Eminent scientist, Professor C.N.R Rao, has become the first Asian to be chosen for the prestigious Von Hippel Award for his immense contribution in materials research.

The award is the US-based Materials Research Society’s (MRS) highest honour.

It recognizes “those qualities most prized by materials scientists and engineers - brilliance and originality of intellect, combined with vision that transcends the boundaries of conventional scientific disciplines,” according to the MRS.

The award citation noted Mr. Rao’s immense work on novel functional materials, including nanomaterials (having particles of nanoscale dimensions), graphene (the strongest and thinnest material) and 2D materials, superconductivity, and colossal magnetoresistance (change in electrical resistance of a material in a magnetic field).

A get together was organized at the home of Drs. Usha and Sudhakar Rao in Medfield, MA and it was co-hosted by Dr. Dwarki.  The audience was star-studded including leading scientists from Boston area companies and universities who had graduated from Indian Institute of Science (IISC) in Bangalore.  There were over 20 women scientists who had done their PhDs at IISC.  Almost all had very interesting stories on how Dr. Rao had motivated them during their college days. 

What do the awards mean to him? “It is very nice to get recognition for one’s work. It helps put the work of Indian scientists on the map,” said Rao. At the age of 83 he continues to be actively engage in research and is currently advising about 15 PhD students.. 

What was the secret to his success? “I am passionate about science and I got the opportunity to pursue my passion” said Rao. What does he think about the state of science in India? “I would like to really motivate the youngsters to really develop a passion for science. Education is a big issue in India. We have 60 – 70 million young people who need quality education."

Dr. Rao is married to Indu Rao, an educationist. Together they are now working to  motivate young children to get excited about science. “What we find is that children in the Rural Areas are quite motivated to learn. We work with schools in the remote areas” said Indu Rao. 

It was inspirational to meet Dr. Rao and we hope his dream of making Indians  leaders in science will come true.