Bhakta B. Rath

B. B. Rath is the former Head of the Materials Science and Component Technology directorate and former Associate Director of Research of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.

Following a tenured faculty appointment at Washington State University and stints at the corporate research labs of US Steel and McDonnell Douglas, Rath began his career at the NRL as head of the Physical Metallurgy Branch in 1976, and was subsequently selected to head the Materials Science and Technology Division, followed by his appointment to his present position. In his current position, Rath manages multidisciplinary theoretical and experimental research to discover and exploit new improved materials, generate new concepts associated with materials behavior, and develop advanced components based on these new and improved materials and concepts.

Rath completed his undergraduate studies in India, and earned an MS in Metallurgy from the Michigan Technological University and went on to earn his PhD from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is recognized in the fields of solid-state transformations, grain boundary migrations, and structure-property relationships. He has published over 230 papers and 3 patents in these fields, organized more than forty international conferences and edited over twenty published conference proceedings.

In 2009, Rath was awarded the Padma Bhushan, by the Government of India, for his contributions to science and technology. He has received a number of accolades for his contribution to science and research, including most recently an Award for Excellence from the Undersecretary of Defense; Honorary Membership in the AIME; the Royal International Award for Excellence, the Padma Bhushan Award of Honors and Excellence bestowed by the President of India; the Acta Materialia J. Herbert Hollomon Award; the Secretary of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award for distinguished accomplishments and sustained superior service; the Fred Saalfeld Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement; the Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Executive presented by President Bush. He also has served as a member of the Boards of Directors/Trustees of several technical societies and in the editorial boards of international materials research journals.