientific Advisory Board, International Conference on Porous Metals and Metallic Foams.
• Member, Scientific Committee, International Workshop on Flow and Fracture of Advanced Glasses

Editorial/Review Service

Ram has also been instrumental in contributing to the advancement of materials science and engineering through his editorial roles:

• Editor, Acta Materialia & Scripta Materialia (August 2014 onwards).
• Editorial Board Member, Intermetallics (2014 onwards).
• Editorial Board Member, Materials Science & Engineering A (2013 – 2016).
• Member, International Advisory Panel, Materials Research Express (2013 – 2018).
• Editorial Board Member, Emerging Materials Research (January 2012 – 2018).
• Editorial Board Member, Indian Journal of Engineering & Materials Sciences (2011 – 2013).
• Key Reader, Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A (2012 onwards).
• Associate Editor, Transactions of the Indian Institute of Metals (August 2003 – July 2006).