Faculty Expert Profile

K.T. Ramesh is the founding director of the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute (HEMI), which addresses the ways in which people, structures and the planet interact with and respond to extreme environments. HEMI brings together experts from Johns Hopkins' Whiting School of Engineering, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, and Applied Physics Laboratory, as well as scientists and engineers from other universities, government, and industry.

Ramesh is one of the world's leading authorities on impact physics and extreme science. His current research focuses on AI in materials design, impact biomechanics including concussions, protection materials, hypersonics, the dynamic limits of life, and protecting the Earth from incoming asteroids. One project involves modeling the disruption of asteroids that could hit the Earth, and modeling the DART impact event.

In another project, Ramesh's lab is developing a detailed digital model of the human brain to help address how brain injury results from head impacts. Other current projects include the use of laser shock experiments to study the deformation and failure of material in protective gear for the U.S. Army, the use of data science approaches in materials design, and the use of a hypervelocity facility for hypersonics, defense, and space applications.

In 2023, asteroid 32518 was officially named "Ktramesh" by the International Astronomical Union's Small Bodies Nomenclature Working Group.