Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (AMPRI), Bhopal was instituted in May 1981 as “Regional Research Laboratory” (RRL) and officially started functioning from CSIR, New Delhi. The institute was then shifted to Bhopal and was located in the then Bhopal (now Barkatullah) University campus. It subsequently found a place in the present premises in December 1983, originally built to accommodate a Cooperative Training College. The laboratory initially had about 15 scientists, with 10 of them specializing in metallurgy/materials science. This was the core strength of the institute at that time.
The institute carried out projects on the synthesis and characterization of aluminum-graphite metal matrix composites and natural fibres. Gradually the scope of R&D broadened to include waste to wealth (building materials and wood substitute), mineral processing, environmental impact assessment, water resource modeling, and problems related to agricultural, mining, sugar mill, and thermal power plant machinery components. Health assessment, improvement, and failure analysis of engineering components/systems, and development of lightweight materials/components/products and processes for the automobile sector constituted other activities of significance. The work was extended with FEM simulation and modeling which became an integral part of the studies in many cases. Through its activities on water resource modeling, surface treated agricultural implements, bell metal artefacts, handicrafts using sisal fibre, use of fly ash for agricultural soil reclamation, etc., it became visible as a promising institute for rural technologies specific to problems related to the state of Madhya Pradesh.
AMPRI has worked on various rural development and dissemination activities which will have large implications for CSIR-800. During the 11th Five Year Plan, the institute has taken up a project under Rural Sector Projects – Sisal Fiber Technologies for Rural Employment Generation. Sisal plant produces the hardest vegetable fiber which will have applications in cordage and handicrafts. The yarn and textile made out of this fiber are used for making composites for applications in sectors like housing, automobile, geotextiles, etc.
The overall objective of AMPRI is to achieve world-class status in the area of engineering materials, components, and process development. Accordingly, the HR Profile and S&T infrastructure would address the needs of fundamental and applied research, technology development, and business development in the area of materials of the future. The present resource base being created would not only provide commercial tractability for the present but also provide a root for more lucrative, elite, and innovative areas of the future. It is envisaged to make the institute a place of pilgrimage for top material scientists and stakeholders.