Dr. Radhakrishna G. Pillai  earned a bachelor degree in civil engineering from the M N Regional Engineering College (now MNNIT) in Allahabad, India. He then went on to earn an MS and PhD in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University (TAMU) in College Station, USA, where he became passionate about combating corrosion in reinforced and prestressed concrete structures. In September 2010, he joined IIT Madras, where he has been teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, including NPTEL MOOC courses, in the areas of construction materials, concrete technology, and corrosion, deterioration, repair, and rehabilitation of concrete structures. He has guided eight PhD and five MS students and is currently guiding six PhD and one MS student. He is currently running various projects focusing on steel corrosion and its impact on the durability and service life of concrete structures. In particular, he is focused on developing corrosion test methods, databases, and tools for practicing engineers to promote service life-based design of concrete structures. Recently, he has been extending his research towards cathodic protection and the extension of the residual service life of concrete structures. Most of his projects focus on understanding the fundamentals and applying them to practical challenges and modifying standards and specifications. He has co-authored over 60 journal papers and filed three patents, one of which has been granted. In 2016, he received the Outstanding Young Concrete Engineer Award from the Indian Concrete Institute, Tamil Nadu Chapter. In 2019, he received the Excellence in Corrosion Science & Technology Award from the NACE International Gateway India Section. He is also active in the Indian Concrete Institute (ICI), Association of Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP, formerly NACE), and The International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems, and Structures (RILEM). He is committed to developing technologies to ‘combat corrosion of steel in concrete and estimate & extend the service life of concrete structures.