Information
Membership Number: FCA3121
Membership Type: Fellowship
Division: Natural Sciences
Corresponding Email: ***rao@jncasr.ac.in
Homepage(s): https://www.jncasr.ac.in/faculty/cnrrao
Present and Previous Positions
Honorary President & Linus Pauling Research Professor Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research
Senior Academic and Leadership Appointments
Professor of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, India (1963–1976);
Head of Department; later Dean of Research of the Institute.
Founder Chairman, Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit and Materials Research Laboratory, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore (1977–1984).
Director, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore (1984–1994).
President, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore (1989–1999).
National Research Professor (India) (2006–2016).
Distinguished Professorships and Fellowships
Jawaharlal Nehru Professor, University of Cambridge; Professorial Fellow, King’s College, Cambridge (1983–1984).
Albert Einstein Research Professor (1995–1999).
Honorary Professor, Indian Institute of Science (1994– ).
Adjunct Professor of Chemistry, Purdue University, USA (2004– ).
Distinguished Research Fellow, Department of Materials Science, University of Cambridge (2007– ).
Visiting and Honorary Appointments (Selected)
Visiting Professor, Purdue University, USA (1967–1968; 1982, part).
Commonwealth Visiting Professor, University of Oxford; Fellow, St Catherine’s College, Oxford (1974–1975).
Distinguished Visiting Professor, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
Visiting Professor, Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France (1990).
Honorary Professor, University of Wales, Cardiff (1993–1997).
Distinguished Visiting Professor of Materials, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA (1995– ).
Visiting Professor, University of Southampton, UK (2007–2010).
Distinguished Visiting Professor, University of California, Berkeley, USA (2008–2011).
Distinguished Adjunct Professor, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA (2016).
Fields of Scholarship and Research Interests
Solid State and Materials Chemistry, Structural Chemistry
Some of the major areas of research are transition metal oxides and other extended inorganic solids (new synthesis and novel structures, metal-insulator transitions, CMR materials, superconductivity, multiferroics etc.), inorganic-organic hybrid materials, nanomaterials including nanotubes and graphene, and artificial photosynthesis and hydrogen generation by photocatalysis and thermal means.
Honors, Awards and Other Membership
Fellowships and Memberships of Academies (Selected)
Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences.
Fellow, Indian National Science Academy.
Fellow, National Academy of Sciences, India.
Fellow, Indian National Academy of Engineering.
Fellow, The Royal Society (London).
Foreign Associate, National Academy of Sciences (USA).
Honorary Foreign Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Foreign Member, American Philosophical Society.
Member, Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
Founding Fellow, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).
Foreign Member, Soviet (now Russian) Academy of Sciences.
Foreign Member, Polish Academy of Sciences.
Foreign Member, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.
Foreign Member, Slovenian Academy of Sciences (Ljubljana).
Foreign Member, Serbian Academy of Arts & Sciences (Yugoslavia).
Honorary Foreign Member, Korean Academy of Science & Technology.
Foreign Member, Academia Europaea.
Titular Member, European Academy of Arts, Sciences & Humanities.
Foreign Member, Brazilian Academy of Sciences.
Honorary Member, Japan Academy.
Foreign Member, Royal Spanish Academy of Sciences.
Foreign Member, French Academy of Sciences.
Honorary Member, African Academy of Sciences.
Honorary Member, Caribbean Academy of Sciences.
Foreign Fellow, Royal Society of Canada.
Foreign Member, Argentine Academy of Sciences.
Foreign Member, Mongolian Academy of Sciences.
Foreign Member, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Corresponding Member, Australian Academy of Sciences.
Honorary Doctorates (Total: 84 Universities)
Foreign Universities (Selected)
D.Sc. (honoris causa): Bordeaux; Caen; Australian National University (Canberra); Colorado; Khartoum; Liverpool; Manchester; Northwestern; Novosibirsk; Oxford; Purdue; St Andrews; Stellenbosch; Temple; Université Joseph Fourier; Wales; Wroclaw; RAS (SB).
Sc.D. (honoris causa): University of Notre Dame.
Fil. Dr. (honoris causa): Uppsala University.
Dr. Engg. (h.c.): (Taiwan).
Indian Universities (Selected)
D.Sc. (honoris causa): Aligarh; Amity; Anna; Andhra; Assam; Banaras; Bengal Engineering; Bangalore; Bharatiya Vidyapeeth; Burdwan; Bundelkhand; Delhi; DPU; Hamdard; Hyderabad; ICT (Bombay); IGNOU; IISERs (Bhopal, Kolkata, Mohali, Pune); IIT Bombay; IIT Kharagpur; IIT Delhi; IIT Guwahati; IIT Kanpur; ILBS; Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University; Kalyani; Kanpur; Karnataka; Kashmir; Kaziranga; Kolkata; Krishnadevaraya; Kuvempu; Lucknow; Mahatma Gandhi; Mangalore; Manipur; Mysore; Osmania; Panjab; Presidency University (Kolkata); Roorkee; Sikkim Manipal; SRM; Tumkur; Uttar Pradesh Technological University; Sri Venkateswara; Vidyasagar; Visveswaraya Technological University; Yenepoya; etc.
LL.D. (honoris causa): SV University.
D.Litt.: Guwahati; KSOU.
Nadoja: Hampi.
Desikottama: Visva-Bharati.
Additional honorary degrees/recognitions: Jadavpur University (Kolkata); The Assam Royal Global University.
Important Medals, Prizes and Honours (International — Selected)
Marlow Medal, Faraday Society, England (1967) — for outstanding contributions to Physical Chemistry.
Centennial Foreign Fellowship, American Chemical Society (1976).
Royal Society of Chemistry Medal (1981) — for outstanding contributions to Solid State Chemistry.
Heyrovský Gold Medal, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (1989).
Blackett Lectureship, The Royal Society (1991).
Albert Einstein Gold Medal, UNESCO, Paris (1996).
Hughes Medal, The Royal Society (2000).
Centenary Lectureship and Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry (2000).
Order of Scientific Merit (Grand-Cross), President of Brazil (2002).
Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, French Republic (2005).
Nikkei Asia Prize for Science, Technology and Innovation (2008).
Royal Medal (The Queen’s Medal), The Royal Society (2009).
Order of Friendship, President of Russia (2009).
August-Wilhelm-von-Hoffmann Medal, German Chemical Society (2010).
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, Japan (2015).
Von Hippel Award, Materials Research Society (2017).
Dan David Prize (Science—Future Dimension; materials science) (2005).
ENI Award — Energy Frontiers Prize (2020).
Important Medals, Prizes and Honours (National — Selected)
Bhatnagar Prize (Chemical Sciences), CSIR, India (1968).
Padma Shri (1974); Padma Vibhushan (1985) — national honours awarded by the President of India.
India Science Award (2004) — first recipient of the Government of India’s highest scientific recognition.
Bharat Ratna (2014) — India’s highest civilian award.
Karnataka Ratna (2001) — highest honour of the State of Karnataka.
Other Awards and Recognitions (Selected / Expandable)
Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship (1973).
Abdus Salam Medal for Science, TWAS (2008).
First Laureate, 21st Khwarizmi International Science Award (2008).
Dhirubhai Ambani Lifetime Achievement Award for Innovation (2011).
Chemist of the Century, Indian Chemical Society (2024).
SMC Lifetime Achievement Award (2022); CRS Lifetime Achievement Award (2023).
Selected Professional Service and Leadership
Important Positions in National and International Bodies (Selected)
Chairman, Vision Group on Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka (2008– ).
Chairman, National Nano Initiative, Government of India.
Founder President, Chemical Research Society of India.
Founder President, Materials Research Society of India.
International Adviser, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan.
Member, Council of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai.
Chairman, Indo-Brazil Science Council.
Important Positions Held in the Past (Selected)
Chairman, Science Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India (2004–2014); and earlier (1985–1989).
President, International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) (1985–1987).
Past President, TWAS (The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World), Trieste.
Member, Atomic Energy Commission of India (1986–2014).
President, Indian National Science Academy; President, Indian Academy of Sciences; President, Indian Science Congress.
Member, Planning Commission, Government of India.
Director, Reserve Bank of India.
Chairman, Standing Committee of the Council of IITs and IISERs.
Selected Publications
https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=Zs9227oAAAAJ&hl=en
Early Spectroscopy & Chemical Education (1960s–1980s)
Ultra-violet and Visible Spectroscopy. C. N. R. Rao. Butterworths, London. 1st ed. 1960; 3rd ed. 1975; reprinted 1977. (Translations: Russian, Spanish, Polish, Japanese.)
Chemical Applications of Infrared Spectroscopy. C. N. R. Rao. Academic Press, New York, 1963. (Reprinted several times.)
Experiments in General Chemistry. C. N. R. Rao & U. C. Agarwala. East-West Press, New Delhi (Van Nostrand-Reinhold). 1st ed. 1967; 4th ed. 1973. (Reprinted several times.)
Phase Transitions in Solids: An Approach to the Study of Chemistry and Physics of Solids. C. N. R. Rao & K. J. Rao. McGraw-Hill, 1978.
Chemistry (for Class XI; later Classes XI & XII). C. N. R. Rao (Ed.) / with others (Eds.). NCERT, New Delhi, 1978; later 1988–1989. (Reprints; Hindi translation.)
Solid-State Chemistry & Advanced Materials (1970s–1990s)
Solid State Chemistry (Ed.). C. N. R. Rao. Marcel Dekker, New York, 1974.
New Directions in Solid State Chemistry. C. N. R. Rao & J. Gopalakrishnan. Cambridge University Press, 1986. (Paperback 1989; translations: Russian 1990, Chinese 1990; 2nd ed. 1997.)
Chemistry of Oxide Superconductors (Ed.). C. N. R. Rao. Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, 1988. (Russian translation 1994.)
Chemistry of Advanced Materials (Ed.). C. N. R. Rao. Blackwell, Oxford, 1992. (IUPAC 21st Century Monograph.)
Chemical Approaches to the Synthesis of Inorganic Materials. C. N. R. Rao. John Wiley, New York, 1994.
Transition Metal Oxides. C. N. R. Rao & B. Raveau. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 1995; 2nd ed. 1998.
Carbon Materials, Nanoscience & 2D Materials (2000s–2020s)
Chemistry of Nanomaterials (Eds.). C. N. R. Rao, A. Müller & A. K. Cheetham. Wiley-VCH, 2004. (Reprinted 2006.)
Nanotubes and Nanowires. C. N. R. Rao & A. Govindaraj. Royal Society of Chemistry, London, 2005. (2nd ed. 2011.)
Nanocrystals: Synthesis, Properties and Applications. C. N. R. Rao, P. J. Thomas & G. U. Kulkarni. Springer, 2007. (Chinese ed. 2012.)
Graphene: Synthesis, Properties and Phenomena (Eds.). C. N. R. Rao & A. K. Sood. Wiley-VCH, 2013.
2D Materials beyond Graphene (Eds.). C. N. R. Rao & U. V. Waghmare. World Scientific, 2017.
Energy Materials (Ed.). M. Eswaramoorthy, Subi Jacob George, A. Sundaresan & C. N. R. Rao. World Scientific, 2022.
Scientific Life Writing & Public-Facing Works (2010s–2020s)
Climbing the Limitless Ladder (A Life in Chemistry). C. N. R. Rao. IISc Press–World Scientific, 2010. (Kannada translation 2011; 2nd ed. 2011; Hindi translation 2015.)
A Life in Science. C. N. R. Rao. Penguin Random House, 2016.
Founders of Modern Science in India. C. N. R. Rao & Indumati Rao. Indian Academy of Sciences, 2021. (Hindi edition: National Book Trust, 2022.)
Other Information
C V of Prof. C N R Rao.pdf
