Residence India Fields Chemistry | Nationality Indian Field Chemistry | |
Born 27 September 1967 (age 49)
Salem, Tamil Nadu ( 1967-09-27 ) | ||
Giridhar Madras is an Indian professor at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
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Early life and education
Madras speaks four languages, English, Hindi, Tamil, and Kannada. Madras received his chemical engineering degree from Indian Institute of Technology at Madras in 1990. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University, United States, in 1994. Subsequently, he worked in the University of California at Davis, USA. He returned to India as an Assistant Professor of chemical engineering at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1998.
Profession
Since 2007, he has been a Full Professor at the Chemical Engineering Department. He is also an associate faculty in Solid State and Structural Chemistry and a participative faculty in the Interdisciplinary Center for Energy Research.
Madras has a reputation as a great teacher. He states that "Research is exciting for me because of my students. If I am able inspire my students, then it is exciting,especially when my students have discovered something new. I believe that in science, we will always find something new. The results of most of our experiments are almost always surprising. Students motivate me to do well and if they benefit from my teaching, it is the best inspiration." He adds, "I believe that, no matter what, you have to do your best. My grandfather used to say, 'It's no disgrace to be a sweeper. But it's a disgrace to be a sweeper and not sweep well. I believe that, if you do it well, you will enjoy any profession and, if you enjoy your profession, you will perform well. Be simple, sincere, straightforward and spiritual.' He believes that if you listen to your inner calling and have passion for what you do, you will always find time to do that and be successful in that." Madras has graduated 30 Ph.D students and 40 master's students.
He has been elected fellow of all the science and engineering academies of India and was recently given the IISc excellence award in teaching and research. He has published more than 400 international journal articles, which have more than 13000 citations and is among the most cited engineering scientists in India. He is listed by Web of Science as among the top 1% of all scientists in the world. He is currently the associate editor of several journals with various publishers including RSC advances (RSC), Advanced powder technology (Elsevier), Bulletin of Material Science (Springer), Current Science (Indian Academy) and International journal of polymer science (Hindawi).
Research interests
Madras's research interests are in the area of reaction engineering applied to polymers, supercritical fluids, and catalysis. His research group focuses on reaction kinetics, as applied to various systems and processes. The research group’s approach is to develop several new materials that are used as catalysts for known reactions. He proposes new reaction pathways/ mechanisms providing the research community with a method to develop new materials with superior properties. In this regard, his research group has synthesized new materials that work as photocatalysts for the degradation of a wide variety of dyes and organics that are common pollutants in waste water. He has also developed new catalysts for the three way catalysis for the NO+CO reaction and CO and hydrocarbon oxidation and proposed new mechanisms governing these reactions. His work on polymer degradation wherein the polymers are converted to useful products such as the monomers or fuel oils has been well received. Madras also collaborates extensively with colleagues in Indian Institute of Science. His collaboration has resulted in varied research in the interdisciplinary field of chemistry and materials. Specifically, his collaborations have resulted in the work on new biomaterials based on polymers for drug delivery and tissue engineering; development of new polymers as encapsulants for solar cells; preparation of novel polymers for membranes and electromagnetic shielding; catalysts for specific selective reactions and several other projects. Newspapers have carried stories of his research on broken bones, developing heart and brain cells, organic electronics devices, drug delivery devices, artificial life savers. Madras has authored an article in the Science journal on Graphene Infused Packaging
In a call made to Indian scientists by the Prime Minister of India, Madras's name had found its way
Awards and recognition
In recognition of his work, Madras has received the following awards:
Personal life
In addition to scientific research, he writes a popular blog and maintains a website that answers questions for prospective faculty who want to return to India.Giridhar Madras. "Giridhar Madras Blog". Retrieved 21 August 2016. In his free time, he reads, translates Sanskrit literature and writes on Hindu philosophy.Giridhar Madras. "Site". Retrieved 21 August 2016.