Professor Mehta is a researcher in the area of chemical Sciences and is presently University Distinguished Professor at the University of Hyderabad. In the past he has held positions at IIT/Kanpur, Vice Chancellor of the University of Hyderabad, Director of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Srinivasa Ramanujan Research Professor of the Indian National Science Academy, CSIR-Bhatnagar Fellow, National Research Professor of Government of India and Lilly-Jubilant Chair Professor at the University of Hyderabad. He has published nearly 600 research papers, mentored over 100 doctoral and post-doctoral fellows, and delivered over two hundred named and distinguished lectures worldwide. He has received over a hundred medals, awards, and honorary Doctorate degrees both within the country and worldwide.

His diverse research interests mainly focus on organic synthesis, natural products, conceptualization and creation of new molecular entities, and stereogenesis. During the past decade, as a member of an international group, Professor Mehta has been promoting chemistry as a sustainability science. He has been actively involved with science policy and higher education issues both nationally and internationally.

Professor Mehta is a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), a Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Fellow, of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), Trieste, Foreign Member, Acadèmi Royale des Sciences d’Outre-Mer, Belgium, and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (Hon. FRSC) among others. He is a Fellow of the three Science Academies in India and was the President of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), International Council for Science, Paris (ICSU), and the Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) among others. He has been conferred ‘Padma’ award by the President of India, ‘Chevalier de la Legion d “Honneur’ by the President of France, and ‘The Cross of the Order of Merit’ by the President of Germany.