
IIT Madras professor Thalappil Pradeep has been elected a full member of the European Academy of Engineering (EAE), becoming only the third Indian to receive this honour. The academy, based in Gothenburg, Sweden, includes Nobel Laureates, Fields Medallists and Turing Award winners among its members. The election recognises Pradeep's pioneering work in nanotechnology and water purification, which has helped millions in India access arsenic-free drinking water.
The two previous Indian members of the EAE are IISc Bengaluru scientists C.N.R. Rao and Biman Bagchi. Pradeep, who holds the Padma Shri, Vigyan Shri and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, recently received a third five-year term under the ANRF J. C. Bose Grant. He founded the International Centre for Clean Water to translate lab research into scalable technologies.
The EAE election places Pradeep in a small group of Indian scientists recognised by a European engineering body that counts Nobel winners among its members. His work on affordable water filters has already reached millions, but the academy's platform could open access to European research collaborations and funding for scale-up. IIT Madras now has three faculty in such transnational academies, strengthening its case for global research rankings. The next signal to watch is whether this leads to joint projects with European water utilities.
Source: iitm.ac.in
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