Prof. Sabu Thomas is one of India's most renowned scientists known for his contributions in polymer science and nanotechnology. He is a scientist, administrator and a teacher of national and international students. He joined Cochin University of Science and Technology, India, to pursue his bachelor's degree in polymer science and rubber technology. He went on to complete his Ph. D. at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India. After attaining industrial experience, he returned to Mahatma Gandhi University, India, as a lecturer.

He currently serves as the Vice Chancellor of the Mahatma Gandhi University. He has guided over 116 Ph. D students. He has received several national and international awards for best researcher and is a member of numerous scientific bodies and committees. He has been honoured with honorary doctorates from University of South Brittany, France; University of Lorraine, France and Siberian Federal University, Russia. He has authored more than 1,200 research publications and 156 books. He has been ranked 114th in the list of the world's best scientists (Stanford University, USA). He was also selected for the DST Nanomission award 2020.

He received Honorary Professorship from Siberian Federal University in 2020. Last year he was honoured with C.N.R Rao Award Prize Lecture in Advanced Materials by Materials Research Society of India (MRSI). He was elected as the Foreign Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences (EurASc)-2019. In 2022 he was honoured the Bailey Medal Award and in 2021 was awarded the Kairali Lifetime Research Award 2021 by the Kerala government.