Althaf is a Bachelor of Sciences in Mathematics from Osmania College, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh followed by which he did M.Sc. in Physics from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupathy, Andhra Pradesh. In 2008, he joined Indian Institute of Science for a PhD. He completed by May 2014

His thesis is titled "Phase Transformation Behaviour of Embedded Bimetallic Nanoscaled Alloy Particles in Immiscible Matrices" under the joint guidance of Prof. Chattopadhyay and Prof. N. Ravishankar (Materials Research Center, Indian Institute of Science).

He can be reached at basha@mrc.iisc.ernet.in or alternatively at althafbasha.svu@gmail.com