Rate My Professor Namita Roy Choudhury

Namita Roy Choudhury is a Professor of Engineering in the School of Engineering at RMIT University, where she joined in 2018 and served as Head of the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering until 2024. Prior to RMIT, she held a professorship at the University of Adelaide from 2016 and was Professor of Polymer Science at the University of South Australia from 1996 to 2017. She earned her PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, in 1991, followed by postdoctoral research at C.N.R.S. Mulhouse, France, from 1991 to 1993.

Choudhury’s research expertise lies at the interface of materials science and engineering, adhesion and interfacial engineering, and biomaterials and biointerfaces. She designs and develops unique biomimetic materials, including protein-based elastomers inspired by insect resilin, for applications in renewable energy, stretchable electronics, robotics, water treatment, regenerative medicine, and healthcare. Her work spans fundamental and applied research through strategic partnerships with materials and manufacturing industries, including collaborations with Bridgestone on carbon black surface modification for rubber products and with Castrol Australia on elastomer-lubricant films for engine lubricants. For her pioneering contributions to responsive biomimetic elastomers, her team received the Ralston Medal in 2015 and RMIT Research Excellence Award in 2022; she was awarded the American Chemical Society’s George Stafford Whitby Award for Distinguished Teaching and Research in 2024, the first Australian recipient. She co-edited the book “Biomimetic Protein based Elastomers: Emerging Materials for the Future” in 2022 with colleagues from RMIT and Purdue University. Her prolific output includes over 250 peer-reviewed articles, 8 patents, 2 edited books, and 1 spin-off company. Choudhury has supervised more than 35 doctoral students and 20 postdoctoral fellows, placing them successfully in industry, government, or academia. She collaborates with international partners in the US, India, Sweden, and France, advancing biomimetics in materials engineering. She teaches in areas such as Polymer Engineering and Science, Interfacial Engineering, Biomimetic Protein Polymers, Graphene Hybrids and Inks, and Advanced Polymers for Energy and Biomedical Applications.