Honors and Awards

    Recent Awards


    2023


  • Professor R. I. Sujith received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Research and Development from IIT Madras on April 20, 2023

  • Professor R. I. Sujith elected as an International Member of US National Academy of Engineering
  • Editor's pick, AIP Scilight, Journal Cover Page and Featured Article in Chaos (2023):
  • Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science - Somnath De, Shraddha Gupta, Vishnu R. Unni, Rewanth Ravindran, Praveen Kasthuri, Norbert Marwan, Juergen Kurths, and R. I. Sujith. (2023) "Study of interaction and complete merging of binary cyclones using complex networks".
    Publication Link
    Scilight Link
  • 2022


  • IIT-M'S Pressure Oscillation Software goes places. Times News Network (2022)
  • Fellow of the Combustion Institute (2022)
  • 2021


  • Distinguished Fellowship Award IIAV (2021)
    Prof. R.I.Sujith awarded Distinguished Fellowship of the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration. First Indian to receive this honor.
  • Best paper award of ASME Turbo Expo, Combustion Fuel & Emissions (2021)
  • Finalist, PNAS Cozzarelli Prize (2021)
  • Featured article and coverage in Scilight (2021)
    I. Pavithran and R. I. Sujith(2020) Effect of rate of change of parameter on early warning signals for critical transitions, Chaos.
  • Topical review (invited) for the International Combustion Symposium (2021)
  • Invited Review article in the European Physical Journal Special Topics (2021)
  • INAE Young Engineer Award (2021)
    Dr. Samadhan A Pawar, Post Doctoral Researcher, won the INAE Young Engineer Award from Indian National Academy of Engineering for excellence in engineering research.
  • Innovative Student Project Award (2021)
    Shruthi Tandon, DD Student is awarded the Innovative Student Projects Award by the Indian National Academy of Engineering.
  • 2020


  • Listed in the world ranking of top 2% Indian scientists (2020)
    In the list of top 2% of researchers in the world (at top 1%) by an independent study at Stanford University researchers.
  • Editorial Advisory Board for Chaos Journal (2020)
  • Perspective article (invited) in Physics of Fluids (2020)
  • Our 2017 paper in Scientific reports is cited by UK Prime minister's office while discussing revamping of decision-making strategies. This is covered by Nature.
  • Journal Cover Page and Featured Article in Chaos (2020)
    Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science - S. Tandon, S. Pawar, S. Banerjee, A. J. Varghese, D. Premraj & R. I. Sujith "Bursting during intermittency route to thermoacoustic instability: Effects of slow-fast dynamics".
  • Coverage by Current Science on Science This Fortnight column
  • Innovative Student Projects Award (2020)
    Krishna Manoj, DD student is awarded the Innovative Student Projects Award by the Indian National Academy of Engineering.
  • 2019


  • J. C. Bose Fellowship.
    Awarded by Department of science and Technology (2019)
  • Interviewed on national television (Rajya Sabha TV)
  • Editor's Pick (2019)
    Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science 29, 103115.- P. Kasthuri, I. Pavithran, S. A. Pawar, R. I. Sujith, R. Gejji & W. Anderson (2019) "Dynamical systems approach to study thermoacoustic transition in a liquid rocket combustor".
  • Research Advisor.
    Nan Yang Academy of Sciences, Singapore (2019)
  • 2018


  • Appointed as Institute Chair Professor, IIT Madras (2018)
  • Article in the prestigious Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics (2018)
  • Editor's Pick (2018)
    Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science - V. R. Unni, A. Krishnan, R. Manikandan, N. B. George & R. I. Sujith (2018) "On the emergence of critical regions at the onset of thermoacoustic instability in a turbulent combustor", Chaos, 28, 063125.
  • Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science - N. Thomas, S. Mondal, S. A Pawar and R. I. Sujith (2018) "Effect of the time-delay and dissipative coupling on amplitude death in coupled thermoacoustic oscillators", Chaos, 28, 033119.

    2017


  • August Wilhelm Scheer Visiting Professorship at TUM (2017)
  • Won Astronautical Society of India's Prize for Rocket & Related Technologies (2017)
  • Elected as a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (2017)
  • Best Poster Award (Second Prize) at the International Workshop on Energy and Propulsion (2017)
  • Scientific Board Member for TU Munich Research Opportunities Week and TU Munich University Foundation Fellowship (2017)
  • 2016


  • Faculty award for outstanding Ph. D. Dissertation (2016)
    by Technical university of Munch to Ralf Blumenthal who was co-guided by Prof. Sujith

  • Keshav-Renganath excellence in research award (2016)
  • 2015


  • Founding Editor-in-Chief International Journal of Spray and Combustion Dynamics, Multi-science Publishing, UK
  • Founding Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Spray and Combustion Dynamics (2009-2015)
  • Bhaghyalakshmi & Krishna Ayengar Award
    By IIT Madras for having guided Vineeth V. Nair on the project titlted "Role of Intermittency in the onset of Combustion instability" (2015)
  • Technical Committee Member
    Of Propulsion and Combustion, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (2015)
  • 2014


  • Institute Research & Development Award (Mid Career), IIT Madras
  • TUM Ambassador
    By Technical University of Munich, Germany (2014)

  • 2013


  • J. C. Bose Patent award.
    Received from IIT Madras for Best Patent (2013)
  • 2012


  • Top 10 Most Downloaded Articles in ASME JEGT
    Sujith's paper with Kabiraj which established the route to chaos in thermoacoustic instability is in the list of 10 most downloaded articles in January 2012 in ASME Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power.
  • 2010


  • Hans Fischer Senior Fellowship
    Institute for Advanced Study of the Technical University of Munich, Germany
    Awarded in 2010, for being an outstanding scientist, doing high risk research. Only two researchers from Indian Institutes have received this fellowship so far.
  • Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
    Awarded in 2010

  • Royal Academy of Engineering Research Exchange Fellowship (2010)
  • 2009


  • Top 25 Hottest Articles in Science Direct
    Sujith's paper which showed that singular values (and not eigenvalues) characterise the energy growth during thermoacoustic instabilities ranked 7th in the Top 25 Hottest Articles in Science Direct in Combustion during October - December 2009

  • Coverage in Mathematics Week
    Sujith's discovery of non-normality in thermoacoustic instabilities was covered by Mathematics Week, March 17, 2008

  • 2008


  • Invited to meet Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India at his official residence

  • Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) Elected in 2007
  • 2007-2009


  • Associate Editor
    International Journal of Aerospace Engineering, Hindawi Publishing Corporation
  • Associate Editor of International Journal of Aerospace Engineering Publisher: Hindawi Publishing Corporation (2007-2009)
  • 2005-2006


  • Swarnajayanti Fellowship
    Department of Science and Technology, for path breaking fundamental research Research grant of 20 Million Indian Rupee (Approx. 1/2 million US dollars)

    2002


  • Young Engineer Award
    Indian National Academy of Engineering (2002), For excellence in engineering research
  • Best student paper award
    Best student paper award of the Madras India Chapter of the Acoustic Society of America was awarded to my student, Mr. P. Bala Subrahmanyam for a paper in which I was co-author (2002)
  • 2001


  • Best paper award on combustion
    XVII National Conference on IC Engines and Combustion (2001)
    Co-authors: Dr. S. R. Chakravarthy and Mr. S. Rajesh.

    2000


  • Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship
    Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2000-2001, 2004)
    For excellence in research Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung Research visits to Gottingen in 2000-2001, to TUM in 2004
  • 1994

  • Top graduate student in the College of Engineering
    Georgia Institute of Technology (1994)
  • 1988

  • HAL prize
    For First Rank in B. Tech at IIT Madras (1988)
  • First rank in Graduate Aptitude Test Examination, XE Category (1988)

    Other Honors