Rajan Krishna

Rajan Krishna is the Erich Bloch Chair, SUNY Empire Innovation Professor, and SUNY Distinguished Professor at the University at Buffalo (SUNY), where he leads research in the Department of Materials Design and Innovation within the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. His interdisciplinary work bridges data science, computational modeling, and experimental characterization to advance materials discovery.

Education

Dr. Krishna holds a ScD in Materials Science (with a minor in Science and Technology Policy) from MIT and a BASc in Metallurgy and Materials Science from the University of Toronto. He completed postdoctoral appointments at MIT and Cambridge University.

Research Focus

His research pioneers Materials Informatics—applying data-intensive methods for materials discovery—and advances quantitative techniques for nanoscale chemical imaging, particularly atom probe tomography. His work integrates machine learning, high-resolution imaging, and computational modeling to solve complex materials challenges.

Awards and Leadership

Notable recognitions include:

• Alexander von Humboldt Research Award (2015)
• NSF International Materials Institute Directorship (2002-2009)
• Wilkinson Professorship of Interdisciplinary Engineering (2011)
• CSIRO Distinguished Visiting Scientist Fellowship (2011)
• Editorial Advisory Board Member for Nature Scientific Reports

He has held advisory roles for the National Academies and received over 20 major awards spanning Germany, Japan, Australia, and the U.S.

Professional Trajectory

Before joining UB in 2015, he held endowed chairs at Iowa State University (Wilkinson Professor, Stanley Chair) and professorships at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Earlier roles include biomaterials adjunct work at the University of Ottawa and research at the National Research Council of Canada.