Yelavarthy Nayudamma[1] (10 September 1922 – 23 June 1985) was an Indian chemical engineer and a scientist who served as the Director General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.

[2][3] Yelevarthy was born on 10 September 1922 into an Telugu-speaking Kamma family at Yelavarru village near Tenali in Guntur district of present day Andhra Pradesh state in India.

He was responsible for building the international image of the institute and for establishing close ties with the Indian leather industry.

[4] Yelevarthy went to UK for further education and he went on to pursue doctoral degree in Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, USA.

[7] Recipients of this prestigious award include T. Ramasami, A. Sivathanu Pillai, Nori Dattatreyudu, Sam Pitroda, G. Madhavan Nair, Kota Harinarayana, V. K. Aatre, R. Chidambaram, R.A. Mashelkar, Jasbir Singh Bajaj, K. Kasturirangan, Verghese Kurien, S.Z.