Dr Raghunth Anant Mashelkar awarded Honorary Doctorate
In Summary
Swinburne University of Technology recently awarded Dr Raghunth Anant Mashelkar an Honorary Doctorate in recognition for his outstanding work as an in-demand global thinker on innovation and social justice.
Dr Mashelkar, also known as Ramesh Mashelkar, FRS, is an internationally recognised chemical engineer who has made ground-breaking contributions to science and engineering. He is a much sought after consultant for strategic advice on restructuring publicly funded research and development institutions around the world.
Dr Mashelkar has played a critical role in shaping India's science and technology policies as 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 Indian governments.
Having developed a strong connection to Swinburne during visits to Melbourne in 2013 and 2014, Dr Mashelkar is supportive of Swinburne's vision around innovation and the university’s initiative in research collaboration with India.
He has taken on the role of Chairperson for the Advisory Board of the collaborative research program between Swinburne and the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, one of India's top ranked and globally recognised Institutions.
Currently the President of the Global Research Alliance and the Chairperson of India’s National Innovation Foundation, Dr Mashelkar was appointed as the first Chairperson of the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research.
He has served as the Director-General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in India -the national network of research institutes comparable to Australia's CSIRO, and has been the recipient of several Honorary Doctorates from universities around the world. He is currently serving as a visiting Professor at Harvard University.
In recognition of his pivotal role in shaping science and technology policies in India, Dr Mashelkar received the Padma Vibusan Award - the second highest civilian award - from the President of India in 2014.
Dr Mashelkar contributed a key chapter on innovation to a report launched in 2013 by Australia's Chief Scientist, Professor lan Chubb, concerning science, technology and innovation linkages between Australia and India. He has also been elected as a foreign Fellow of Australia's Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.
Dr Mashelkar was one of three recipients of an Honorary Doctorate at Swinburne’s April graduation ceremony.