https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Ranganathan_ShashidharRanganathan Shashidhar - Revision history2026-10-29T20:59:29ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ranganathan_Shashidhar&diff=529542&oldid=prevBikram Rout: made article...2026-02-10T02:55:42Z<p>made article...</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Indian physicist (born 1946)}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2019}}<br />
{{Infobox scientist<br />
| name = Ranganathan Shashidhar<br />
| image =<br />
| alt = <br />
| caption = <br />
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1946|1|1}}<br />
| birth_place = [[Karnataka]], India<br />
| death_date = <br />
| death_place = <br />
| fields = {{ublist | [[Condensed matter physics]] }}<br />
| workplaces = {{ublist | [[University of Mysore]] | [[Raman Research Institute]] | [[Ruhr University Bochum]] | [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] | [[Georgetown University]] | [[AT&T Labs]] | Geo Centers | [[United States Naval Research Laboratory]] | [[Science Applications International Corporation]] | Polestar Technologies }}<br />
| alma_mater = {{ublist | [[University of Mysore]] }}<br />
| doctoral_advisor = <br />
| doctoral_students = <br />
| known_for = Studies on [[Liquid crystals]]<br />
| awards = {{ublist| 1984&nbsp;[[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]] | 1999&nbsp;[[Federal Laboratory Consortium]] Award | [[United States Naval Research Laboratory|NRL]] Alan Berman Publication Award | [[United States Naval Research Laboratory|NRL]] Edison Patent Award }} <br />
}}<br />
'''Ranganathan Shashidhar''' (born 1 January 1946) is a US-based Indian condensed matter physicist and a former head of the ''Laboratory for Molecularly Engineered Materials and Surface'' of the Center for Biomolecular Science & Engineering, a division of the [[United States Naval Research Laboratory]].<br />
Known for his research on [[liquid crystals]], Shashidhar is an elected fellow of the [[Indian Academy of Sciences]] and the senior vice president of Polestar Technologies, a US-based company involved in the development of sensing technologies. The [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]], the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology]], one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to Physical Sciences in 1984.<ref name="View Bhatnagar Awardees">{{cite web | url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/Content/AwardeeList.aspx | title=View Bhatnagar Awardees | publisher=Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize | date=2016 | accessdate=12 November 2016}}</ref>{{Refn|group=note|Long link – please select award year to see details}}<br />
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== Biography ==<br />
[[File:Crawford Hall, University of Mysore.jpg|thumb|left|235px|University of Mysore]]<br />
Born on 1 January 1946, Shashidhar did his college education at the [[University of Mysore]] from where he obtained bachelor's and master's degrees before securing a PhD from the same institution.<ref name="Ranganathan “Shash” Shashidhar, PhD, Senior Vice President of Research and Technology">{{Cite web |url=http://www.polestartech.com/ranganathanshashidhar/ |title=Ranganathan "Shash" Shashidhar, PhD, Senior Vice President of Research and Technology |date=2017 |publisher=Polestar Technologies}}</ref> Subsequently, he took up the position of a faculty member at his alma mater in 1971 and later, moved to [[Raman Research Institute]] as a scientist and professor.<ref name="Federal Laboratory Consortium Recognizes Dr. Shashidhar for Advances in Liquid Crystal Technology">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/media/news-releases/1999/federal-laboratory-consortium-recognizes-dr-shashidhar-for-advances-in-liquid-crystal-technology |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130129233345/http://www.nrl.navy.mil/media/news-releases/1999/federal-laboratory-consortium-recognizes-dr-shashidhar-for-advances-in-liquid-crystal-technology |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 January 2013 |title=Federal Laboratory Consortium Recognizes Dr. Shashidhar for Advances in Liquid Crystal Technology |date=2017 |publisher=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory}}</ref> Before joining [[United States Naval Research Laboratory]] in 1993, he held various positions such as that of a visiting professor at [[Ruhr University Bochum]] (1983–87), [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (1988–93) and [[Georgetown University]], of a visiting scientist at [[AT&T Labs]] and of a senior scientist at Geo Centers Inc. He headed the ''Laboratory for Molecularly Engineered Materials and Surfaces'' at NRL. He has also been associated with [[Science Applications International Corporation]] (SAIC) and is a senior vice president of Polestar Technologies, leading their research and technology division.<ref name="Senior Vice President-Research & Technology">{{Cite web |url=https://relationshipscience.com/ranganathan-shashidhar-p5247136 |title=Senior Vice President-Research & Technology |date=2017 |publisher=Relationship Science}}</ref><br />
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Shashidhar studies modern condensed matter physics including reentrant [[Polymorphism (materials science)|polymorphism]] and [[multicritical point]]s<ref name="Brief Profile of the Awardee">{{Cite web |url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/content/Detail.aspx?AID=337 |title=Brief Profile of the Awardee |date=2017 |publisher=Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize |access-date=12 November 2016}}</ref> His studies in condensed matter physics include the subfield of [[liquid crystals]] and he has contributed to widening the understanding of their behavior at high temperatures,<ref name="Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners">{{cite web | url=http://www.csirhrdg.res.in/ssb.pdf | title=Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners | publisher=Council of Scientific and Industrial Research | date=1999}}</ref> He led a team of scientists who developed a family of electroclinic liquid crystals with 256 [[greyscale]]s and a fast enough response time, less than 100 microseconds, that allows their use in high resolution hand-held devices.<ref name="Federal Laboratory Consortium Recognizes Dr. Shashidhar for Advances in Liquid Crystal Technology" /> He is also credited with the demonstration of the first ''fully [[multiplexed display|multiplexed plastic display]]'' with 25,000 addressable pixels.<ref name="Federal Laboratory Consortium Recognizes Dr. Shashidhar for Advances in Liquid Crystal Technology" /> His studies have been documented by way of a book, ''Liquid Crystal Materials Devices and Applications''<ref name="Liquid Crystal Materials Devices and Applications">{{Cite book |title=Liquid Crystal Materials Devices and Applications |last=R. Shashidhar |publisher=Photo Optical Society |year=1994 |isbn=978-9990069310 |page=503}}</ref> and a number of articles<ref name="On ResearchGate">{{Cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ranganathan_Shashidhar/publications |title=On ResearchGate |date=2017 }}</ref>{{Refn|group=note|Please see ''Selected bibliography'' section}} and the article repository of Indian Academy of Sciences has listed 40 of them.<ref name="Browse by Fellow">{{Cite web |url=http://repository.ias.ac.in/view/fellows/Shashidhar=3ARanganathan=3A=3A.html |title=Browse by Fellow |date=2017 |publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences}}</ref> He holds patents for many processes<ref name="Patents by Inventor Ranganathan Shashidhar">{{Cite web |url=http://patents.justia.com/inventor/ranganathan-shashidhar |title=Patents by Inventor Ranganathan Shashidhar |date=2017 |publisher=Justia Patents}}</ref>{{Refn|group=note|For details, please see ''Patents'' section}} and his work has drawn citations from other scientists.<ref name="RasingMusevic2013">{{cite book|author1=Theo Rasing|author2=Igor Musevic|title=Surfaces and Interfaces of Liquid Crystals|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R-3nCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA172|date=9 March 2013|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-3-662-10157-5|pages=172–}}</ref><ref name="ChesterMartellucci2013">{{cite book|author1=Arthur N. Chester|author2=S. Martellucci|title=Phase Transitions in Liquid Crystals|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5arhBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA258|date=29 June 2013|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-1-4684-9151-7|pages=258–}}</ref><ref name="GrayVill2009">{{cite book|author1=George W. Gray|author2=Volkmar Vill|author3=Hans W. Spiess, Dietrich Demus, John W. Goodby|title=Physical Properties of Liquid Crystals|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJqMPLKTpBgC&pg=PA274|date=14 August 2009|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-3-527-61395-3|pages=274–}}</ref><ref name="Chandrasekhar1992">{{cite book|author=Sivaramakrishna Chandrasekhar|title=Liquid Crystals|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GYDxM1fPArMC&pg=PA441|date=26 November 1992|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-41747-1|pages=441–}}</ref> He is a former member of the board of directors of [[International Liquid Crystal Society]], executive committee of International High Pressure Association and the editorial board of ''Liquid Crystals'' journal of [[Taylor & Francis]].<ref name="Federal Laboratory Consortium Recognizes Dr. Shashidhar for Advances in Liquid Crystal Technology" /><br />
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== Awards and honors ==<br />
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research awarded him the [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]], one of the highest Indian science awards in 1984.<ref name="CSIR list of Awardees">{{Cite web |url=http://www.csir.res.in/careeraward/prize-winner-indexdiscipline-wise |title=CSIR list of Awardees |date=2017 |publisher=Council of Scientific and Industrial Research}}</ref> He was elected by the [[Indian Academy of Sciences]] as their fellow in 1988.<ref name="Fellow profile">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ias.ac.in/describe/fellow/Shashidhar,_Prof._Ranganathan |title=Fellow profile |date=2017 |publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences}}</ref> In 1999, the team led by him received the Federal Laboratory Consortium Award for excellence in technology transfer.<ref name="Excellence in Technology Transfer 1999">{{Cite web |url=https://www.federallabs.org/index.php?tray=award_detail&cid=FLCawrd628&tid=1FLtop207 |title=Excellence in Technology Transfer 1999 |date=2017 |publisher=Federal Labs}}</ref> He is also a recipient of Alan Berman Publication Awards thrice and Edison Patent Award once, both awards given by the US Naval Research Laboratory.<ref name="Federal Laboratory Consortium Recognizes Dr. Shashidhar for Advances in Liquid Crystal Technology" /><br />
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== Selected bibliography ==<br />
* {{Cite book |title=Liquid Crystal Materials Devices and Applications |last=R. Shashidhar |publisher=Photo Optical Society |year=1994 |isbn=978-9990069310 |page=503}}<br />
* {{Cite journal |author1=Long, D. P. |author2=Lazorcik, J. L. |author3=Shashidhar, R. |title=Magnetically directed self-assembly of carbon nanotube devices |journal=Advanced Materials |publication-date=2004 |volume=16 |issue=9–10 |pages=814–819 |doi=10.1002/adma.200306388 |year=2004|bibcode=2004AdM....16..814L |s2cid=135699476 }}<br />
* {{Cite journal |author1=Blum, Amy Szuchmacher |author2=Kushmerick, James G. |author3=Long, David P. |author4=Patterson, Charles H. |author5=Yang, John C. |author6=Henderson, Jay C. |author7=Yao, Yuxing |author8=Tour, James M. |author9=Shashidhar, Ranganathan |author10=Ratna, Banahalli R. |title=Molecularly inherent voltage-controlled conductance switching |journal=Nature Materials |publication-date=2005 |volume=4 |pages=167–172 |doi=10.1038/nmat1309 |year=2005|issue=2 |pmid=15654344 |bibcode=2005NatMa...4..167B |s2cid=10595987 }}<br />
* {{Cite journal |author1=Blum, Amy Szuchmacher |author2=Soto, Carissa M. |author3=Wilson, Charmaine D. |author4=Brower, Tina L. |author5=Pollack, Steven K. |author6=Schull, Terence L. |author7=Chatterji, Anju |author8=Lin, Tianwei |author9=Johnson, John E. |author10=Amsinck, Christian |author11=Franzon, Paul |author12=Shashidhar, Ranganathan |author13=Ratna, Banahalli R. |title=An engineered virus as a scaffold for three-dimensional self-assembly on the nanoscale |journal=Small |publication-date=2005 |volume=1 |issue=7 |pages=702–706 |doi=10.1002/smll.200500021 |pmid=17193509 |date=July 2005}}<br />
* {{Cite journal |author1=Stapleton, Joshua J. |author2=Daniel, Thomas A. |author3=Uppili, Sundarajan |author4=Cabarcos, Orlando M. |author5=Naciri, Jawad |author6=Shashidhar, Ranganathan |author7=Allara, David L. |title=Self-assembly, characterization, and chemical stability of isocyanide-bound molecular wire monolayers on gold and palladium surfaces |journal=Langmuir |publication-date=2005 |volume=21 |issue=24 |pages=11061–11070 |doi=10.1021/la051094z |year=2005|pmid=16285772 }}<br />
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{{portal|India|Physics}}<br />
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== Notes ==<br />
{{reflist|group=note|2}}<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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== External links ==<br />
* {{cite book|title=Liquid Crystal Materials, Devices, and Applications|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CD5RAAAAMAAJ|year=1999|publisher=SPIE|isbn = 9780819431066}}<br />
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{{SSBPST recipients in Physical Science}}<br />
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[[Category:1946 births]]<br />
[[Category:Scientists from Karnataka]]<br />
[[Category:Indian condensed matter physicists]]<br />
[[Category:University of Mysore alumni]]<br />
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Mysore]]<br />
[[Category:Academic staff of Ruhr University Bochum]]<br />
[[Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty]]<br />
[[Category:Georgetown University faculty]]<br />
[[Category:AT&T people]]<br />
[[Category:Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences]]<br />
[[Category:Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Physical Science]]<br />
[[Category:Living people]]</div>Bikram Rout