DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS AWARDEE | 2026

Prof. Srinivasan S. Iyengar is currently a Professor in the Department of Chemistry, an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physics, and the Director of the Graduate Program on Scientific Computing at Indiana University Bloomington, USA.

After completing the five-year integrated M.Sc. programme from IIT Bombay, he earned an M.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Florida and a Ph.D. in Theoretical Chemical Physics from the University of Houston, where he conducted research in quantum reactive scattering theory under Prof. Don Kouri.

His professional preparation included postdoctoral appointments at Rice University with Prof. Gustavo Scuseria in electronic structure theory and at the University of Utah with Prof. Greg Voth in quantum statistical mechanics. These formative experiences, along with his foundational training at IIT Bombay, played a pivotal role in shaping his research trajectory. At IIT Bombay, Prof. S. N. Datta had a particularly strong influence in cultivating his interest in quantum mechanics. Under Prof. Don Kouri, he also explored deep connections between quantum mechanics and sampling theories, including those originating from Shannon and signal processing — insights that significantly shaped his scientific trajectory.

In his independent career, Prof. Iyengar has developed new methods in ab initio molecular dynamics and quantum wavepacket generalisations of these approaches. His work has contributed to resolving long-standing experimental challenges, including the role of quantum mechanical tunnelling in biological hydrogen-transfer reactions and temperature effects in gas-phase action spectroscopies. One of his notable theoretical predictions — the amphiphilic nature of the hydrated proton which was derived purely from quantum mechanical ideas, developed with Prof. Greg Voth — was subsequently validated experimentally by Prof. Rich Saykally and other investigators.

Over the past decade, his research group has focused on developing quantum-computing and AI-driven algorithms. In collaboration with Prof. Phil Richerme, scientists at IonQ, Inc., and Sandia National Laboratories, he led the first demonstration of chemical dynamics on a distributed ion-trap quantum-computing architecture, marking a significant milestone in quantum simulation. He has also developed hybrid quantum–classical algorithms and contributed to hardware implementations combining quantum and classical computing for chemical and physical simulations.

Prof. Iyengar is a co-author of the Gaussian suite of quantum-chemistry software, one of the most widely used electronic-structure packages in the field, with more than 10,000 citations. He developed the first ab initio molecular-dynamics capabilities within Gaussian and pioneered quantum-wavepacket ab initio molecular dynamics, enabling quantum nuclear dynamics with on-the-fly electronic-structure evaluations.

His research contributions include the development of Atom-centered Density Matrix Propagation (ADMP), a pioneering method for classical nuclear dynamics in localised molecular systems, with foundational papers cited over 2,000 times. His publications on the hydrated proton have accumulated over 500 citations.

Beyond research, he has made significant contributions to pedagogy. He has developed game-theoretic paradigms to simplify quantum computing concepts for broader audiences, collaborating with high school student Mr. Ishaan Ganti. He has also introduced innovative teaching strategies in general chemistry that present chemical principles through physically motivated quantum descriptions and pictorial representations of macroscopic concepts.

He is a recipient of the Special Creativity Award from the U.S. National Science Foundation (2024), the Indiana University Trustees Teaching Award (2018–2019), the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Young Investigator Award (2006–2009), and the Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award (2003–2008). His earlier recognitions include the Summer Faculty Fellowship from Indiana University (2005), the Shell Award for Graduate Student Research Excellence (1997), and the Dow Chemicals Award for Graduate Student Research Excellence (1996).

Interests & Hobbies: I enjoy hiking, travelling, skiing, tennis, running, and jump rope.

A Personal Note: My parents have been a great influence in my life. From my childhood, I have received enormous freedom, love, and encouragement to pursue my desired path. I wish, more than anything, that they were here to share this moment with me. Even so, I carry their love within me, and I believe they are watching from their heavenly abode, celebrating this occasion with the same pride and joy they always had for me.

My wife has been an incredible source of strength in my life. She has stood by me during extremely stressful personal as well as professional times. If not for her love, I would not have made it this far.