Asuri Sridharan earned BE (1959) with Ist Class Hons from Sri Venkateswara University and ME (1960) with distinction from Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. Thereafter, he joined IISc and worked there (1961-65) in the Department of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering (now Civil Engineering). While working as David Ross Fellow at Purdue University, he obtained the PhD (1968). He was awarded DSc (1992) by IISc for his significant contributions in 'geotechnical engineering research'. Dr Sridharan worked at IISc in various positionsLecturer (1962-68), Assistant Professor (1968-75), Associate Professor (1975-82), Professor (1982-84), Chairman, Department of Civil Engineering (1984-87), Chairman, Division of Mechanical Sciences (1987-94), KSIIDC Chair (1991-94), Deputy Director (1994-97), Adviser (1997-2000), and INSA Senior Scientist (2000-05). He was Visiting Professor in Japan and in Germany on numerous occasions.

Academic and Research Achievements: Sridharan research was on the basic mechanisms controlling the engineering behaviour of clays, with particular reference to strength, compressibility and permeability. He made notable contributions in the areas of reinforced earth and machine foundations. He has been an active consultant in his specialization and handled more than 240 projects. He also handled a number of sponsored projects including a major project on 'characterisation of fly ash' from DST-TIFAC. He has published over 350 papers and guided 34 PhD students.

Awards and Honours: Professor Sridharan was given a number of awards, notably the Khosla National Award by University of Roorkee (1990), Homi J Bhabha Award in Applied Sciences by UGC (1993), Diamond Jubilee Award by Central Board of Irrigation & Power, Government of India (1993), Alumni Award for Excellence in Research by IISc (1993); Professor SR Mehra Memorial Award by Roorkee University (1994), IGS-Kuckalmann Award for Excellence in Geotechnical Engineering by Hari Om Ashram Trust (1994), Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award by Purdue University, USA (1995), Distinguished Alumni Award by IISc (2002), and Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis Medal by INSA (2006). He was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, Indian National Academy of Engineering, New Delhi; Honorary Fellow, Indian Geotechncial Society; Honorary Professor, IISc (1997-2002); and President, Indian Geotechnical Society (1996-98).