Professor N. Sathyamurthy completed his M.Sc. from Annamalai University, Tamilnadu, India (1972) and his Ph.D from Oklahoma State University, USA (1975). Later, he joined the research group of Professor John C. Polanyi (Nobel Laureate, 1986), in the University of Toronto, Canada as a postdoctoral fellow (1975-78). Professor Sathyamurthy joined the Department of Chemistry, IIT Kanpur as a Lecturer in 1978, and rose to the rank of a Professor in 1985. He was made the Institute Chair Professor in 2007 and Institute Fellow in 2013. His tenure at IIT Kanpur was marked by a series of notable achievements. It must be mentioned here that apart from being an excellent teacher and a researcher, he was one of the most approachable and kind mentors to a series of young students. He served the Institute in various capacities, including as the Head, Department of Chemistry and as the Dean of Faculty Affairs. To establish the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, he assumed charge as its Founder Director in 2007, and successfully completed the tenure for two consecutive terms. His tenure as Director at IISER Mohali saw its rise as one of the Institutes of Academic Excellence in India.

The objective of Professor N. Sathyamurthy Lecture Series is:

• To annually honor an eminent Scientist/Faculty of a prestigious research and/or academic institute of India, who excels in teaching and research, by inviting them to deliver a lecture to the Institute academic community
• Extension of the invitation to international speakers in the near future is also envisaged.
• The lecture series is expected to cater to a wide range of researchers and graduate students in terms of exposure to the broad understanding of the scope of theoretical and computational chemistry, and for encouraging cutting-edge research in this area.