IIT Ropar Director Rajeev Ahuja Honoured With Army Chief’s Commendation for Defence Research; Know His Journey from IIT Roorkee to Global Scientist
June 28 , : IIT Ropar Director Prof. Rajeev Ahuja has been awarded the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Commendation by Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi for his significant contributions to defence research and innovation.
The honour recognises IIT Ropar’s growing role in strengthening India’s defence technology ecosystem and supporting the vision of self-reliance (Atmanirbharta) in defence.
🏛️ What is the award about?
Prof. Ahuja received the commendation during a meeting with the Army Chief at his office. The recognition highlights IIT Ropar’s work in developing advanced defence technologies in collaboration with the Army Technology Board.
The institute is currently involved in several high-end research projects such as:
- 🏠 Resilient and smart military habitats
- 🤖 Autonomous armoured vehicle systems
- ⚡ Directed energy-based defence technologies
💬 What Prof. Ahuja said
Expressing gratitude, he said the honour belongs to the entire IIT Ropar team working in defence innovation.
He added that the recognition will further motivate the institute to strengthen India’s goal of self-reliance in defence technology.
🎓 Educational qualifications of Rajeev Ahuja
Prof. Ahuja has an impressive academic background:
- 🎓 M.Sc. in Physics – IIT Roorkee (1986)
- 🎓 Ph.D. in Physics – IIT Roorkee (1991)
- 🇸🇪 Long career as Professor of Computational Materials Science at Uppsala University, Sweden
He later returned to India and became the Director of IIT Ropar in April 2021.
👨🏫 Career highlights
- 📌 Director, IIT Ropar (2021–present)
- 📌 Officiating Director, IIT Guwahati (2023–2024)
- 📌 Over 30 years as a professor in Sweden
He is internationally recognised in the field of computational materials science.
🔬 Research achievements
Prof. Ahuja is considered among the world’s leading materials scientists:
- 📄 995+ research papers
- 📊 H-index: 89
- 📚 35,500+ citations
- 🧪 Publications in top journals like Nature, Science, PRL, and PNAS
- 🎓 Supervised 30+ PhD scholars and 35+ postdocs
🏆 Awards and global recognition
He has received several prestigious honours, including:
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
- Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS)
- Wallmark Prize (Royal Swedish Academy)
- Benzelius Prize (Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences)
- Advisory roles in top international science journals
😄 Why he is called the “Pookie Professor”
Prof. Ahuja became popular on social media after IIT Ropar’s convocation ceremony went viral in 2025.
Students affectionately called him the “Pookie Professor” after he:
- Joined students in fun poses
- Wore sunglasses given by students
- Did gestures like fist bumps and finger hearts
- Celebrated the event in a very friendly, Gen-Z style
He later said he wanted convocation to be a joyful celebration, not just a formal event.
News source: Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.
