May 29, 2025
Society Fellow, Distinguished Emeritus Professor Chennupati Jagadish AC FRS FREng FRSN FAA of the Australian National University was recently elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London for playing a pivotal role in shaping science policy in Australia, advancing the field both nationally and globally as President of the Australian Academy of Science, and for his pioneering contributions to semiconductor optoelectronics and nanotechnology.
He is currently serving as the President of the Australian Academy of Science and in the past served as the President of IEEE Photonics Society, IEEE Nanotechnology Council and Australian Materials Research Society.
Professor Jagadish is an internationally acknowledged expert in the growth of semiconductor quantum wells, quantum dots and nanowires and understanding their electronic and optical properties. Jagadish and his team have demonstrated high-power semiconductor lasers, integrated optoelectronic devices, quantum dot and nanowire lasers, infrared detectors, solar cells and nanowire breath sensors. He and his group have developed single photon detectors and deterministic arrays of single photon sources for quantum science and technology applications.
Professor Jagadish grew up in a small village in India and studied by the light of a kerosene lamp. There was no high school in his village, so he lived with his maths teacher in a neighbouring village for three years. He joined ANU in 1990, after completing his undergraduate and postgraduate studies in India, and has served there since, building an almost unparalleled reputation in research. In 2016, he and his wife Vidya started the ANU Future Research Talent (FRT) Program with a donation of $140,000. This fellowship program, which supports students from developing countries to study at ANU, has grown to over $1 million with contributions from others at the University. Last year, 87 scholars from India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia travelled to ANU as part of the FRT program, spending three months gaining research experience.
In 2016, he was named a Companion of the Order of Australia for eminent services to physics and engineering and received the UNESCO medal for his contributions to nanoscience and nanotechnologies. He is the recipient of numerous honours and awards, including election as an international Fellow of the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering in 2022.
The Society of the Royal Society of NSW warmly congratulates Professor Jagadish on his recent Fellowship of the Royal Society — a capstone to a most eminent career.
