Mas Subramanian

Munirpallam Appadorai "Mas" Subramanian, often known also as M. A. Subramanian or Munirpallam Subramanian, is a solid-state chemist at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, and currently holds both the titles of Distinguished Professor[1] and Milton Harris Chair of Materials Science in the Department of Chemistry. His work in solid-state chemistry on structure-property relationships of inorganic compounds has led to the discovery of several novel functional materials, many of which have found usage in various applications. Subramanian has authored 360 research publications and holds 60 patents. His publications have received more than 28,000 citations (h-index: 72).

Mas Subramanian
Born	Munirpallam Appadorai Subramanian Madras (Chennai), India
Other names	M.A. Subramanian, Mas Subramanian
Alma mater	University of Madras (B.S., M.S., 1972-1977) IIT Madras (Ph.D., 1982) Texas A&M University (Post-doctoral fellow, 1982–1984)
Scientific career
Fields	Chemistry, Materials Science
Institutions	DuPont (Wilmington, DE) (1984–2006) Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux (Bordeaux, France) (visits, 1993–2006) Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR) (2006 – present) Laboratoire CRISMAT (Caen, France) (visits, 2007–2009)

Early life and education

Subramanian was born and raised in Chennai.[2] Subramanian received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Madras, in 1975 and received a M.S in Inorganic Chemistry from the same university in 1977. Subramanian's master's thesis featured analysis of various minerals and alloy compounds.[3] In 1982 Mas completed his Ph.D in Solid State Chemistry on pyrochlore oxides at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India, under the guidance of the late Professor G. V. Subba Rao. The introduction to his thesis is a pyrochlore review that remains his most cited work to date.[4] From 1982-1984 he was a NSF Post Doctoral Fellow under the guidance of Abraham Clearfield at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.

Scientific career

In 1984, Subramanian joined the Central R&D department at the DuPont Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware.[5] He was eventually appointed as a DuPont Research Fellow. He has made numerous contributions to the fields of ceramics, superconductors, dielectrics, catalysis, thermoelectrics, multiferroics, ionic conductors, and organic synthesis. His notable discoveries include: zeolites as precursors to electronic ceramics,[6] new Bi and Tl-containing superconductors,[7] catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis,[8] and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),[9] colossal dielectrics (CCTO),[10][11] colossal magnetoresistance (GMR) oxides,[12][13] and skutterudite thermoelectrics.[14] His work on fluoroaromatic synthesis[15] is one of his most notable achievements.

In 2006, Subramanian joined Oregon State University as the Milton Harris Chair Professor of Materials Science, where his research is dedicated to the design and synthesis of novel functional materials for emerging applications in energy, environment, and electronics. He and his team, at Oregon State University, work on various topics such as pigments, thermoelectrics, high-temperature superconductivity, magnetoresistivity, solid fast ion conductors, high-K dielectrics, and topological insulators. In 2009, his team discovered a novel durable blue pigment, YInMn Blue,[16] the first discovery of a new blue pigment since cobalt was discovered in 1802.[2][17] Subramanian has given several public lectures all over the world on YInMn Blue, including TEDxSalem[18] and TEDxUNC[19]. This discovery has been featured in various international media outlets (such as The New York Times, TIME, National Geographic, Smithsonian[20], Bloomberg Businessweek[21], and WBUR[22]), and has attracted global attention from corporations and museums, like Nike, Crayola, and the Harvard Art Museum.

Subramanian has served as a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Materials Chemistry (1995-2001), Chemistry of Materials (2000-2006), Materials Research Bulletin (2006–present), and the Journal of Solid State Chemistry (2009–present), and is continues to serve as an editor for two international academic journals, Solid State Sciences, and Progress in Solid State Chemistry.

Honors and awards

• Distinguished Professor, Oregon State University, 2019[23]
• Perkin Medal (awarded in exceptional circumstances) from the Society of Dyers and Colourists, 2019
• Elected Fellow for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2018[24]
• Distinguished Alumnus Award, IIT Madras, 2018
• Oregon Academy of Science Outstanding Oregon Scientist, 2016
• F.A. Gilfillan Memorial Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Science (OSU), 2013
• NSF Creativity Award, 2012
• Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) Medal, 2012
• Gordon Research Conference (GRC) Hall of Fame, 2011
• Chair of the Gordon Research Conference on Solid State Chemistry, 2010
• Ralf Busch Materials Science Award, OSU (2007)
• Chair of Excellence, CRISMAT, Caen, France, (2006-2008)
• Signature Faculty Fellow, Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI), 2006–present
• DuPont Charles Pedersen Medal Award for Excellence in Scientific and Technical Achievement, 2004

References

1. https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/oregon-state-names-three-distinguished-professors-0
2. Schonbrun, Zach. "The Quest for the Next Billion-Dollar Color". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
3. "Biography - Mas Subramanian Oral History Interview - September 30, 2015 - Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Oregon State University Libraries". scarc.library.oregonstate.edu. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
4. Subramanian, M. A.; Aravamudan, G.; Subba Rao, G. V. (1 January 1983). "Oxide pyrochlores — A review". Progress in Solid State Chemistry. 15 (2): 55–143. doi:10.1016/0079-6786(83)90001-8.
5. "C&EN: CHEMISTRY HIGHLIGHTS 2002 - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY". pubs.acs.org. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
6. Subramanian, M. A.; Corbin, D. R.; Chowdhry, U. (1 December 1993). "Better ceramic substrates through zeolites". Bulletin of Materials Science. 16 (6): 665–678. doi:10.1007/BF02757661. ISSN 0250-4707.
7. Subramanian, M. A.; Calabrese, J. C.; Torardi, C. C.; Gopalakrishnan, J.; Askew, T. R.; Flippen, R. B.; Morrissey, K. J.; Chowdhry, U.; Sleight, A. W. (31 March 1988). "Crystal structure of the high-temperature superconductor TI2Ba2CaCu2O8". Nature. 332 (6163): 420–422. doi:10.1038/332420a0.
8. Herron, Norman; Manzer, Leo E.; Subramanian, Munirpallam A. (9 April 2002), Fischer-Tropsch processes and catalysts using fluorided supports, retrieved 10 July 2016
9. Mallikarjuna, Rao V. N.; Subramanian, Munirpallam A. (29 February 2000), Fluoroolefin manufacturing process, retrieved 10 July 2016
10. Subramanian, M. A.; Li, Dong; Duan, N.; Reisner, B. A.; Sleight, A. W. (1 May 2000). "High Dielectric Constant in ACu3Ti4O12 and ACu3Ti3FeO12 Phases". Journal of Solid State Chemistry. 151 (2): 323–325. doi:10.1006/jssc.2000.8703.
11. Li, J.; Subramanian, M. A.; Rosenfeld, H. D.; Jones, C. Y.; Toby, B. H.; Sleight, A. W. (1 December 2004). "Clues to the Giant Dielectric Constant of CaCu3Ti4O12 in the Defect Structure of "SrCu3Ti4O12"". Chemistry of Materials. 16 (25): 5223–5225. doi:10.1021/cm048345u. ISSN 0897-4756.
12. Subramanian, M. A.; Toby, B. H.; Ramirez, A. P.; Marshall, W. J.; Sleight, A. W.; Kwei, G. H. (5 July 1996). "Colossal Magnetoresistance Without Mn3+/Mn4+ Double Exchange in the Stoichiometric Pyrochlore Tl2Mn2O7". Science. 273 (5271): 81–84. doi:10.1126/science.273.5271.81. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 8688054.
13. Ramirez, A. P.; Subramanian, M. A. (25 July 1997). "Large Enhancement of Magnetoresistance in Tl2Mn2O7: Pyrochlore Versus Perovskite". Science. 277 (5325): 546–549. doi:10.1126/science.277.5325.546. ISSN 0036-8075.
14. He, Tao; Chen, Jiazhong; Rosenfeld, H. David; Subramanian, M. A. (1 February 2006). "Thermoelectric Properties of Indium-Filled Skutterudites". Chemistry of Materials. 18 (3): 759–762. doi:10.1021/cm052055b. ISSN 0897-4756.
15. Subramanian, M. A.; Manzer, L. E. (6 September 2002). "A "Greener" Synthetic Route for Fluoroaromatics via Copper (II) Fluoride". Science. 297 (5587): 1665. doi:10.1126/science.1076397. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 12215637.
16. Smith, Andrew E.; Mizoguchi, Hiroshi; Delaney, Kris; Spaldin, Nicola A.; Sleight, Arthur W.; Subramanian, M. A. (2009). "Mn 3+ in Trigonal Bipyramidal Coordination: A New Blue Chromophore". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 131 (47): 17084–17086. doi:10.1021/ja9080666. PMID 19899792.
17. "How the Accidental Discovery of YInMn Blue Changed One Chemist's Life | artnet News". artnet News. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
18. TEDx Talks (5 April 2018), A new color comes from out of the blue | Mas Subramanian | TEDxSalem, retrieved 28 May 2018
19. TEDx Talks (26 March 2018), YInMn Blues: The Discovery that Startled the World! | Mas Subramanian | TEDxUNC, retrieved 28 May 2018
20. Katz, Brigit. "Crayola to Debut Crayon Inspired by New Shade of Blue". Smithsonian. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
21. Schonbrun, Zach. "The Quest for the Next Billion-Dollar Color". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
22. "Discovery Of 1st New Blue Pigment In 200 Years Leads To Quest For Elusive Red". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
23. https://leadership.oregonstate.edu/provost/2019-osu-distinguished-professors
24. "AAAS Honors Accomplished Scientists as 2018 Elected Fellows". American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 1 December 2018.

External links

• Mas Subramanian Oral History Interview