Dr. Melur "Ram" Ramasubramanian - President
Dr. Melur K. "Ram" Ramasubramanian currently holds the position of President of the SUNY Research Foundation and serves as the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost for SUNY. In this capacity, his focus revolves around collaborating with various stakeholders within SUNY including campus presidents, provosts, vice presidents for research and economic development, deans, faculty, students, and leadership within the SUNY System and Research Foundation.
As the leader of SUNY's academic enterprise, Ramasubramanian's main goal is to drive the implementation of innovative programs, initiatives, policies, and infrastructure. These initiatives strongly support SUNY's academic mission and research objectives, aligning with the Chancellor's strategy of excellence, accessibility, and affordability across all SUNY academic programs.
Before joining SUNY System Administration, Ramasubramanian served as the Vice President for Research at the University of Virginia starting in 2017. His career trajectory includes pivotal roles such as the program director for the Engineering Research Centers program and the lead program director for the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship program at the National Science Foundation (2009-2012) at the National Science Foundation.
His extensive professional journey features significant contributions including holding the position of D.W. Reynolds Distinguished Professor and department chair of Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University. During his tenure at Clemson, he also held a joint faculty appointment as a professor of bioengineering. Prior to this, he contributed as a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University and held research roles at the James River Corporation (now Georgia-Pacific) and Syracuse University.
Ramasubramanian's research interests span a wide interdisciplinary spectrum encompassing engineering, biology, physical sciences, and medicine. His work delves into diverse areas such as mechanics of manufacturing processes, constitutive models for short fiber composites, bio-manufacturing and tissue engineering, scalable microfluidics, biomimetics, mechatronics, and biomedical devices. His contributions to the field have been extensively published in engineering and biomedical journals, and he has notably served as an associate editor for IEEE Access - The Multidisciplinary Open Access Journal. He continues his research pursuits in tissue engineering, actively advising a PhD student at the University of Virginia.
He received his BSME from the National Institute of Technology, India; MS from Miami University, and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Syracuse University. He is a fellow of ASME, TAPPI, AIMBE, and a senior member of IEEE.
Beyond his professional endeavors, Ramasubramanian cherishes time spent with his family engaging in high altitude mountain climbing, hiking, skiing, and various outdoor activities. Additionally, he and his family share a passion for global travel experiences.
Contact Information:
E-mail: ram.ramasubramanian@rfsuny.org