Materials are the backbone of the development of any country. The importance of materials has been realized from time immemorial to the extent that the civilizations are named after materials such as “stone-age”, “bronze-age”, “silicon-age”, etc. It has been proven over centuries that the countries that have advanced in the development of superior materials have become economically stronger and have become power centres in the world. It is important for India to focus on the development and application of advanced materials for it to become a global leader. Centuries before any of the current leading economies of the world were born, India had a great heritage in materials and has been an epicenter of advanced materials development. It is important that India focuses on the development of advanced materials for health care, energy security, infrastructure, transport, etc., for it to reinvent itself as a global leader. The speaker, in his talk, would focus on a few examples of advanced materials with immense potential that can transform India into an enviable position globally.

Prof. B.S. Murty is the Director of IIT Hyderabad from August 26, 2019. He started his academic journey with a Diploma in Metallurgy in 1983 from Govt. Polytechnic, Vijayawada. He obtained his BE (1986) from VRCE Nagpur, ME (1988) and PhD (1992) from IISc, Bangalore. After serving at IIT Kharagpur for 12 years, he has been a Professor at IIT Madras for 15 years before taking up the Director’s position at IITH. He is an Institute Professor and Girija & R. Muralidharan Chair Professor at IIT Madras. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada since 2011 and an Associate faculty of School of Engineering, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, Canada since 2016.

He has authored about 450 journal publications and 4 books. He has supervised 44 PhDs and 16 PhDs are ongoing. He has completed about 65 sponsored research projects and currently handling about 8 projects and filed 20 patents. He is an Editor of Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Metallurgical & Materials Transactions and Chief Editor of Transactions of Indian Institute of Metals.

  He is a recipient of numerous awards including Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award (2007), JC Bose Fellowship award (2018-2023),   Distinguished Alumnus Award of IISc Bangalore (2020), INAE Outstanding Teacher award (2019),   Professor Extraordinarius from University of South Africa (2021), Honorary Doctorate from Deakin University, Australia (2017), Life time Achievement Award of IIT Madras (2016), GD Birla Gold Medal (2015), Eminent Materials Engineer Award (2011), Distinguished Alumnus Award of VNIT (2010), Metallurgist of the Year Award (2004), MRSI Medal (2004), INAE Young Engineer Award (1997), INSA Young Scientist Award (1995), Young Metallurgist Award (1994), and ISCA Young Scientists Award (1992).

He is a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (FTWAS, 2018), Asia Pacific Academy of Materials (FAPAM, 2013), ASM International (FASM, 2010), Indian National Academy of Engineering (FNAE, 2007), Indian National Science Academy (FNA, 2013), Indian Academy of Sciences (FASc, 2008), National Academy of Sciences (FNASc, 2008), Electron Microscopy Society of India (FEMSI, 2020), Indian Institute of Metals (FIIM, 2015), Andhra Pradesh Academy of Sciences (FAPAS, 2016).