Patcha Ramachandra Rao (21 March 1942 – 10 January 2010) was a metallurgist and administrator. He has the unique distinction of being the only Vice-Chancellor (2002–05) of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) who was also a student (1963–68) and faculty (1964–92) at that institution. From 1992 to 2002, Rao was the Director of the National Metallurgical Laboratory Jamshedpur. After his tenure as Vice-Chancellor of B.H.U., in 2005, he took the reins of the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) as its first Vice-Chancellor. He was to serve DIAT until his superannuation in 2007. From 2007 till the end, Rao was a Raja Ramanna Fellow at the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials, in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.
Institutions
- Indian Institute of Technology (BHU)
- National Metallurgical Laboratory
- Defence Institute of Advanced Technology
- Indian Institute of Science, Osmania University?
Fields
- Metallurgy
- Material science
- Engineering
Awards
- Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (1985)
- National Metallurgist Award (2004)
- Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Gold Medal. INSA (2005)?
Honorary positions
· President, The Asia-Pacific Academy of Materials (APAM), India Chapter
· President, Indian Institute of Metals
· Vice-President, Materials Research Society of India
· Vice-President, Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi.
· Sectional President, Materials Science Section, Indian Science Congress