Prof. Shanmugavelayutham K. Sundaram

Dr. S. K. Sundaram is an Inamori (Endowed Chair) Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in Inamori School of Engineering, the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in Alfred, NY. His professional career spans over three decades – 10 years of R&D in India, 16 years in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and 15+ years in academia. He has worked on wide ranging scientific and engineering problems, e.g., liquid sodium cooling for fast breeder reactor, water filters for rural India, barrier layer capacitors, oxidation and corrosion, millimeter wave diagnostics of materials in extreme environment, nanomaterials, ultrafast materials science, multiphasic (glass, ceramics, cermets) nuclear waste forms, radiation detection, additive manufacturing of ceramics, gyrotron-based materials processing, and structure-property relationship in visible-infrared-terahertz frequencies. He currently leads research and mentors next generation of engineers and scientists with focus on photon-matter interactions (specifically in glasses and ceramics) across electromagnetic spectrum with strong emphasis on fundamental science and novel characterization for applications in energy, environment, and national security. He holds a Masters in Materials Science and Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, a PhD in Ceramic Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and an executive certification in Innovation and Strategy from the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has authored or co-authored over 200 journal papers, book chapters, reports, patents, and disclosures. He is an elected fellow of the American Association of Science, the American Ceramic Society, the American Society of Metals (ASM) International, the Society of Glass Technology, and Optica.