Dr. Sivaram is the Director of NCL. He is a polymer chemist by training. His research career spans a wide variety of areas in polymer science including polymer synthesis, new and improved catalysts for polymerization, novel processes for monomers and formulated products for specific end applications. After obtaining his master’s degree in chemistry at IIT Kanpur in 1967, he moved to Purdue University, Indiana, USA for his PhD, where he associated with Professor Herbert C. Brown, Nobel Laureate. Subsequently, he spent a few years at the Institute of Polymer Science, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA working with Prof J.P. Kennedy as a Research Associate in the area of polymer chemistry. Before joining NCL in 1988 he was heading the Research Center at Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd. (IPCL), Vadodara.

  Dr. Sivaram has received several awards and honors including the Vasvik Award, FICCI Award in Physical Sciences, the Om Prakash Bhasin Awards for Science and Technology, Distinguished Lecturership Award of Materials Research Society of India, Chemcon Distinguished Speaker Award of the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Millennium Medal of the Indian Science Congress Association, the Silver Medal of the Chemical Research Society of India and the Viswakarma Medal of the Indian National Science Academy.

  He is a Fellow of all the learned scientific and engineering societies in India, such as, the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, the National Academy of Sciences, Allahabad and the Indian National Academy of Engineering, New Delhi. He is also a Fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences, Trieste, Italy, the Asia–Pacific Academy of Materials and the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  Dr. Sivaram has authored over two hundred papers in peer reviewed journals. He has eighty-five patent applications to his credit. He has been cited as inventor in thirty-five U.S. patents.

  Dr. Sivaram serves on the editorial board of several international journals in polymer science. These include, Polymer International (Society of Chemical Industry, UK), International Journal Polymeric Materials (Gordon & Breach, USA) and Designed Monomers and Polymers (VSP Publishers, The Netherlands). He has guided the PhD theses of twenty-six students in the area of polymer chemistry at NCL. He serves as a Director on the Boards of Asian Paints India Ltd, Apcotex Lattices Pvt. Ltd. and GMM-Pfaudler Ltd. He is also a member of the India Advisory Board of InnoCentive India, an e-business arm of Eli Lily and Company.