Vinod K. Wadhawan

Vinod Wadhawan is a condensed-matter physicist, with special interest in symmetry, crystallography, crystal physics, phase transitions, ferroic materials, crystal growth, smart structures, and complex systems. A crystallographer and teacher, he served for two terms as member of the International Union for Crystallography (IUCr) Commission on Teaching. His other books are on ferroic materials (2000), smart structures (2007), and complexity science (2010, 2017/2018). His book on ferroic materials is the first comprehensive book on the subject. He was a recipient of the prestigious Raja Ramanna Fellowship of the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, for working at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai. Before that, he served as 'Outstanding Scientist' and Head, Laser Materials Division, Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore. He was till 2010 an Associate Editor of PHASE TRANSITIONS (Taylor & Francis), having done editorial work for this journal for a quarter of a century.Dr. Wadhawan is the originator of the concepts of optical ferrogyrotropy, acoustical ferrogyrotropy, and latent symmetry. Other terms introduced by him in the scientific literature are superelectrostriction and superpiezoelectricity (by analogy with the concept of superelasticity in physical metallurgy). He also formulated a comprehensive 'tensor classification' of twinning in crystals. He is currently investigating the emergence of symmetry in real-life complex networks. Science popularization is another of his current activities.