Kaliat T. Ramesh is the Alonzo G. Decker Jr. Professor of Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, the founding Director of the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute (HEMI), and a Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science. Ramesh is a specialist in the areas of impact physics and the behavior and failure of materials under extreme conditions. His research focuses on fundamental studies of deformation and failure, with applications in mechanical engineering, materials science, planetary science, and biomedicine. He pioneered experimental methods for characterizing the dynamic failure mechanisms in metals and ceramics using high-speed visualization and in situ measurements with high temporal resolution. His most recent research work focuses on the design of materials for extreme conditions, hypervelocity impact, impact processes in planetary science, and impact biomechanics.