GTU IITK Foundation IITKDF

Prof. Indranil Manna

(MT/MME/1985)

Prof. Indranil Manna is a distinguished metallurgical and materials engineer, academician, and researcher whose work spans materials science, engineering education, and academic leadership. He serves as Vice-Chancellor of Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra, Ranchi. He superannuated from IIT Kharagpur in January 2026 after serving for more than four decades. Currently, he is associated with IIT Kharagpur as a Professor of Eminence (Honorary). He previously served as Director of IIT Kanpur and CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI), and as the 14th President of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) from 2020 to 2024.



Profile

Prof. Manna received his B.E. in Metallurgical Engineering from Bengal Engineering College, University of Calcutta, in 1983, followed by an M.Tech. in Metallurgical Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 1985 and a Ph.D. from IIT Kharagpur in 1990.

He joined IIT Kharagpur in 1985 and became a Professor in 2003. He served as Director of CSIR-CGCRI from March 2010 to October 2012, before assuming the role of Director of IIT Kanpur in November 2012, a position he held until November 2017. In August 2020, he became Vice-Chancellor of BIT Mesra.

Prof. Manna has contributed to national initiatives in research, innovation, and engineering education. He served as National Coordinator of the Impacting Research, Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT) initiative and has been associated with programmes including Uchchatar Avishkar Yojana (UAY), the Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC), Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), and Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA). He has also served as National Coordinator of the Centre for Engineering Education and Excellence (CEEE) of INAE.

He has pursued wide-ranging research interests concerning microstructure-property-parameter correlation and modelling in structural and functional materials, including additive manufacturing, nanometric metals/composites, laser/plasma assisted surface engineering, nano/ferro-fluid and bainitic steel. His significant contributions on amorphous Al-alloys, laser surface engineering of steel/Mg/Ti alloys and thermal and magnetic properties of nanofluid and ferrofluid received keen attention from the scientific community and are highly lauded. His early contributions in moving boundary phase transformation are still widely cited.

Professor Manna visited different renowned R&D institutions and universities abroad as a guest scientist like Max Planck Institute at Stuttgart and Technical University of Clausthal (Germany), Unipress in Warsaw (Poland), Liverpool University (UK), Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), Ecole Polytechnic de Mines (France), National Institute of Materials Science at Tsukuba (Japan), University of Tennessee (USA), and University of Ulm (Germany) with teaching or research assignments.

He was the Chairman of the Research Council of CSIR-AMPRI, Bhopal and CSIR-NML, Jamshedpur, Member of the Research Councils of BHEL, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Society of IIM Indore, Board of Governors of IIM Lucknow, IISER Pune, IIEST Shibpur and IISER Kolkata. He was a member of the Governing Body of the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), Executive Council of AICTE, the Administrative Council of the Abdul Kalam Technical University (UP), and SAMAVESH, a NITI AAYOG Think-Tank Group. He was the Chairman, INSA-INSPIRE Faculty Fellow Scheme (Engineering Sciences) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Chairman of the Program Advisory Committee (PAC) of the Metals, Materials, Mining Engineering Section of SERB-DST, Member of the Board of the Steel Research Technology Mission Initiative (SRTMI), PM Trophy Committee and R&D Board of the Ministry of Steel, and Member of the Research Council of ARCI, Hyderabad (DST) and Research Advisory Board of GAIL India and R&D of BHEL, Hyderabad. He was an active member of the committee on Science Technology Innovation Policy (STIP) of India and chaired the Surface Engineering (V12H3) group under the Advanced Manufacturing Forum of Vaishvik Bharatiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) scheme. Earlier, he briefly served as an expert in NAAC and NBA. He was a Member of the Academic Council of Homi Bhabha National Institute (Department of Atomic Energy), Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandir at Belur, and currently serves the National University of Study and Research in Law, Indian Institute of Coal Management, and Jhakhand State Faculty Development Academy in Ranchi.

During his academic career, Prof. Manna contributed to the development of specialised research facilities at IIT Kharagpur, including laboratories for plasma ion implantation and coating, FEG-SEM, PLD, mechanical alloying, wear and erosion testing, electron-beam joining, pulsed laser deposition, and nanofluid synthesis and characterisation.

Achievements and Honours


  • Vice-President (Science and Society), Indian National Science Academy (INSA).
  • President, Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), 2020-2024.
  • Vice President, Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), 2014-19.
  • JC Bose Fellow, Department of Science and Technology (DST), 2012-2022.
  • MGK Menon Memorial Lecture of The National Academy of Sciences (India), 2026
  • President (2016-2017) and Vice President (2013-2016), Indian Institute of Metals (IIM).
  • President, Materials Science Section, Indian Science Congress Association (2009-2010).
  • Platinum Jubilee Medal Lecture Award (2011), Indian Science Congress association.
  • National Metallurgist Award (2018), Metallurgist of the Year (2002), and Young Metallurgist Award (1991), Ministry of Steel, Government of India.
  • Honorary Doctor of Science degrees, conferred by the University of Kalyani and Kazi Nazrul University, 2017.
  • Distinguished Alumnus Award, IIT Kharagpur, 2016.
  • Fellow, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS); winner of the TWAS Prize in Engineering Sciences.
  • Distinguished Alumnus Award, IIEST Shibpur, 2014.
  • Fellow, Indian National Science Academy (INSA), 2010.
  • INAE Visvesvarya Chair Professor (2009-2011) and INAE-AICTE Distinguished Industry Professor (2007-2009) at IIT Kharagpur.
  • Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences, 2008.
  • Fellow, Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), 2005.
  • Fellow, National Academy of Sciences, India, 2005.
  • Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, 2001, and DAAD Fellowship, 1988.
  • Mouat Medal, University of Calcutta, 1999.
  • Premchand Roychand Scholarship, University of Calcutta, 1992.
  • INSA Medal for Young Scientist, 1992.

Last updated Oct 26, 2026