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Bhakta B. Rath

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Bhakta B. Rath
Born
Banki, Odisha, India
Occupation(s)Material physicist
Writer
Years activeSince 1961
Known forUnited States Naval Research Laboratory service
SpouseSushama
AwardsPadma Bhushan
Michigan Tech Distinguished Alumni Award
Acta Materialia J. Herbert Hollomon Award
DOD Distinguished Civilian Service Award
Fred Saalfeld Award
Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Executive
NRL Lifetime Achievement Award
National Materials Advancement Award
Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive Award
S. Chandrasekhar Award
George Kimball Burgess Memorial Award
Charles S. Barrett Medal
The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society Leadership Award

Bhakta B. Rath is an Indian American material physicist and head of the Materials Science and Component Technology of the United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps.[1] He is the chief administrative officer for program planning, interdisciplinary coordination, supervision and control of research and is the associate director of research for Materials Science and Component Technology at NRL.[2]

He was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2008 for leadership in advancing materials research and technology to support national security. Rath is also an elected fellow of The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, ASM International, Washington Academy of Sciences, Materials Research Society of India, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, UK and a recipient of several awards and honors including Presidential Rank Award three times.[3] The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 2009, for his contributions to science and technology.[4]

Biography

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Born in Banki, in the Indian state of Odisha, Rath graduated in Physics and Mathematics from Utkal University in 1955 and shifting his base to the US, he followed it up with a master's degree (MS) from Michigan Technological University in 1958 after which he secured his doctoral degree (PhD) from Illinois Institute of Technology in 1961.[5] His career started as an assistant professor of Metallurgy and Material Science at the Washington State University in 1961.[2] Subsequent to his stay at the university till 1965, he moved to the United States Steel Corporation at their Edgar C. Bain Laboratory for Fundamental Research where he worked till 1972, when he was appointed as the head of the Metal Physics Research Group of the McDonnell Douglas Research Laboratories, Missouri. Concurrently, he also served Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Maryland, and the Colorado School of Mines as their adjunct professor.[6] In 1976, he joined the Naval Research Laboratory as the head of the Physical Metallurgy Division[7] where he rose in ranks to become the superintendent of the Materials Science and Technology Division in 1982 and the head of the Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate in 1986, a post he holds to date.[2] He also served on the Engineering and Computer Science jury for the Infosys Prize in 2016 and 2017.[8]

Rath is a member of the Advisory Boards of several organizations and agencies such as US Navy, US Department of Defense, National Research Council, National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences and National Science Foundation, and educational institutions including Carnegie-Mellon University, University of Virginia, Colorado School of Mines, University of Maryland, University of Connecticut, Florida Atlantic University, Lehigh University, Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and the University of Florida.[2] In India, he is a former chairman of the Technology Advisory Board of the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad, an advisor to the Indian Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar and a distinguished visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar.[9] He sits in the planning committee on methane hydrates of the Department of Energy of the Government of India as well as the Indo-US Joint Commission on Science and Technology as the representative of US Navy. He has also represented the US Navy at The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP) countries such as UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.[2]

Rath, who is married to Sushama,[10] has published several articles and scientific papers,[11][12] co-authored a text, Textbook of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology[13] and has contributed chapters to books written by others.[14] He served as the president of the ASM International the Materials Information Society in 2004–2005.[15] He has also been associated with organizations such as Education Foundation, the Federation of Materials Society and The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society as a member of the board of trustees and has been a member of the editorial boards of three global research journals on material physics.[2]

Awards and honors

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Rath, a Michigan Tech Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award winner, received three Presidential Rank Awards, in 1999, 2004 and 2005.[2][16] He received the George Kimball Burgess Memorial Award in 1991 and ASM Distinguished Life Membership Award as well as the National Materials Advancement Award from the Federation of Materials Societies in 2001.[3] The United States Naval Research Laboratory awarded him their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004 and the next year, he received the Fred Saalfeld Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement in Science.[17] He was awarded the Acta Materialia J. Herbert Hollomon Award[18] and the Illinois Institute of Technology Mechanical Materials & Aerospace Engineering Department Alumni Recognition Award in 2008 and the Government of India included him in the Republic Day Honors list in 2009, for the civilian award of the Padma Bhushan.[19] In 2015, his alma mater, the Illinois Institute of Technology awarded him the Alumni Award for Professional Achievement.[20] He is also a recipient of S. Chandrasekhar Award, Charles S. Barrett Medal and the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society Leadership Award and several other Oration awards.[5]

Rath is an elected fellow of such scientific societies as Indian National Academy of Engineering, The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, ASM International the Materials Information Society, Washington Academy of Sciences, Materials Research Society of India, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Institute of Materials, UK.[3] He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering,[1] and an honorary member of the Indian Institute of Metals. Michigan Technological University conferred an honorary doctorate on him in 2007 and he received the degree of Doctor of Science from Ravenshaw University in 2010.[21] Two years later, the Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar awarded him their first honoris causa doctorate.[22] One of the departmental libraries at Colorado School of Mines has been named after him, post his donation of a number of rare technical books to the school and Michigan Technological University has instituted an annual award, Bhakta B. Rath Research Award, which is awarded to the best doctoral thesis in science and engineering.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Members Directory - NAE". National Academy of Engoneering. 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "AIME Honorary Membership". American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers. 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Associate Director of Research for Materials Science and Component Technology". US Naval Research Laboratory. 2016. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  4. ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 15, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Bhakta B. Rath, Ph.D" (PDF). Secretariat of the Navy. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 20, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  6. ^ "2004-2005 President of ASM International". ASM International. 2016. Archived from the original on September 22, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  7. ^ "Dr. Bhakta Rath honored by President of India". Eureakalert. 26 May 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  8. ^ "Infosys Prize - Jury 2016".
  9. ^ "Distinguished Visiting Professor". Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneshwar. 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  10. ^ "Dr. Bhakta Rath on Mich Tec". Michigan Tech University. 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  11. ^ Bhatka B. Rath; Don J. DeYoung (July 1998). "The naval research laboratory: 75 years of materials innovation". Journal of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society. 50 (7): 14–19. Bibcode:1998JOM....50g..14R. doi:10.1007/s11837-998-0185-x. S2CID 110423787.
  12. ^ Bhakta B. Rath (January 2005). "Material Changes". Advanced Materials & Processes.
  13. ^ B.S. Murty; P. Shankar; Baldev Raj; B B Rath; James Murday (6 December 2013). Textbook of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-3-642-28030-6.
  14. ^ C.O. Ruud; R.E. Jr. Green (6 December 2012). Nondestructive Methods for Material Property Determination. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 339–. ISBN 978-1-4684-4769-9.
  15. ^ "Past Presidents". ASM International. 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  16. ^ "Presidential Rank Award to Bhakta Rath". Advanced Materials & Processes. April 2006. Retrieved July 1, 2016.[dead link]
  17. ^ "Dr. Bhakta Rath Wins 2005 Saalfeld Award". Naval Research Laboratory. 22 September 2006. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  18. ^ "TNA Members receive 2008 Acta Materialia Awards" (PDF). TMA. November 2007. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  19. ^ "Dr. Bhakta Rath Receives Honors of the Padma Bhushan Award". NRL. 19 February 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  20. ^ "Professional Achievement Award". Illinois Institute of Technology Alumni Association. 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  21. ^ "Foster a culture of invention and creativity". Indian Express. 5 March 2010. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  22. ^ "Honoris Causa for Bhakta B Rath". Indian Express. 31 August 2012. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  23. ^ "Rath Research Award". Michigan Technological University. 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
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