IIT-M professor gets international recognition

He is one of the sevenfellows in the world to be elected in the field of Chemistry to the Fellowship of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) based in Trieste, Italy. The professor was also elected to American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), based in Washington DC, U.S.A.

The AAAS, founded in 1848, elects fellows from all areas of Science, Engineering, Medicine and Social Sciences. Around 416 fellows were elected globally this year. TWAS, founded in 1983, is an academy of distinguished scientists and engineers, chosen mostly from developing nations with a fellowship base of about 1,200 from 90 countries. Around 46 fellows from across the world were elected this year.

The professor, along with Deepak Parekh, institute chair professor, Chemistry department, IIT Madras, has been recognised for his distinguished contributions to the field of Materials Chemistry and for discovering, developing and implementing solutions for affordable clean water.

Speaking about the recognition, the professor said, “Recognitions of this kind are important and they will enhance the quality and quantity of science.”

His technology has helped in delivering drinking water to nine million people in the country each day. He has discovered new chemistry concepts that have become the basis of these technologies and has incubated multiple companies to convert such science to products.

He has published 430 papers in journals, authored several books and is an inventor of close to 100 patents which have resulted in benefits of over Rs 500 crore to the nation. He has trained over 250 researchers and has received several Indian and international recognitions and holds visiting positions across the world.