Ramayya, professor of physics, emeritus, has died
Akunuri Ramayya, professor of physics, emeritus, died on October 16, 2025, in Tennessee at the age of 87.
Born in 1938 in the city of Vijayawada in India, Ramayya was equally passionate about his research as he was about educating and guiding his students. He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nuclear physics in 1957 and 1958, respectively, from Andhra University in India. He went on to obtain his Ph.D. in 1964 from Indiana University.
That same year, Ramayya joined Vanderbilt as a postdoctoral fellow. He went on to hold positions as a lecturer and research faculty member before becoming an assistant professor of physics in 1970. He was promoted to associate professor in 1975, and then to professor in 1980. He retired in 2017, and was given the title of professor of physics, emeritus, in 2018.
During his time at Vanderbilt, Ramayya led groundbreaking research on nuclear structure and superheavy elements. During a five-decade collaboration with Joseph Hamilton, professor of physics, emeritus, Ramayya and Hamilton discovered a new element, Z = 117, which was named Tennessine after the state of Tennessee.
“Dr. Ramayya and I have had a remarkable career together in research and in life-long friendship,” Hamilton said. “Together, we have published over 400 journal articles and 300 conference proceeding papers. We have directed over 30 master’s and over 65 Ph.D. thesis students and guided over 100 post-doctoral research fellows at Vanderbilt. He was a world renowned and appreciated scientist. Thank you, Dr. Ramayya, for our outstanding lifetime of research together and great friendship.”
Over the course of his long and distinguished career, Ramayya published more than 800 research papers. Additionally, he served on the committees for seven international conferences on nuclear physics and was awarded the Jessie Beams Award for Outstanding Research by the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society in 2006. In 2013, he was recognized for his contributions to the Department of Physics and Astronomy with the Guy & Rebecca Forman Award for Excellence in Teaching Undergraduate Physics.
“Professor Ramayya was a dedicated teacher and a prominent nuclear physicist,” said Julia Velkovska, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Physics. “He was instrumental in the discovery of nuclear shape coexistence, but he was also particularly interested in helping students in introductory physics through their engagement in the laboratory classes. To encourage excellence in teaching in the laboratory classes, Professor Ramayya established an annual award for the best graduate student teaching assistant, and many of our students were inspired by his devotion to physics education.”
Ramayya is survived by his wife, Krishna; his son, Sarat; his daughter, Radhika; and his granddaughter, Brianna.