Alumni Profile: Subra Suresh

Professor Subra Suresh obtained his Bachelor of Technology degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in 1977. He went on to earn an M.S. from Iowa State University in 1979 and a Sc.D. from MIT in 1981.

Professor Subra Suresh, currently the R.P. Simmons Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has made significant contributions to the field of mechanical behavior of materials. His work has garnered recognition and numerous accolades.

As an accomplished academic, Prof. Suresh holds several prestigious positions. He serves as the Co-Director of the MIT-Harvard program on Modeling of Materials and is the Chair of the Executive Committee, Materials Division ASME. Additionally, he is the Principal Editor of the journals Acta/Scripta Materialia and an Associate Editor of Materials Science and Engineering A. He is also a Series Editor for the Cambridge University Press State Science Series.

Throughout his career, Prof. Suresh has received numerous awards and honors. One notable recognition was the "Presidential Young Investigator Award" from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1985 for his outstanding contributions to the understanding of fatigue and fatigue crack growth. In 1996-98, he was invited to one of the six Swedish National Chairs in Engineering by the National Science Foundation.

Prof. Suresh's research interests lie in the quantitative investigation of the microscopic and macroscopic aspects of mechanical behavior in various materials such as metals, ceramics, thin films, piezoelectric materials, and composites. He has authored or co-authored over 150 articles in journals and conference proceedings, and he has co-edited five books. Furthermore, he holds co-inventorship in five U.S. and international patent applications, some of which have been licensed by major corporations for commercial development.

One of Prof. Suresh's notable contributions is his book titled "Fatigue of Materials," published by Cambridge University Press and translated into Chinese. This publication serves as a valuable resource in the study of material fatigue.

Prof. Subra Suresh's expertise and research in the field of mechanical behavior of materials have established him as a leading figure in the academic and scientific community. His contributions continue to advance the understanding of material properties and pave the way for advancements in various industries.