Faculty Focus: Dr. Rama Balasubramanian

Coming to Roanoke, I was definitely looking forward to a be a part of a close-knit academic community.  People here are so friendly and inviting, which is a great thing about this place.  Roanoke is a very beautiful medium-sized city, and offers a better quality of life compared to big cities. Also, the cost of living is definitely a huge plus.

Originally I am from India, and I came to the U.S. to pursue my Ph.D.  I moved to Roanoke from Northern Virginia (another great place to live).  Prior to coming here, I was at Georgetown University for two years and taught courses for non-physics majors, as well as physics majors.  I like to interact with the students, especially undergraduates, to see how their curious minds think and solve problems. Many students don’t know how much they are capable of until they are challenged.

To me, studying physics meant studying the very nature of Nature.  Most students think that physics is too complicated a subject, with a lot of equations.  But I think it is one of the most fascinating subjects, and shows how truly elegant and simple the laws of nature are. The beauty of physics lies not in the equations but in unraveling the mysteries of laws of nature.  I got interested in physics from very early on.  During my school years, physics and mathematics were my favorite subjects, and I was always drawn to astronomy and the fascinating science of everyday objects.  I developed an interest in knowing how things worked and why they worked a certain way. This curiosity continued through my college years and it continues even today.

My research experiences during college years really shaped my interest to pursue graduate studies in materials science.  From my own perspective, I can say that the experiences one gets at an undergraduate level leaves an indelible mark for the future.  You discover a whole lot about your interests in those formative years.  For my Ph.D. work, I looked at the properties of nano-crystals of iron oxide, and the important role they play in the corrosion.  My current research focuses on using nanotechnology to develop some industrially significant and scientifically important coatings of carbon nanotubes.  A nanometer is one billionth of a meter, so we are looking at materials’ interactions truly at the level of few atoms.  I have ongoing collaborations with the University of Goettingen in Germany, Georgetown University and the University of Maryland, and I am looking to involve undergraduate students from Roanoke College in this research.  I also am involved with collaborations with the University of Mainz in Germany in the analysis of spectroscopic data from NASA's twin rovers currently operating on planet Mars.  It is an exciting opportunity to be looking at scientific phenomenon outside of our own planet.

On the personal front, I am married to a wonderful man who is also my best friend. I am big fan of music. Blues and classical rock are my favorites. I’ve had training in vocal Indian classical music during my childhood years. Indian classical music is very structured and the physics and mathematics of the Indian musical scale called the ‘Raga,’ is very fascinating. I also enjoy white-water rafting, and swimming.