Murali Sastry is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Chemical Engineering. He obtained his Masters and PhD degrees in experimental condensed matter physics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (now Chennai). He moved to the III University of Rome (Tor Vergata) and the Sincrotrone Trieste, where he specialised in surface spectroscopies applied to a range of materials, including metal nanoparticles. He then returned to India and joined the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratories in Pune where he researched Langmuir-Blodgett and organic/hybrid materials, colloid chemistry, novel methods for functionalizing nanoparticles and biological methods for nanoparticle synthesis. In 2005, he moved to Tata Chemicals to set up their Innovation Centre that delivered three new businesses in water purification, nano-oxides and nutrition. In 2011, he moved to DSM India where he helped establish the innovation team and develop a roadmap for new products in renewable energy and nutrition. From 2015-2020, he was the CEO of the IITB-Monash Research Academy.