Amit Goyal recognized for scientific achievements and impact

By Peter Murphy

Goyal is director of the multidisciplinary UB Initiative on Plastics Recycling Research and Innovation, a New York State Center of Excellence based on convergent research.  Previously, he served as founding director of the RENEW Institute. 

New York State Senator Sean M. Ryan, New York State Assemblymember Karen M. McMahon, Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz, and the Town Council of Amherst, N.Y. all acknowledged Goyal’s Person of the Year award and his lifetime scientific accomplishments. U.S. Representative Timothy M. Kennedy celebrated Goyal, and his recent election as a Foreign Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India and entered a statement into the Congressional Record celebrating Goyal’s achievements.

“Dr. Goyal’s leadership exemplifies the transformative power of science, innovation and technology in addressing the real-world challenges our state and nation face,” Rep. Kennedy said in remarks entered into the Congressional Record. “Dr. Goyal has left an indelible mark on our nation and world, and we thank him for his tireless efforts.”

In a proclamation, State Senator Sean Ryan honored Goyal’s recent Person of the Year Award and recognized Goyal’s accomplished life in the fields of academia and science. Assemblymember Karen McMahon issued a citation, recognizing Goyal’s recent honors and his notable international contributions to science and innovation and the community.

Erie County, N.Y. Executive Mark Poloncarz released an executive proclamation honoring Goyal’s accomplishments and extending “the appreciation and pride of Erie County for his remarkable scientific accomplishments, global leadership and enduring contributions to our community,” according to the proclamation.

Goyal was also honored by the Town of Amherst, N.Y. council, with a proclamation for his scientific contributions.

"I am honored, humbled and deeply grateful for these kind recognitions,” said Goyal.

Multiple prestigious organizations have recognized Goyal’s contributions to developing high-performance, single crystal-like, high temperature superconductor (HTS) wires for large-scale applications for the electric power industry. His work also addressed enhanced superconducting wire performance in high magnetic fields. High-applied magnetic fields can disrupt a superconductor’s performance. Goyal’s developments also incorporated non-superconducting columnar defects into the wires to enhance performance in high-applied magnetic fields.  According to industry newsletter Superconductor Week, these innovations are used worldwide to fabricate long-lengths of superconducting wires for a wide range of transformative applications including commercial nuclear fusion.

Goyal was recruited to UB following an international search in 2015 as the founding director of RENEW. During his tenure as director for over six years, Goyal hired nearly 20 faculty members across multiple disciplines and established the institute's shared instrumentation laboratories to advance multidisciplinary work in energy, environment and water sustainability.  He received the UB President’s Medal in 2019, a recognition of outstanding scholarly or artistic achievement, humanitarian acts, contributions of time or treasure, exemplary leadership or any other major contribution to the development of UB and the quality of life in the UB community.

Goyal is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and has been a member of the National Materials and Manufacturing Board since 2020. He is a fellow of 10 professional societies, including the National Academy of Inventors, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Materials Research Society, the American Physical Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the World Innovation Foundation, the ASM International, the Institute of Physics, the American Ceramic Society and the World Technology Network.

In 2010, Goyal was named R&D Magazine’s Innovator of the Year and received the 2012 World Technology Award in the category of materials. He has received 10 R&D 100 Awards, which are often regarded as the “Oscars of innovation,” according to R&D World. He has also received several national and international accolades, including the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award, awarded by the U. S. Secretary of Energy on behalf of the President of the United States. Goyal has authored or co-authored over 360 technical publications, including 45 invited book chapters and papers, 87 issued patents and has co-edited six books and was the most cited author worldwide in the field of high-temperature superconductivity from 1999-2009, according to Essential Science Indicators.  In 2001, he received the Energy-100 Award for development of high-performance superconducting wires as one of the top 100 scientific accomplishments of the Department of Energy.   Goyal’s other key honors include: 2010 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Indian Institute of Technology; the 2008 Nano50^TM Innovator Award; the 2007 Pride of India Gold Award; University of Rochester’s Distinguished Scholar Medal in 2007; the U.S. Department of Energy's Exceptional Accomplishment Award in 2005; the UT-Battelle Inventor-of-the-Year Awards in 2005 and 1999; the 2005 Global Indus Technovator Award; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Technical Review TR100 Award; and the Lockheed-Martin NOVA Award for technical achievement in 1999.