Sriram Rajagopal Ramaswamy received his BS (1977) in Physics from the University of Maryland, and PhD (1983) from the University of Chicago for the study of the hydrodynamics of liquid crystals. During his postdoctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania with TC Lubensky he worked on quasicrystals, shear-melting of colloidal crystals, and the glass transition.

Academic and Research Achievements: Ramaswamy's main areas of interest involve condensed matter, statistical and biological physics. He was particularly interested in collective dynamical behaviour far from thermal equilibrium in liquid crystals, colloidal suspensions, surfactant solutions and living matter, from cell extracts to flocks of organisms. Highlights of his research include his recent work on the collective dynamics of self-driven particles, from fish schools to the cytoskeleton, experiments on fluctuations in liquid-crystalline phases in agitated monolayers of macroscopic rods, the statistical mechanics of sedimentation, the dynamics of quasicrystals; and the hydrodynamics of smectic and discotic liquid crystals. He introduced, in consultation with colleagues, innovative courses on soft-matter physics and biological physics.

Other Contributions: Ramaswamy is Member, Commission C3 on Statistical Physics of the IUPAP. He is on the Advisory Board of Soft Matter and the Editorial boards of Advances in Physics and the Journal of Statistical Mechanics, and, earlier Physical Review E, Resonance, Current Science, and Liquid Crystals.

Awards and Honours: Professor Ramaswamy has received the NS Satyamurthy Award (1988), BM Birla Memorial Prize for Physics (1996), SS Bhatnagar Prize for Physical Sciences (2000), NASI Young Scientist Millennium Award, JC Bose Fellowship (2007), and the GD Birla Prize (2006). He was elected Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore; and was Associate, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore (1988-92).