Waman Dattatreya Patwardhan

Waman Dattatreya Patwardhan was an Indian nuclear chemist, defence scientist and an expert in the science of explosives engineering. He was born on 30 January 1917 in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, British India (now in India). He completed his pre-graduate and graduate studies at Sir Parshurambhau College, University of Mumbai in 1936 and 1938 respectively. He then joined the Indian Ordnance Factories Service and worked as a chemical engineer in various ordnance factories. In 1958, he joined the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and worked with Dr. Homi Bhabha, the father of Indian nuclear program. He was involved in the development of solid propellants for rockets and missiles, as well as the design of detonation systems for nuclear devices. He was the founder director of the Explosives Research and Development Laboratory (ERDL), which later became the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), an autonomous division of DRDO. He was also associated with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and contributed to the development of India's first space rocket launched at Thumba in 1963. Patwardhan was one of the key scientists who participated in India's first nuclear test, codenamed Smiling Buddha, in 1974. He was responsible for developing the detonation system of the nuclear device, which used a high explosive lens to compress the plutonium core and initiate the fission chain reaction. He also worked on the development of thermonuclear weapons and other advanced nuclear technologies. Patwardhan was also interested in other areas of science and technology, such as hydroponics, parabolic mirrors, solar energy and biotechnology. He wrote a book on hydroponics, a method of growing plants without soil, and developed a cost-effective method for producing parabolic mirrors for astronomical telescopes. He also pioneered the use of solar energy for heating water and cooking food in rural areas. Patwardhan was an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies – Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and National Academy of Sciences, India – as well as of the Maharashtra Academy of Sciences. He received several awards and honors for his research, such as the Padma Shri Award (1974), the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (1976), the FIE Foundation Award (1980) and the DRDO Lifetime Achievement Award (1999). He was also a member of various scientific societies and committees, such as the Astronomical Society of India, the Indian Physics Association and the Atomic Energy Commission. Patwardhan died on 27 July 2007 in Pune, Maharashtra, India at the age of 90. He is remembered as one of the pioneers and leaders of nuclear chemistry and explosives engineering in India.