Pulickel M. Ajayan is a pioneer in the area of nanotechnology. He has published more than 1100 journal papers earning more than 175,000 citations and h-index of ~200 (google scholar). His work covers diverse areas of nanomaterials including nanoparticles, nanotubes, 2D materials, nanocomposite, energy storage materials and 3D printing. He is the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson professor of Engineering at Rice University and the founding chair of the department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering. He is the recipient of several awards such as the Spiers memorial award, MRS medal, Alexander von Humboldt-Helmoltz senior award, and lifetime nanotechnology award from the Houston Technology Center. He received Docteur Honoris Causa from the Universite Catholique de of Louvain and distinguished alumni recognition from his Alma Mater Banaras Hindu University and the Materials Science department at Northwestern University.