Dave Thirumalai

Devarajan (Dave) Thirumalai, an Indian-born American physicist, is the Collie-Welch Reagents Professor in Chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. His research spans equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, such as the transition from liquid to amorphous state, polymer-colloid interactions, and protein and RNA folding. He is known for his contributions to the theories of protein/RNA folding,

Awards and honors 1986–1988 Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship. 1987–1992 Presidential Young Investigator Award. 2009 Humboldt Research Award for Senior U.S. Scientists. 2009 Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. 2011 Honorary Senior Hans-Fisher Fellow. 2014 Fellow of the Biophysical Society. 2015 Fellow of the American Physical Society. 2016 Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) Medal. 2016 ACS Theoretical Chemistry Award. 2018 Oesper Award, Chemistry, University of Cincinnati. 2019 APS Award, Irving Langmuir Prize. 2019 Hans Neurath Award, Protein Society. 2025 Founders Award, Biophysical Society. 2025 Max Delbrück Prize, American Physical Society.