Professor Subra Suresh, former director of the National Science Foundation and incoming president of NTU, Singapore, led the Materials Science Council from its inception.
From 2014 to 2017, the Council undertook a raft of activities with Elsevier, to help support the research community in three ways: supporting the sharing and communication of scientific information and data through new technology platforms and pathways; helping researchers communicate the importance of materials science to the general public; and rewarding researchers, particularly those working in difficult conditions or in countries with limited infrastructure.
Find out more about the Elsevier Materials Science Council:
Left to right: Professor Subra Suresh (Chair); Professor Choon Fong Shih; Professor N Balakrishnan; Professor Peter Gudmundson; Dr. Alan I. Leshner.Members
Professor Subra Suresh (Chair)
Former President, Carnegie Mellon University
Founder of the Global Research Council
Former Executive Director, National Science Foundation
A distinguished engineer and scientist, Suresh served as Director of the National Science Foundation from 2010 to 2013. Before his appointment to NSF, he was the Vannevar Bush Professor of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he was the Dean of the School of Engineering (2007-2010).
In October 2013, Suresh was elected to the Institute of Medicine, the branch of the U.S. National Academies that honors researchers in medicine and health care. He already had been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (2012) and the National Academy of Engineering (2002). Suresh is one of only 16 American scientists to be elected to all three branches, and the only current university president to hold this distinction. He is the first Asian-born professor to lead any of the five schools at MIT and the first Asian-born scientist to lead NSF.
He will be taking over as President of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore with effect from 1 January 2018
Read more about Professor Suresh here
Professor Choon Fong Shih
Consultant to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, and a part-time university professor at NUS
Former President, National University of Singapore
Founding President, KAUST, Saudi Arabia
Professor Shih Choon Fong is the former president of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and a renowned fracture mechanics expert. Before joining KAUST as Founding President in December 2008, he was president of the National University of Singapore (NUS) for 9 years and has been widely acknowledged for creating the University’s research-intensive focus as well as for NUS’ elevated global reputation.
In 2004, Shih became the first Singaporean to be elected as a Foreign Associate to the United States National Academy of Engineering.
He was awarded the French decoration "Chevalier" in the Order of the "Legion d'Honneur" in 2005.
In recognition of his work and research achievements, Shih was elected as a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2006.
In 2007, Shih received the inaugural Chief Executive Leadership Award for Asia Pacific presented by the Council for Advancement and Support for Education.
Read more about Professor Shih here
Professor Peter Gudmundson
Former Rector/President, Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Stockholm
Peter Gudmundson, born in 1955 and Professor of Material Mechanics, was President of the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) 2007-2016. He has a Master of Science degree in Engineering Physics and a doctoral degree in Solid Mechanics, both from KTH.
Read more about Professor Gudmundson here
Professor N Balakrishnan
Deputy Director, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
Head of the Supercomputer Education and Research Centre at the Indian Institute of Science
Professor Balakrishnan is a fellow of the following:
- The World Academy of Sciences
- Indian National Science Academy
- Indian Academy of Sciences
- Indian National Academy of Engineering
- National Academy of Sciences, Allahabad
- Institution of Electronic and Telecommunication Engineers
He has won many awards and is a member of a number of comittees as well as being an invited speaker to multiple talks. To see a full list, click here. His main research interests are numerical electromagnetics, multi parameter radars, and signal processing.
Read more about Professor Balakrishnan here
Dr. Alan I. Leshner
Chief Executive Officer Emeritus, AAAS
Alan I. Leshner is Chief Executive Officer, Emeritus, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and former Executive Publisher of the Science family of journals.
Before this position, Dr. Leshner was Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health. He also served as Deputy Director and Acting Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, and in several roles at the National Science Foundation. Before joining the government, Dr. Leshner was Professor of Psychology at Bucknell University. He also has held visiting appointments at the Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center; and as a Fulbright Scholar at the Weizmann Institute of Science.
Dr. Leshner is an elected fellow of AAAS, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Public Administration, and many other professional societies. He is a member and served on the governing Council of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science.
He was appointed by President Bush to the National Science Board in 2004, and then reappointed by President Obama in 2011. Dr. Leshner received Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in physiological psychology from Rutgers University and an A.B. in psychology from Franklin and Marshall College. He has been awarded seven honorary Doctor of Science degrees.
Read more about Dr Leshner here
The first Elsevier Materials Science Council meeting at Elsevier in Oxford, July 2014. Left to right: Professor Choon Fong Shih; Professor Subra Suresh (Chair); Deborah Logan (Materials Science Publishing Director, Elsevier); Professor Peter Gudmundson; Professor N Balakrishnan.