Ceramic Science and Engineering : Fundamentals to Recent Advancements

Kamakhya Prakash Misra received his Ph.D. in Physics in the field of materials science and thin films from the University of Lucknow, India. Presently, he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at Manipal University Jaipur, India. His current research interests include sol gel derived nanomaterials and thin film structures mainly to understand their opto-electronic behaviour, particularly band gap engineering of wide band gap semiconductors like ZnO and TiO2 (ceramic materials) using various dopants and controlling the processing parameters. Apart from band gap engineering, he monitors various aspects and features of surfaces developed in his lab using conventional techniques like SEM and AFM as well as high resolution techniques like XRF (XRR and GIXRF). His speciality lies in interpreting and analyzing photoluminescence, nonlinearity and energy level descriptions of various inorganic compounds. He has published more than 20 research articles in international journals of high repute. He also engages in other scholarly activities such as teaching courses on solid state physics and materials science at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Dr. R. D. K. Misra is Professor in the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at The University of Texas at El Paso, USA. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Department of Metallurgical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, India and PhD in Metallurgy and Materials Science from University of Cambridge, UK. Dr. Misra’s interdisciplinary research interests include advanced high strength-high toughness combination metals and alloys for structural and functional applications, materials for energy systems, biomaterials and nanostructured materials including composite materials. These research programs involve the use of a broad spectrum of materials characterization techniques such as electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, EBSD, atomic force microscopy, and mechanical testing. He has published over 800 peer reviewed articles in journals of international repute. Currently, he is Editor-in-Chief, Materials Technology – Advanced Performance Materials, published by Taylor and Francis, UK. He is also on the Editorial Board of Materials Science and Engineering A, Elsevier and Materials and Metallurgical Transactions, Springer. Prof. Misra is an active reviewer for more than 50 journals including Materials Science and Engineering A and B, Langmuir, Biomacromolecules, Physica Status Solidi, Materials and Design, Biomaterials, Journals of Biomaterials Applications, Science of Advanced Materials and Acta Biomaterialia. He has received several awards and honors like the Charles Hatchett Award, conferred by the Institute of Materials, UK (2007), Composite Award, conferred by the Institute of Materials, UK (2007), Innovator Award, University of Louisiana at Lafayette (2013) and the Distinguished Alumnus Award of Banaras Hindu University, India (2013). Dr. Misra is a Fellow of the American Society for Materials International, Alpha Sigma Mu, and the Institute of Minerals, Metals and Minerals, UK.