Srikumar Banerjee

Srikumar Banerjee was an eminent Indian nuclear scientist and metallurgical engineer who served as the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India (AECI) and the secretary of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) from 2009 to 2012. He was also the director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) from 2004 to 2010 and a DAE Homi Bhabha Chair Professor at BARC, Mumbai. He was known as a great physical metallurgist who made significant contributions to the development of materials for nuclear reactors and strategic applications. He was also involved in the negotiations for the Indo-US civil nuclear deal and the enactment of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act. Banerjee was born on 25 April 1946 in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He obtained his B.Tech degree with honours in metallurgical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in 1967. He then joined the Training School of BARC and became a part of the Metallurgy Division of BARC in 1968. He earned his Ph.D. degree in metallurgical engineering from IIT Kharagpur in 1974 based on his work at BARC. He held visiting positions at various universities and institutes abroad, such as the University of Sussex, Max-Planck-Institut für Metallforschung, University of Cincinnati and the Ohio State University. Banerjee's research interests included phase transformations, physical metallurgy, alloy design, nanostructured materials, irradiation effects on materials and nuclear fuels. He authored or co-authored more than 300 research papers in national and international journals and conferences. He also edited several books and monographs on materials science and engineering. He guided many doctoral and post-doctoral students and mentored many young scientists and engineers. Banerjee played a key role in the design and development of materials for India's nuclear reactors, such as pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs), fast breeder reactors (FBRs) and advanced heavy water reactors (AHWRs). He also contributed to the materials aspects of India's nuclear weapons program, such as the Pokhran-II tests in 1998. He was instrumental in establishing several facilities and laboratories at BARC, such as the Centre for Design & Manufacture, the Advanced Fuel Fabrication Facility, the High Pressure High Temperature Facility and the Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology. Banerjee received many awards and honours for his scientific achievements and leadership. He was awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology in Engineering Science in 1989 and the Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian awards in India, in 2005. He was also conferred an honorary Doctor of Science degree by the University of Calcutta in 2010. He was a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, the National Academy of Sciences, India, Allahabad, and the Indian National Academy of Engineering. He was appointed as the Chairman of the Board of Governors of IIT Kharagpur from 2014 to 2017. He was also the Chancellor of Central University of Kashmir, Srinagar and Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai. Banerjee was married to Sanghamitra Banerjee, a former director of Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC), Kolkata. They had a son and a daughter. Banerjee passed away on 23 May 2021 at his residence in Navi Mumbai due to a heart attack. He had recovered from COVID-19 infection a month earlier. He was mourned by the scientific community and the nation as a visionary leader and a distinguished scientist who dedicated his life to the service of the country.