ACerS is pleased to announce Bikramjit Basu has been selected for Volunteer Spotlight, a program that recognizes a member who demonstrates outstanding service to The American Ceramic Society through volunteerism.
Basu is a faculty member at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and director of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CSIR–CGCRI). He received his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in metallurgical engineering from the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Durgapur and IISc, respectively, and a doctorate in engineering ceramics from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. Following a brief post-doctoral stint at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Basu served as a faculty member of the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), Kanpur, before joining IISc.
Basu’s research is at the confluence of ceramic science, biomaterials, additive manufacturing, biological science, and medicine. His research group has developed technologies related to the manufacturing of bioceramics, acetabular liners, customized bone flaps for cranioplasty surgeries, dental implants, and variants of 3D bioprintable hydrogels. These technologies are transferred to multinational corporates or start-ups, and many of the products, after regulatory clearances, are currently used for patient care in India.
Basu’s 250+ peer-reviewed research articles have been cited more than 20,500 times with an H-index of 75 (Google Scholar). He has co-authored five textbooks, two reference books and one research monograph related to policy on Biomaterials and Implants. As a Chartered Engineer of the UK, he has the unique distinction of being the only ceramic scientist from India to get elected to all the major international ceramic societies and academies.
Basu has been an active member of ACerS since 2008. During that time, he helped promoted the Engineering Ceramic Division’s Global Engagement in Ceramic Science and Technology program and ACerS President’s Council of Student Advisors at both IITs and IISc. He also organized the ACerS-endorsed conclaves “New Materials for Healthcare” and “ICME Approaches to Innovation in Biomedical Implants” at IISc in 2018, as well as the ACerS-sponsored International Virtual Conference on Biomaterial-Based Therapeutics, Engineering, and Medicine in December 2021.
As principal investigator of the Ceramic and Glass Industry Foundation project “Conventional and Advanced Ceramics Manufacturing for Next Generation of Ceramics and Glass Engineers,” Basu coordinated significant outreach activities between 2018 and 2019, which impacted 585 high school students, 62 undergraduates, and 70 postgraduate students through short courses, two workshops, 25 keynote lectures, and four internships at IISc, IITs/NITs and other companies.
Basu previously served as chair of the Kingery Award Committee and is currently serving on the Publications Committee. For the last two years, he has served as chair of the ACerS Panel of Fellows. He previously served as chair of the Bioceramics Division, and he has played a key role in the ACerS Strategic Planning Committee by chairing the International Theme Committee.
During his entire career, Basu has led several multi-institutional research programs across India as well as internationally with UK and USA. In his aspiration to provide national leadership, Basu assumed the role of Director of CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI) on November 8, 2024. In his current role, he has envisaged in positioning CSIR-CGCRI as a world-leading institute in Ceramics, Glass and advanced materials, through accelerating innovations in transformative technologies.
Basu has taken the initiative to introduce several new programs like the introduction of a COMPUMAT group (Computational Materials Design) to bring together researchers involved in computational studies that can predict materials’ properties and correlate them with experimental results, using machine learning algorithms. Basu is currently putting his relentless efforts in strengthening CSIR-CGRCI’s indigenous capability of developing space-grade optical glasses with high homogeneity. He has been currently steering his efforts in establishing the Centre of Innovation & Manufacturing Eco-System for Sensors (CIMES). Basu has been spearheading some key frontier technology-oriented programs in CSIR-CGCRI like SiC/AlN-based ceramics for semiconductor industry, SiC/B4C-based ceramic armors and MNRE-CSIR Centre of Excellence for Green Hydrogen.
While invigorating STI (Science, Technology and Innovation) activities amongst the researchers, he has also significantly strengthened administrative as well as R&D governance, by establishing an institute biosafety committee, a safety, security and Disaster Management Committee, Structural Inspection of institute and residential buildings, Energy Audit, Empowering Women in STI activities, Central Workshop facility and Central Furnace Facility. He has also taken an active interest in establishing a CGCRI innovation center at the newly established CSIR-Innovation center in Mumbai. Five companies have signed an MoU, as part of their engagement with CGCRI. All of Basu’s current activities are geared towards inspiring the next generation of scientists, while engaging with the key stakeholders (strategic sectors, energy and healthcare industries).
We extend our deep appreciation to Basu for his service to our Society!
