Rohatgi received his bachelor 's degree in Metallurgical Engineering in 1961 from Banaras Hindu University and received the degree of Doctor of Science in Metallurgy from MIT in 1964 . The initial discovery of the synthesis of cast aluminum matrix composites including Al-graphite , Al-SiC , and Al-Al2O3 particulate cast MMCs was made by Rohatgi in 1965 at the Merica Laboratory of the International Nickel Company in Suffern , New York . This first creation of a '' cast '' metal matrix composite material is considered a landmark in the 11,000-year history of metal casting Rohatgi served as founding director of the Regional Research Laboratories ( CSIR ) at Trivandrum and Bhopal , and as a professor at the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Technology , Kanpur , where he pioneered incorporating renewable materials such as coir ( fiber from the coconut shell ) , and banana and sisal plant fibers into polymer composites . He was running the research laboratory in Bhopal at the time of the gas leak disaster , but escaped unharmed and his lab was involved in studying the gas leak . He joined the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee as a Professor in the Department of Materials Engineering in 1986 , and is currently Wisconsin Distinguished Professor and Director , UWM Center for Composites
gas leak disaster
Bhopal disaster
Pradeep Rohatgi