Prof. Sanjay Puri
Award Year: 2013 | Degree Year: 1982
Prof. Sanjay Puri received his M.S. degree in Physics from IIT Delhi in 1982. He subsequently obtained his Ph.D. degree in Physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1987.
Prof. Puri currently is a Professor in the School of Physical Sciences (SPS) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.
Prof. Puri joined as an Assistant Professor in SPS, JNU in December 1987 and has been there since then. Prof. Puri also has been a Visiting Professor at Johannes Gutenberg Universitat, Mainz (Germany); University of Manchester, Manchester (UK); Cambridge University, Cambridge (UK); Kyoto University, Kyoto (Japan), etc.
Prof. Puri works in the areas of statistical physics and nonlinear dynamics. He has been particularly interested in problems of pattern formation in nonequilibrium systems. He has made many important contributions to our understanding of the kinetics of phase transitions.These include the formulation of Cell Dynamical System models to study phase ordering systems, an analytical solution of ordering dynamics driven by the annealing of vector defects, and the modeling and understanding of surface-directed spinodal decomposition, i.e., the interplay of wetting and phase separation in a binary mixture in contact with a wetting surface. Prof. Puri has also made important contributions to understanding the dynamical properties of granular materials, with special focus on the cooling of freely-evolving granular gases. He has published over 170 papers, written or edited 3 books, and supervised the Ph.D. theses of 14 students.
Prof. Puri is the recipient of many awards and honors. He received the INSA Young Scientist Medal from the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi (1993); N. Satyamurthy Award from the Indian Physics Association, Mumbai (1995); B.M. Birla Science Award from the B.M. Birla Science Centre, Hyderabad (2001); Homi Bhabha Fellowship from the Homi Bhabha Fellowships Council, Mumbai (2003); and the S.S. Bhatnagar Prize from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi (2006). He also received a J.C. Bose National Fellowship from the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi (2012). Prof. Puri has been an Editor and Associate Editor of the journal Phase Transitions since 2000. He was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore in 2006 and of the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi in 2012.
In honouring Prof. Sanjay Puri, IIT Delhi recognizes the outstanding contributions made by him as a Researcher and Educator. Through his achievements, Prof. Sanjay Puri has brought glory to the name of the Institute.
