May 19, promoted to the position of Senior ... VIEW ORIGINAL
NATICK, Mass. (May 26, 2015) -- The Secretary of the Army announced the appointment of Dr. Ramanathan Nagarajan, a senior scientist and research chemical engineer at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, to the position of Senior Research Scientist Soldier Nanomaterials.
As a senior research scientist, or ST, Nagarajan joins a select group of only 30 other Army STs charged with guiding new science and engineering programs across the Army S&T Enterprise, serving as scientific reviewers and advisors to Department of Defense S&T leadership, engaging key stakeholder support, and mentoring young scientists and engineers.
In this role, Nagarajan will serve as the Army's top expert in nanomaterials-based technologies, advising leadership on their potential application within Soldier-domain areas affecting the individual warfighter, small units, and future Soldier systems.
Having a resident expert in nanomaterials reinforces NSRDEC's Soldier-centric mission and positions Nagarajan's research at the forefront of Army S&T innovation -- an opportunity he relishes.
"It's an exciting position and field to serve in," said Nagarajan. "I anticipate most new material solutions to future Soldier-domain challenges will come from nanomaterials research.
"Nanomaterials, including bionanomaterials, represent the most active development in current materials research, and I believe they will dominate all materials applications throughout this century."
Nagarajan's goals in the new position include leading and maintaining excellence in nanomaterials research, providing advice and consultation to the Army at all levels, and mentoring young researchers at NSRDEC. He also hopes to organize symposia and workshops on Soldier nanomaterials in order to foster collaboration among academia, industry and Army researchers, and monitor and disseminate international developments in nanomaterials research -- especially those with long-range implications.
"It is my responsibility to align these broad goals and facilitate opportunities to make NSRDEC even better at addressing Soldier-domain issues," Nagarajan said.
In addition to his ST functions, Nagarajan will continue his research for NSRDEC, focusing on the development and integration of polymeric, biological, inorganic and carbon nanomaterials into Soldier protective clothing and equipment for chemical, biological, flame, ballistic and environmental protection.
"I remain committed to NSRDEC's mission to protect, empower and unburden the individual Soldier," said Nagarajan. "By emphasizing a systems approach to the Soldier-domain, we address the whole instead of the parts.
"I will continue to provide expertise in colloids, polymers and nanomaterials science to warfighter-related, fundamental and early applied research problems."
That expertise made Nagarajan an internationally recognized expert on molecular self-assembly and nanomaterials even before he became an Army civilian scientist.
Nagarajan received his doctoral degree in chemical engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1979. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, respectively.
He went on to serve as a faculty member at Pennsylvania State University for 26 years, retiring in 2005 as Emeritus Professor of Chemical Engineering.
"In my academic career at Penn State, I collaborated with many faculty members, both in chemical engineering and in other related disciplines such as polymer science, food science, petroleum engineering and materials science and engineering," said Nagarajan. "This experience has allowed me to initiate a number of new collaborations as an Army civilian."
In 2006, he made the jump from academia to government service as a civilian scientist.
"Before I came here, I was not aware of the existence of Natick Labs," he recalled. "That is something I've worked hard to change and will continue to do so."
Since joining NSRDEC, in 2006, Nagarajan has served as the organization's representative to RDECOM's Nanotechnology Knowledge Center and as the program chair of the American Chemical Society's Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry, which presented him with an Outstanding Service Award the same year.
As a chemical engineer for NSRDEC's Molecular Sciences and Engineering Team, Nagarajan has submitted more than 40 research proposals to external agencies for support of Soldier-related research. He has published four books on nanomaterials and self-assembly, 13 papers in scientific journals, written five book chapters, organized and held two symposium proceedings, and presented at 15 invited seminars and 29 professional society meetings, among a myriad of other professional achievements.
Nagarajan has also established collaborative research agreements with faculty from prominent institutions such as Clarkson University, Purdue University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, UMass Lowell, University of South Carolina, University of California at Santa Barbara, University of Georgia, Boston University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT.
"I want to help strengthen our place within the broader scientific community," Nagarajan said.
The ability to develop such research partnerships, garner support of key stakeholders for buy-in and funding, while managing both internal and external collaboration on nanomaterials, is an essential part of his new job.
"Interactions with industry, academic researchers and the international research community has given me the opportunity to represent Army technical interests to the international colloid, surface, and nanomaterials research community and to connect Army researchers to this community," he said. "My goal is to establish, expand, and leverage global resources -- not just within the metro-Boston area, but around the world."
One of Nagarajan's most significant impacts at NSRDEC has been though his role as a mentor to promising undergraduate students, post-doctorate students and young NSRDEC researchers across many different scientific disciplines.
"More than 30 undergraduate students from various institutions such as Northeastern University, MIT, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, University of Connecticut, Johns Hopkins University, Assumption College, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and University of Notre Dame have worked on a variety of experimental or computational projects in my laboratory," Nagarajan said.
According to Nagarajan, working with these students has been his "most satisfying and stimulating experience" at NSRDEC.
At his May 19 promotion ceremony, presided over by Jyuji Hewitt, the executive deputy to the commanding general of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, Nagarajan received The Senior Scientist Pin, which displays a stylized keystone symbolizing the center stone that holds all the stones of an arch in place.
The promotion also celebrates Nagarajan's reaching the highest level of government service in his field.
"It is a rare opportunity to do something you love," he said. "It is even rarer to do something you love while serving Soldiers. I am really glad I am doing that here."
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The U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, which has the mission to empower the Army and joint warfighter with technology and engineering solutions that ensure decisive capabilities for unified land operations. RDECOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command.
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