In a proud moment for the University of Hyderabad, Prof. Rajadurai Chandrasekar, School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad (UoH), has been elected as a Fellow of the National Academy (FNA) by the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), effective from Jan 2027. This prestigious honor, among the highest Fellowship recognitions in Indian science, celebrates individuals who have made exceptional and transformative contributions to research and technological advancement.
With this fellowship, Prof. R. Chandrasekar joins the distinguished ranks of Fellows of all three National Science Academies of India. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UK. His research excellence has earned him recognition among the world’s top 2% of scientists in Nanoscience and Technology, as identified in the Stanford University global ranking. He is the recipient of several prestigious honors, including the SERB-STAR Research Award, the Materials Research Society of India (MRSI) Medal, and the YIM Boston Young Scientist Award, recognizing his significant contributions to Materials Science. With an H-index of 47, he has established an impressive record of high-impact research and sustained scholarly contributions.
Prof. Chandrasekar serves on the international editorial boards of several leading journals in Materials Chemistry and Science. His research group develops miniature, all-organic photonic microsystems capable of guiding, modulating, splitting, and processing light, with applications in communication, sensing, computation, robotics, and space technologies. He pioneered the field of “Mechanophotonics,” integrating mechanical micromanipulation with crystal photonics to create all-organic photonic integrated circuits.
His current cutting-edge research focuses on AI-driven soft materials for programmable optical communication devices, supported by the prestigious J. C. Bose Grant. This interdisciplinary work integrates artificial intelligence, soft materials, and photonics to develop next-generation optical technologies with programmable functionality and broad technological relevance.