Vikram Deshpande facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Vikram Deshpande FRS FREng
Vikram Deshpande delivering a lecture at the Office of Naval Research in 2018
Born	(1972-02-29) 29 February 1972 (age 53) Mumbai
Alma mater	Indian Institute of Technology University of Cambridge
Known for	Materials Engineering
Awards	William Prager Medal 2022 Warner T. Koiter Medal 2022 Gili Agostinelli Prize 2021 Rodney Hill Prize 2020 Sir William Hopkins Prize 2018 Werner Koester Award 2017 Philip Leverhulme Prize 2003
Scientific career
Institutions	University of Cambridge

Vikram Sudhir Deshpande was born on February 29, 1972. He is an engineer and a scientist who studies materials. He was born in India but is now also British. Currently, he is a professor at the University of Cambridge in England, where he teaches about materials engineering.

Early Life and Education

Vikram Deshpande grew up in Dadar, a part of Mumbai, India. He went to Bombay Scottish School in Mahim. In 1994, he earned his first degree, a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.), from the Indian Institute of Technology.

That same year, he moved to Cambridge, UK. There, he studied for his Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) degree in engineering. He first worked on transportation topics. Later, in 1998, he completed his Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) degree.

His Career as a Scientist

After finishing his studies, Vikram Deshpande became very interested in materials and how they behave. He especially focused on very tiny materials. He started working closely with another scientist, Norman Fleck, on materials that have special tiny structures.

After doing more research in the United States, he returned to Cambridge. In 1999, he became a fellow at Pembroke College. He started teaching engineering in 2001 and became a full professor in 2010.

Professor Deshpande has also been a visiting professor at several other universities. These include Brown University in the US, Università Campus Bio-Medico in Rome, Italy, the University of California at Santa Barbara in the US, and the University of Eindhoven in the Netherlands.

Amazing Discoveries and Awards

One of his cool achievements is helping to create "metallic wood." This material is made from nickel sheets. It has tiny, nanoscale holes, like the pores in wood. This makes it super strong, as strong as titanium, but much lighter. It's four to five times lighter than titanium!

Professor Deshpande has won many awards for his important work. Some of these include:

• The Warner T. Koiter Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 2022.
• The William Prager Medal in 2022.
• The Gili Agostinelli Prize in 2021.
• The Rodney Hill Prize in Solid Mechanics in 2020.
• The Sir William Hopkins Prize in Mathematical and Physical Sciences in 2018.
• The Philip Leverhulme Prize in 2003.

In 2020, he was chosen to be a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists. He received it for his "significant contributions" to many areas. These include designing materials with tiny structures and studying soft materials. His new ideas have helped define what is possible in the field of solid mechanics. His research has also had a big impact on materials engineering.

He was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2023. This was for his important work on how engineering materials behave. In the same year, he became a foreign member of the National Academy of Engineering. This was for his work on how materials with tiny structures behave, especially when they are under extreme pressure or force.