Bengaluru: Bharat Ratna Prof C.N.R. Rao has won the Von Hippel Award, the highest international prize in materials research. He is the first Asian to be chosen for the honour by Materials Research Society (MRS), an organisation with members spanning over 90 countries.
The award recognises 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. It is named after Arthur von Hippel (1898-2003), who was a pioneer in the study of dielectrics, semiconductors, ferromagnetics and ferroelectrics. He was an early advocate of the interdisciplinary approach to materials research, and his example substantially furthered the science of materials. The award includes a $10,000 cash prize, honorary membership in MRS, and a unique trophy — a mounted ruby laser crystal symbolizing the many-faceted nature of materials research.
The award will be presented to Prof Rao in Boston on November 29, for “interdisciplinary contributions to the development of novel functional materials, including nanomaterials, graphene, superconductivity, 2D materials and colossal magnetoresistance.” “It is unbelievable that I have been chosen for the Von Hippel Award, though there were so many other nominations,” Prof Rao told Deccan Chronicle.
