Texture Research in the Past 75 Years: Historical Perspective and a Personal Journey

During the processing of materials such as solidification, deformation or annealing, they acquire crystallographic textures that are unique to those processing steps, which are characteristic of the given material. If the crystallographic orientation of each grain is different from all other grains, the material is said to be ‘randomly oriented’, and if one or more orientations are preferred by most of the grains, then the material is said to be ‘textured’. As texture affects the properties of materials, it is essential to understand its role in the behaviour of materials under different processing conditions. Sustained research in India on the texture of materials, for the past five decades put the country on the Texture map of the world. This article is an attempt to reveal the fascinating story of texture research in India, with special reference to the journey taken by the author.