July 11th, 2026

From IITKGP to Cutting-Edge Materials Research:
Dr. Sundeep Mukherjee Strengthens Global Research Ties

IITKGP Foundation 

As IIT Kharagpur strengthens the bridge between academic excellence and personal wellbeing, alumni have a unique opportunity to help ensure that future generations of KGPians not only succeed—but thrive.

Today, Dr. Mukherjee serves as Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Distinguished Fellow of the College of Engineering at the University of North Texas (UNT). Over the past fifteen years, he and his research team have made significant contributions to the design, discovery, and processing of advanced materials, including metallic glasses and refractory high-entropy alloys—materials that hold promise for applications ranging from aerospace systems to clean energy technologies.

The foundation for this work was laid during his years at IIT Kharagpur's Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, where a passion for materials science first took shape in the institute's classrooms and laboratories. After graduating from IIT Kharagpur, Dr. Mukherjee earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science from the California Institute of Technology and completed postdoctoral research at Yale University.

His academic and research accomplishments have been widely recognized. Dr. Mukherjee has secured more than $25 million in research funding from leading U.S. federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Defense (DoD), and Department of Energy (DoE). He has also mentored generations of researchers, graduating 17 Ph.D. students and guiding numerous master's students and postdoctoral scholars who now hold prominent positions in academia, national laboratories, and industry.

A strong advocate for international collaboration, Dr. Mukherjee helped establish the Indo–US Joint Center for Development of Durable Advanced Materials for Bioimplants, a virtual research center supported by the prestigious Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum. The initiative brought together researchers from both countries to advance next-generation biomaterials for medical applications.

Building on these efforts, Dr. Mukherjee is now launching a new research collaboration with IIT Kharagpur focused on advanced manufacturing of refractory alloys. Joining him is fellow KGP alumnus Dr. Vijay Vasudevan (B.Tech., Metallurgy, 1979), Regents Professor at UNT. Together, they are working with partners from U.S. National Laboratories to address critical technological challenges in the use of refractory metals for plasma-facing components in future nuclear fusion reactors.

Their work exemplifies the growing impact of IIT Kharagpur's global alumni network—connecting world-class expertise across continents to tackle some of the most important scientific and technological challenges of our time.