Narinder Kumar Gupta
Narinder Kumar Gupta (born 22 August 1942) is an Indian scientist, educator and engineer. He is a professor emeritus of mechanics at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and is known for his work on large deformations of metals and composites at different loading rates. His research helps in understanding material behavior, crashworthiness for road and air vehicles, safety in defense applications, and metal forming processes.
Education and career
Gupta earned his Bachelor of Science from Jammu and Kashmir University in 1960 and a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the Regional Engineering College, Srinagar (now NIT Srinagar) in 1966. He completed his PhD at IIT Delhi in 1972 under Professor B. Karunes. He did post‑doctoral work at Cambridge University in 1977 and was an Alexander von Humboldt fellow at Ruhr University Bochum in 1981. He joined the IIT Delhi Department of Applied Mechanics in 1971, became a full professor in 1987, and retired in 2005. He served as Henry Ford Chair Emeritus Professor from 2005 to 2010, and remained emeritus until 2011. Gupta was a Mercator Guest Professor at RWTH Aachen (2011–2012) and worked as an INSA Senior Scientist at IIT Delhi from 2012 to 2017. He also spent a period at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (2013–14), and has continued in an INSA Honorary Scientist role since 2017.
Research and impact
Gupta’s work focuses on the constitutive behavior of materials and the mechanics of large deformation, with applications to crashworthiness and safety in defense and metal forming. He helped establish India’s first low and medium velocity impact testing laboratory at IIT Delhi and has mentored many students and researchers. He has published over 350 scientific papers, edited eight books, and supervised about 40 PhD students and 75 MTech theses, contributing to numerous national and international projects. He has delivered lectures around the world and has been invited to lead and participate in many international events.
Awards and honors
Gupta received the Padma Shri in 1991. He has also received the J.C. Bose Memorial Award, the O.P. Bhasin Award, the Millennium Plaques of Honour (ISCA), the Erskine Award, the Alexander von Humboldt Research Award, and was honored with Doctor Honoris Causa by the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Mercator Professorship supported by the German Research Foundation. He is a fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, the Indian National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, India, and TWAS. He has held leadership roles in several organizations, including serving as president of the Indian Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and as past president of the Indian Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and the Indian Society of Mechanical Engineers. He has been recognized as a top world scientist in impact mechanics by the International Society of Impact Engineering, and as a prominent figure in Indian and international science, with conferences and journal issues dedicated to his contributions.
Personal life
Gupta and his wife Rashmi Gupta have two sons, Shivanshu and Shalav.
This page was last edited on 1 February 2026, at 23:58 (CET).