Ashutosh Sharma is Institute Chair Professor at IIT Kanpur, President of the Indian National Science Academy (2023-25), Co-chair of S20/G20 and a former Secretary to the Government of India heading its Department of Science and Technology (January 2015- 2021).  He was a Professor (1997-), and the Head (2003-05) of Chemical Engineering, and the founding Coordinator of Nanosciences Center and Advanced Imaging Center at the Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur. Ashutosh received his PhD from the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNYAB; 1988) working with Prof. Eli Ruckenstein—a recipient of the US Medal of Science, his MS from the Pennsylvania State University (1984) and B.Tech. from IIT Kanpur (1982).  

Ashutosh has had a broad international experience as a research faculty at SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine (1988-90), visiting faculty at University of Texas at Austin, University of Western Ontario, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and the World Class University Program of South Korea and as a Member of the European Research Commission.

Ashutosh’s research contributions are highly interdisciplinary, spanning a wide range in nanotechnology; thin polymer films; nanocomposites and devices in energy, health and environment; functional interfaces; micro/nano-mechanics of soft matter; nano-patterning and nanofabrication; colloid and interfacial engineering; biomaterials & biosurfaces; wetting and adhesion. He has published over 350 peer reviewed papers, filed over 15 patents, given over 100 invited or key note conference presentations and mentored a nanotechnology startup.

Ashutosh is a recipient of numerous honors and awards including the inaugural Infosys Prize in Engineering and Computer Science, TWAS Science Prize of the World Academy of Sciences, Bessel Research Award of the Humboldt Foundation, J. C. Bose Fellowship, Bhatnagar Prize, Homi J. Bhabha Award of UGC, The Syed Husain Zaheer Medal of INSA, Distinguished Alumni Awards of IIT Kanpur and SUNY Buffalo, Life-time Achievement Award of the Indian Science Congress, UNESCO Medal for “Contribution to Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology”, H.K. Firodia Award for Excellence in Science & Technology and Meghnad Saha Medal of INSA. Recently, he has been conferred with prestigious ‘Padma Shri’ by the Government of India for his groundbreaking contributions to nanoscience and nanotechnology. He has also received six D. Sc. honoris causa from universities in the USA and India.

Ashutosh is an elected Fellow of The Indian National Science Academy, The Indian Academy of Sciences, The National Academy of Sciences, India and Indian National Academy of Engineering, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and the Asia-Pacific Academy of Materials. He has also served on the Councils of the first two. He has been an associate editor of ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Proceedings of Indian National Science Academy and ASME Journal of Micro- and Nano-Manufacturing and has been on the editorial boards of several journals: Carbon; ACS Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research; Current Science; Nanomaterials and Energy; Chemical Engineering Science; Journal of Colloid and Interface Science; Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering and Indian Chemical Engineer.

Ashutosh’s other interests are in ancient history and philosophy, poetry and art.