BIODATA OF K. S. RAMA RAO
1. Name : Dr. K.S.Rama Rao.
2. Designation : Senior Principal Scientist
3. Department : Inorganic & Physical Chemistry
4. Institute/University Indian Institute of Chemical Technology
5. Address : Dr. K. S. Rama Rao, Senior Principal Scientist, Inorganic & Physical Chemistry Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Tarnaka, Hyderabad, A.P. India. PIN 500 007
6. Telephone : +91-40-17191712 & +91-40-27193232
7. Fax : +91-40-27160921
8. e-mail : &
9. Date of Birth : 14-03-1958
10. Sex : Male
11. SC/ST : No
12. Marital Status : Married, Wife & One Son
13. Academic Qualifications
Doctorate ( January 1992) : Osmania University, Hyderabad, India
Field: Heterogeneous Catalysis (Chemistry)
Master's (1985) : University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India
Main : Chemistry
Undergraduate (1977) : Nagarjuna University, Guntur, India,
Main : Chemistry
Ancillaries : Mathematics and Physics
14. Passport Details : Indian Passport No. A6284788 obtained at
Hyderabad, India
15. Professional Experience :
Senior Principal scientist : Since 6th March 2010
Principal Scientist : 6th March 2005 – 5th March 2010
Senior Scientist : 6th March 2001 – 5th March 2005
Scientist : 6th March 1997 – 5th March 2001
Junior Scientist : 6th March 1992 – 5th March 1997
At Catalysis Section, I&PC Division
Indian Institute of Chemical Technology,
Hyderabad, India
Laboratory &
Scientific Assistant(s) : 10th May 1978 – 5th March 1992
Catalysis Section
Indian Institute of Chemical Technology,
Hyderabad, India
15. Research Experience : Heterogeneous Catalysis: Catalyst Preparation, Characterization and Evaluation.
* CO/CO2 hydrogenation for DME synthesis
* Hydrogenation of fufural to furfuryl alcohol
* Combination of hydrogenation-dehydrogenation reactions (Catalytic Coupling Reactions)
* Ammonia synthesis at moderate pressures
* Halogen exchange reactions.
* Ammoxidation of Alkyl Substituted Picolines and Pyridines
* Hydrodechlorination of CFC-12 to HFC-32
* Aromatization of Isophorone to 3,5- Xylenol.
* Mesoporous materials (SBA-15)
* Adsorbents for defluoridation of ground water
* Silver catalysts for microorganism control
* CO2 Storage materials
* Decalin Dehydrogenation
* Ethyl bengene dehydrogenation
16. Research Interests
CO2 adsorbents, CO2 utilization, Biomass transformations, Fuel Cells, Coal gas clean-up, Insitu generation of NH3 followed by amination reactions, Water purification, Metal nitrides & carbides
17. Major Scientific achievements
· Successful demonstration of furfuryl alcohol synthesis under pressure in a batch reactor to the sponsorer, M/S. Delta Agro Chemicals, Vijayawada, A.P, India.
· Successful completion of “Laboratory studies on single - step synthesis of dimethyl ether (DME) from CO2 containing synthesis gas”, funded by M/s. Indian Oil Corporation, Faridabad, Haryana, India.
18. Countries Visited * Institute of Organo-Elemento Compounds, Moscow & Institute of Catalysis, Novosibirsk (Russia) Under ILTP Exchange Programme for 6 months (1989)
* Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) Taejon (South Korea) Under Brain – Pool Fellowship for 11 months (1997)
* The Open University, Milton Keynes (U.K.) for 3 months Under Link Programme Sponsored by British Council, Chennai (1999)
* University of Leeds, Leeds (U.K.) for 2 weeks Under Indo-UK joint project Sponsored by The British Council and DST, New Delhi, India (2002)
* University of Leeds, Leeds (U.K.) for 10 days Under Indo-UK joint project Sponsored by The British Council and DST, New Delhi, India (2003)
* International School of Geophysics, 30th Course : CO2 - Capture and Storage Technologies held at Ettore Majorana, Erice – Sicily, Italy during 31st October – 7th November, 2007
* Inha University, Seoul, South Korea under Brain-Pool Felloship for 6 months (2008)
19. Professional Bodies Life member of:
1. Catalysis Society of India
2. Materials Research Society of India
3. Indian Society of Analytical Scientists.
4. Society for preservation of Environment and Quality of Life.
5. Chemical Research Society of India
6. Association of British Scholars
7. Treasurer – Catalysis Society of India Hyderabad Chapter during 1996-1998
8. Executive Committee Member, Catalysis Society of India during 2003-2005
9. Fellow, Eurasian Academy of Environmental Sciences
10. Affiliate Member, Royal Society of Chemistry
11. Member, American Chemical Society
20. No. of Publications : Research Papers: 124
Patents Filed : 23 (including 5 US Patents & 8 Indian Patents - granted)
Papers Presented at seminars & symposia : > 80
21. Teaching Experience : 12 years Teaching experience for M.Sc.
(Industrial Chemistry) students on Catalysis aspects at Jawahar Lal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, India & AcSIR courses at IICT-H
22. Management Capabilities : a) Supervised - Ph.D. students (awarded) = 10 (working) = 9,
M.Sc. students = 12, M.Tech student = 5 &
B.Tech students = 12
b) Member, Disposable Committee, IICT, Hyderabad, India 2010-2012
c) Member, AP Pollution Board, Hyderabad 2011-2013
d) Recognition as a supervisor for guiding Ph.D students in :
i) Osmania University, Hyderabad, India
ii) Jawahar Lal Nehru Techniological University,
Hyderabad, India
iii) National Institute of Technology, Warangal, India
iv) Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University, Nanded, India and
v) Andhra University Waltair, India
e) Co-convener for the 16th National Symposium on Catalysis & 1st Indo-German Conference on Catalysis held at IICT, Hyderabad, India in 2003.
23. Awards / Invitations :
* Best Performance award from IICT, Hyderabad in the year 2000
* Awarded Brainpool fellowship to work in Korea (1997 & 2008)
* Editorial Board Member, The Open Catalysis Journal
* Delivered an invited Lecture at University of Leeds, Leeds, UK on Hydrodechlorination of CFC-12 in 2002
* Delivered an invited Lecture at Liverhulme Centre for Innovative Catalysis, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK on Hydrodechlorination of CFC-12 in 2002
* Delivered an Invited lecture “ Single step DME Synthesis” under Lab to Indistry session during 16th National Symposium and 2nd Indo-German Conference on Catalysis “Catalysis – A Cross disciplinary Vision” held at IICT, Hyderbad during February 6 – 8, 2003
* Delivered an invited Lecture “Hydrogen-Future Scenario” at the one-day workshop on “Hydrogen as Alternate Fuel-Emerging Technologies” held at JNTU, Hyderabad, India on 16 March, 2005
* Delivered an Invited Lecture “Nanochemistry” during a Training Programme on “Advances in Engineering Chemistry” on August 17, 2006 at Vasavi Engineering college, Hyderabad, India
* Delivered an invited lecture in Department of Chemistry, Osmania University on Catalysis in June, 2006
* Delivered an invited lecture on “Criteria for Standardization of Specifications for Activated Alumina and its Assay” at Hotel Clarks Amer, Jaipur, India during a Roundtable Deliberations on Standards for Activated Alumina on October 18, 2006
* Delivered an invited lecture on Low cost adsorbents and catalytic systems for drinking water purification at 3rd International Conference on Hydrology and Watershed Management with a focal theme on ‘Climate change – Water, Food and Environmental security held by JNTU, Hyderabad, India during 3-6 February, 2010
* Delivered a Plenary Lecture “Decalin Dehydrogenation- An environmental friendly H2 storage for on-board fuelcell equipped vehicles” at 2nd International Conference on Environmental Management during 25-28 October, 2010 organized by Centre for Environment, Institute of Science & Technology, JNTU, Hyderabad
* Delivered a Plenary talk on “An overview of futuristic fuels – Chemical aspects” at UGC sponsored Workshop ‘Chemistry and Energy Present and Future Scenario’ at Department of Chemistry, Osmania University College for Women, Koti, Hyderabad, India on March 22, 2011
* Delivered Invited lectures (1) Adsorbents & Catalysts for Drinking Water Purification and (2) “An overview of futuristic fuels – Chemical aspects” at UGC Sponsored JNTU Refresher Course on “Recent trends in Chemical Engineering” at JNTU, Hyderabad on 6th September, 2011
* Delivered Invited lecture on “Role of Catalysts in Green Chemistry” at UGC Sponsored National Seminar on The Promise of Green Chemistry (POGC-2011) at Department of Chemistry, Andhra Loyola College, Vijayawada (In Collaboration with Department of Chemistry, ANU) on November 17, 2011
* Delivered Invited lecture on “Role of Catalysts in Green Chemistry” at UGC Sponsored Refresher course on Green Chemistry & Organic Synthesis at Academic Staff College, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, November 5, 2012
* Catalysis – an intermix of Surface Science and Nano Technology
Keynote Address at National Seminar on “Recent Trends in Surface Science & Nanotechnology” (RTSSN-2013) on 29th November 2013 at Potti Sriramulu Chalavadi Mallikharjuna Rao (PSCMR) College of Engineering & Technology, Vijayawada, AP, India
* Chairman for one of the Technical Committees during a National Conference on “Role of Chemistry in Energy Development and Environmental Protection (RCEE-2014) held at Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupathi, A.P. during 3-4 March 2014
* Delivered A S Rao Foundation Lecture on “Science in our Daily Life” at A S Rao Council, Miyapur, Hyderabad on 4th May 2014
* Delivered Invited lecture on “Nanomaterials as catalysts for environmental applications” at National Workshop on "Development of Nanomaterials for Energy, Environment and Sustainability" (DNEES-2015) at ITER, Bhubaneswar, during 2-3 May 2015
* Chairman for one of the Technical Committees during a 22nd National Symposium on Catalysis “Catalysis for Better Tomorrow (CATSYMP 22)”held at CSIR-CSMCRI, Bhavanagar during 7-9 January 2015
* Delivered Invited lecture on “Nanomaterials in the area of Catalysis” at GITAM University, Hyderabad on 22nd August 2015
24. Refereeing of Journal manuscripts
* Acted as referee for manuscripts of
Applied Catalysis-B, Applied Catalysis A, Journal of Molecular Catalysis,
Journal of Catalysis, Catalysis Today, Catalysis Letters, RSC Advances,
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Indian Journal of Chemistry-A,
International Journal of Engineering, Science and Technology, JCS Chemical Communications
International Journal of Thermal Sciences, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Materials Chemistry and Physics, Materials Research Bulletin,
Microporous & Mesoporous Materials, Journal of Porous Materials, ACS Catalysis
The Open Catalysis Journal, Energy & Fuels, RSC Chemical Communications,
Energy & Environmental Science, Biochemical Engineering Journal, BioResources,
Journal of Chemical Technology and Bio Technology, Fuel, Catalysis Communications,
Journal of Chemical Sciences, Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Nano Research,
Research on Chemical Intermediates, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
25. Invited Articles in Journals
* A feature article published in Cattech7(2003)218
* A Contributory article published in the Special issue of Applied Catalysis –A 271 (2004) 95
26. Ph.D Theses Reviewed
* Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, India =2
* University of KwaZulu-Natl, Durban, South Africa =2
* University of Pune, India =1
* AcSIR, New Delhi, India = 1
* KITS, Bhubaneswar =1
* Devi Ahilya University, Indore = 1
27. Editorial Board Member (Journals)
* International Journal of Chemistry and Applications (IJCA) ISSN 0974 – 3111 (Research India Publications)
* The Open Catalysis Journal (TOCATJ) ISSN (Bentam Science Publishers)
* Current Catalysis (CCAT) ISSN: 2211-5455 (Bentam Science Publishers)
One of the Guest Editors for the Journal:
(1) Special Issue “Catalysis For Sustainable Development” of the Journal of Chemical Sciences, Volume 126 Number 2, pages 309-532, March 2014 Published Jointly by Indian Academy of Sciences and Springer. ISSN :0974-3626
(2) Special Issue “Catalysis for Efficient Production of Chemicals” of Indian Journal of Chemistry Section-A Volume 53A, Number 4 & 5, pages 445-580, April-May 2014 published by CSIR-NISCAIR, New Delhi. ISSN : 0376-4710 (Print); 0975-0975 (Online)
28. Book Chapters:
Chapter 6: Hydrodesulfurization Studies on SBA-16 Supported Molybdenum hydrotreating Catalysts
Kapil Soni, Thallada Bhaskar, Manoj Kumar, Kamaraju Seetha Rama Rao, and Gudimella Murali Dhar
In Novel Materials for Catalysis and Fuels Processing; Eds. Juan J. Bravo-Suáŕ ez, The University of Kansa,Lawrence, Kansa, Michelle K. Kidder, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Viviane Schwartz, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Pubs:ACS Symposium Series 1132; American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 2013. Distributed in print by Oxford University Press.
Publication Date (Web): June 11, 2013 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2013-1132.fw001
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS (JOURNALS)
1. New type of carbon coated alumina supports for the preparation of highly active Ru catalysts for ammonia synthesis.
K.S. Rama Rao, P. Kanta Rao, S.K. Masthan, Leena Kalyuschnaya and V.B. Shur
Appl Catal.,A: 62 (1990) L19.
2. Effect of Barium addition on the ammonia synthesis activity of a cesium promoted Ru catalyst supported on carbon-covered alumina (CCA)
K.S. Rama Rao, S.K. Masthan, P.S. Sai Prasad and P. Kanta Rao
Appl. Catal.,A: 73 (1991) L1.
3. Hysteresis during ammonia synthesis over promoted Ru catalysts supported on carbon-covered alumina
S.K. Masthan, P.S. Sai Prasad, K.S. Rama Rao, and P.Kanta Rao.
J. Mol. Catal., 67 (1991) LI
4. Preparation and characterization of highly dispersed vanadium oxide catalysts supported on zirconia
K.V.R. Chary, K. Narsimha, K.S. Rama Rao, B. Rama Rao and P. Kanta Rao
J Mol Catal, 58 (1990) L13.
5. Hydrodeoxygenation of furan by carbon supported molybdenum sulphide catalysts
K.V.R. Chary, K.S. Rama Rao, G. Muralidhar and P. Kanta Rao
Carbon., 29 (1991) 478.
6. Hydrodesulfurization on MOS2/MgO
K.V.R.Chary, H. Rama Krishna, K.S. Rama Rao, G. Muralidhar and P.Kanta Rao
Catal. Lett., 10 (1991) 27.
7. Influence of coke formation on the aromatization of isophorone
P.S. Sai Prasad, B. David Raju, K.S. Rama Rao, G.S. Salvapathi and P. Kanta Rao
Appl. Catal.,A:83 (1992) 141.
8. Structure sensitive nitrogen chemisorption on supported Ru catalysts
S.K. Masthan, K.S. Rama Rao, P.S. Sai Prasad and P. Kanta Rao
Ind. J Chem., 31A (1992) 279.
9. Influence of the oxide supports on ammonia synthesis activity of unpromoted ruthenium catalysts
S.K. Masthan, K.S. Rama Rao and P. Kanta Rao
Ind. J. Chem.,32A (1993) 483.
10. Selectivity improvement in the aromatization of isophorone on carbon covered alumina supported K2O-Cr2O3 catalyst
P.S. Sai Prasad, B. David Raju, K.S. Rama Rao, G.S. Salvapathi and P. Kanta Rao
J. Mol. Catal., 78 (1993) L19.
11. Derivation of the Expanded form of the BJH equation and its application for Pore Structure Analysis of Mesoporous Adsorbents
S.Khaja Masthan, K.S. Rama Rao, P.S. Sai Prasad and P. Kanta Rao.
Ads. Sci. Technol., 9 (1992) 212.
12. Influence of method of preparation on ammonia synthesis activity on Cs promoted Ru catalysts supported on Activated Carbon
S.K. Masthan, K.S. Rama Rao, P. Kanta Rao, S.M.Yunusov, Lena Kalyuschnaya, V.B. Shur and M.E.Volpin
Ind. J. Chem., 33A (1994) 816.
13. Influence of metal loading on hydrogen chemisorption and hydrogenation activity of Ru/A12O3 catalysts
S.K. Masthan, K.S. Rama Rao, K.V.R. Chary, V. Venkat Rao and P. Kanta Rao
Ind. J. Chem., 33A (1994) 26.
14. Influence of metal loading on structure sensitive chemisorption of nitrogen on Ru/ g-A12O3 catalysts