 Rohatgi served as founding director of the Nationall Institute of Interdesciplinary Research at Trivandrum and Advanced Material and Research Institute(CSIR).In Bhopal, India, he was a professor at Indian Institute of Science in the department of Mechanical Engineering, Material Sceience and Industrial Management.In India Institute of Technology, Kanpur he pioneered incorporating renewable materials such as coir(fiber from cocnut shell), banana and sial plant fiber into composites.