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.
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 deformationâÂÂover a range of length scalesâÂÂfracture mechanics and physical metallurgy. Few of his accomplishments are highlighted below.
Metallic glasses exhibit attractive combinations of mechanical propertiesâÂÂparticularly 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. ()
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 mechanicsâÂÂdespite the potential importance.àRam has used his expertise in fine scale mechanical testingâÂÂparticularly nanoindentationâÂÂto obtain valuable insights and establish structure-property correlations in molecular crystals. ()
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. ()
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.âÂÂthe premier materials engineering journal.àHe 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.
Ram has also overseen a large number of high-value projectsâÂÂmajority 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.àHe 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:
Ram has also been recognized for his contributions and expertise with several notable honors, including:
Ram has been recognized for his significant contributions to science and engineering through election to prestigious fellowships in several distinguished academies:
Ram has actively contributed to the scientific and engineering communities through his involvement in several high-profile committees, including:
Ram has also been instrumental in contributing to the advancement of materials science and engineering through his editorial roles: