Prof. Rajadurai Chandrasekar of the School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad (UoH), has been elected as a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), with the fellowship taking effect from January 2027. The recognition acknowledges his contributions to materials science, nanoscience and photonics research.

With the fellowship, Prof. Chandrasekar will become a Fellow of all three National Science Academies of India. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UK. His research work has received recognition through several awards, including the SERB-STAR Research Award, the Materials Research Society of India (MRSI) Medal and the YIM Boston Young Scientist Award.

Prof. Chandrasekar has also been listed among the top 2% of scientists globally in the field of Nanoscience and Technology in a Stanford University-based global ranking. He has an H-index of 47 and serves on international editorial boards of journals covering materials chemistry and science.

His research group works on miniature, all-organic photonic microsystems designed to guide, modulate, split and process light. The research has potential applications in areas such as optical communication, sensing, computation, robotics and space technologies.

Prof. Chandrasekar has also contributed to the development of the field of “Mechanophotonics”, which combines mechanical micromanipulation with crystal photonics. His work in this area explores the development of all-organic photonic integrated circuits and new approaches to controlling light at the microscale.

His current research includes AI-driven soft materials for programmable optical communication devices, supported by the J. C. Bose Grant. The interdisciplinary research brings together artificial intelligence, soft materials and photonics to explore optical technologies with programmable functions.

The INSA fellowship adds to Prof. Chandrasekar’s academic and research recognitions and highlights the role of interdisciplinary research in areas connecting chemistry, materials science, photonics and emerging technologies. His work also reflects the growing use of advanced materials and computational approaches in developing new technologies for communication, sensing and other applications.