Padmavibhushan Padmabhushan Padmashri Prof. Dr. R. A. Mashelkar

PROF. DR. R. A. MASHELKAR (born 1 January 1943) is one of India's most eminent scientists. Sir is known for his contributions to India's National Chemical Laboratory and Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, multiple 'Mashelkar Committees' and a successful campaign against foreign patents on Indian traditional knowledge.

Dr. Mashelkar obtained BE degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Bombay's University Department of Chemical Technology (UDCT; now the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai) in 1966 and PhD degree in 1969. Sir currently serves as Chancellor of the Institute. Sir is also the Chancellor of Jio Institute. Dr. Mashelkar is a former Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Sir was also the President of Indian National Science Academy (2004-2006), President of Institution of Chemical Engineers (2007) as also the President of Global Research Alliance (2007-2018). Sir was also first Chairperson of Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR). Dr. Mashelkar is only the third Indian engineer to have been elected (1998) as Fellow of Royal Society (FRS), UK in the twentieth century. He is the first Indian to be elected (2017) as a fellow of National Academy of Inventors (NAI), US.

Dr. Mashelkar has played a critical role in shaping India's science and technology policies. Sir was a member of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and also of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet set up by successive governments. Sir has chaired twelve high powered committees to look into issues as diverse as overhauling the Indian drug regulatory system, reviewing the state of Regional Engineering Colleges and preparing a National Auto Fuels Policy.

Dr. Mashelkar has received more than 50 awards/medals including S. S. Bhatnagar Prize (1982), World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) Medal of Engineering Excellence, Paris (2003) and Lifetime Achievement Award by Indian Science Congress (2004). So far, 44 universities from around the world have honoured him with honorary doctorates, which include Universities of London, Salford, Pretoria, Wisconsin, Swinburne, Monash and Delhi. Sir has received Padma Shri (1991), Padma Bhushan, (2000) & Padma Vibhushan (2014).

Dr. Mashelkar is a member of numerous scientific bodies and committees. Sir is on the Board of Directors of several reputed companies such as Reliance Industries Ltd., Tata Motors Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd., GeneMedix Life Sciences Ltd., Indigene Pharmaceuticals Ltd., ICICI Knowledge Park, Thermax Ltd., Piramal Life Sciences Ltd., and KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Microsoft.

Under the leadership of Dr. Mashelkar, CSIR successfully fought the battle of revocation of the US patent on wound healing properties of turmeric claiming that this was India's traditional knowledge and therefore not novel. Sir has made contributions in transport phenomena, particularly in thermodynamics of swelling, superswelling and shrinking polymers, modelling of polymerisation reactors, and engineering analysis of Non-Newtonian flows. Sir has won the TWAS Lenovo Science Prize, which is the highest honour given by The World Academy of Science.

Sir has written 25 books and 284 research papers.