[11][note 1] Born on 3 March 1950 in the Indian state of West Bengal, K. Chattopadhyay completed his graduate studies in mechanical engineering from the Regional Engineering College, Durgapur (present-day National Institute of Technology, Durgapur) of Burdwan University in 1974 and moved to Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi where he did his master's degree in 1973.

[8] Subsequently, he enrolled for his doctoral studies there under the guidance of Patcha Ramachandra Rao, a Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate, and during the course of his research, he joined BHU as a lecturer in 1975.

[12] Post-retirement, he continues his association with IISc in various capacities; he is associated with the research activities of the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE), heads the Advanced Facility for Electron Microscopy as its convenor since 2010, serves as the convenor of Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Research since 2012, and is the head of the Non Equilibrium Processing and Nano Materials Group.

[15] The early researches of Chattopadhyay during his doctoral studies with Ramachandra Rao were on rapid solidification of aluminum alloys and it was during this time he is reported to have discovered aluminum-based binary glass and nanodispersed composites.

[19] He is also credited with wider studies in synthesis of nanocomposites, phase transformations, large superheating phenomenon during melting, dissimilar joining processes, surface modifications and nanostructured magnetic alloys.

[46] Chattopadhyay received the first major award of his career in 1979 when he was chosen for the Young Scientists Medal by the Indian National Science Academy.

[56] The Electron Microscope Society of India chose him as a fellow in 2009[54] and the Indian Institute of Metals made him an honorary life member in 2014.

[52] Non-Equilibrium Processing and Nanomaterials Laboratory of the Indian Institute of Science felicitated him in 2015, on his retirement from service, with a seminar and the screening of a Metallurgist’s Diary, a 20-minute long documentary on the life and work of Chattopadhyay made by his students at IISc.