Dr. J. Kumar is currently working as a Professor at Crystal Growth Centre, Anna University, Chennai. He is the Registrar, Anna University and was serving as the Director(Planning & Development ), Anna University, Chennai and as Director (Centre for Technology Development & Transfer), He was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Award in 1981 for his best academic performance at the PG level at Annamalai University. He was awarded the prestigious MHRD scholarship for Study Abroad and he was awarded the Specialista in Scienza e Tecnologia dei Materiali title by University of Parma, Italy. He got ICTP, Italy scholarship. In 1991 and the CSIR Visiting Associateship and DST Visiting Fellowship in 1993. He has made outstanding contributions with his doctoral experience in Italy which enabled the crystal growth centre to grow India’s first Gallium Arsenide and Indium Phosphide crystals. GaAs crystals have been tested for their performance in high speed electronic devices and as test space quality solar cells. He has fabricated solar cells using InP wafers and high energy radiation detectors. Prof. Kumar is the recipient of the Academician Award as elected by the Asia Pacific Academy of Materials in 2013 and Tamil Nadu Government has awarded the Tamil Nadu Scientist Award – 2012. He is the UGC nominee Member of the Advisory Committee for UGC-SAP program of Nagpur University, Bharathiar and Vidyasagar University. He was awarded the prestigious Active Consultant Award 2011 and Active Researcher Award 2015 by Anna University, Chennai. He served as the UGC Chairman nominee Member of the Governing Council of Inter University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi. He is the recipient of the prestigious Department of Atomic Energy – Young Scientist Award. He was the planning committee member on the committee on crystal growth, solar energy chaired by the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India. He served as the Executive committee member of TNSCST. Prof Kumar has delivered 40 special lectures for the country wide classroom program of UGC. Coordinated 3 courses with support from Global Initiatives on Academic Networking (GIAN) program of MHRD. Member representing India in the International Union of Crystallography commission on Crystal Growth.
Prof. Kumar and coworkers have been able to bring together a team which successfully implemented the major project with a grant of Rs. 6.3 crores from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India - Metal Organic Chemical Vapour Deposition system the first of its kind in any Indian Universities has been established. Prof Kumar and coworkers got major support of rupees 50 lakhs from Tamil Nadu Government as seed grant which enabled the establishment of class 10000 clean room facility to initiate the activity on white LED light.
Prof Kumar has been teaching Undergraduate and Postgraduate students since he joined as faculty in 1989. and has guided 22 students for Ph.D title and is guiding 5 Ph.D. students. Prof. Kumar and coworkers have contributed towards the development of the crystal growth centre during his tenure as Director, Crystal Growth Centre during 2006-09, with significant increase in research grants to the centre and coordinating several programs of advanced training and research though the CGC :UGC-AU facility for crystal growth. Dr Kumar has organized several national and international conferences, workshops and training programs.
Prof Kumar has authored 4 books on Engineering Physics & 2 chapters in the Tamil book on Engg Physics. Prof Kumar has visited Italy, USA, Germany, England, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, China, Singapore Japan and Austria and had carried out research activities. He has published 170 articles in national and international journals and has delivered more than 160 invited lectures in conferences & training programs at national & international level.He was the coordinator for the Knowledge Economy Program supported by the British Council. The nominee is very fluent with Italian language and has also a certificate in German Proficiency. He has interacted with all national laboratories on semiconductor related electronic materials: TIFR; IIT - Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Kharagpur; C-MET, Hyderabad; IISc. Bangalore; IISER-Trivandrum, CAT-Indore, NPOL-Kochi, SSPL-Delhi, CCERI- Pilani IUAC, Delhi&IGCAR, Kalpakkam. Prof. Kumar has implemented DST supported international collaboration program with IMEM, Parma Italy and has enabled the MoUs between Dong-eui University, Busan- Korea; Dongguk University, Seoul - Korea; University of Illinois, Chicago – USA with Anna University Chennai; IITM-Chennai & NITTR-Chennai.
Prof. Kumar served as a member of the XI Plan proposal formulation team on Photonics formed by the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister and also a member of the UGC’s XI Plan committee on Inter University Centre. He served as a member of the Advisory committee for Centre for Technology Development and Transfer, Anna University. He has implemented research projects and schemes funded by DST, UGC, IUAC, DRDO, TWAS-Italy, European Union, MIT worth more than 10 Crores of rupees.
Prof Kumar has worked as Researcher at INFM- University of Lecce, Italy during 2000-02, Visiting Professor at University of Illinois, Chicago, USA in 2006, Dongguk University, Seoul, Korea during 2009-10 and at University of North Carolina, Charlotte, USA as a Distinguished Duke Visiting Faculty during 2013. He has written scientific articles in Tamil to popularize the scientific advancements and is an Executive Committee Member of the Tamilnadu Academy of Sciences and with the programs of Periyar Science and Technology Centre in popularizing and advancing science programs to the society at large. Prof Kumar has been invited by All India Radio to speak on Science several times and his lecture on crystal growth presented by Doordarshan attracted repeat telecast of the program.Prof Kumar with two coworkers have been granted a Patent (282117 -18/10/2010) : A process to characterize biochemical reactions using sensor instrumentation based on capacitance and conductance change. He has filed a Patent on NO sensors using PGE/GaN.
He is the recipient of the Tamil Nadu Scientist Award.
He has translated a book on Mahabhartham in Italian from a speech delivered in Tamil.