Engineering professor Satya Atluri honored by president of India

The government of India has announced that UC Irvine Distinguished Professor Satya Atluri will receive the 2013 Padma Bhushan award. The country’s third-highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan honors distinguished service of high order. Atluri is an engineer in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and director of the Center for Aerospace Research & Education at The Henry Samueli School of Engineering. His widely cited research spans several disciplines and has led to greater aircraft safety and durability. “As a teenager growing up in India, I followed with awe the two or three Padma Bhushan awardees in the sciences each year,” wrote Atluri in a note to colleagues. “I never dreamed that one day I would be considered to be worthy of this award, but here it is, proof only of the fruits of labor and commitment to science, education and research. I want to share my immense joy on this occasion and thank UCI for giving me a job and an opportunity to think, to teach and to publish.” Atluri is one of six honorees in the category of science and engineering and one of 24 total to receive the honor this year. The awards will be conferred by President Pranab Mukherjee sometime in the spring.