Harish Chandra Verma (born 03 April 1952), popularly known as hcv, is an Indian

experimental physicist Experimental physics is the category of disciplines and sub-disciplines in the field of physics that are concerned with the observation of physical phenomena and experiments. Methods vary from discipline to discipline, from simple experiments an ...

, author and

emeritus professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur). In 2021, he was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

, the fourth highest civilian award, by the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

for his contribution to Physics. His field of research is

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies t ...

. He has authored several schools, undergraduate and graduate level textbooks, including but not limited to the most popular and most reputed two-volume ''Concepts of Physics'', extensively used by students appearing for various high-level competitive examinations. He has co-founded ''Shiksha Sopan'', a social upliftment organization for economically weaker children living near the campus of

IIT Kanpur The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) Hindi: भारतीय प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान कानपुर) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was ...

. He has dedicated himself in training young minds in the field of Physics. He has immensely contributed to popularising Physics education among Indian students and teachers by conducting lectures and experimental demonstrations. He has been awarded the

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed bin Khairuddin Al-Hussaini Azad (; 11 November 1888 – 22 February 1958) was an Indian independence activist, Islamic theologian, writer and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. Following In ...

Shiksha Puruskar by the

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...

Early life and study

Verma obtained his B.Sc. degree at the

Patna Science College Patna Science College, established in 1927, is one of the oldest science colleges in Patna, Bihar. It is affiliated to Patna University, and offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in science. History Patna Science College is an institut ...

. He obtained his M.Sc. and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur.

Career

Patna Science College

In early 1980, Verma joined Patna Science College as a lecturer. He remained at the college as a lecturer and reader for 15 years before resigning from the college and joining IIT Kanpur.

IIT Kanpur

Verma joined IIT Kanpur in 1994 as an assistant professor. Here he pursued research in experimental

. He has published 139 research papers. He retired on 30 June 2017.

Physics outreach

Verma has developed more than six hundred ‘low cost’ physics experiments that teachers can employ in their classrooms. In 2011, he set up the National Anveshika Network of India (NANI), a flagship program of the

Indian Association of Physics Teachers The Indian Association of Physics Teachers or IAPT is a body that coordinates the Physics Olympiad for India along with HBCSE. It was established in the year 1984 by D. P. Khandelwal, with active support from some Physics teachers. Its aim was ...

(IAPT). He is the national coordinator for this program. There are currently 22 Anveshikas in the country.

Bibliography

* ''Concepts of Physics Part-1'', Bharati Bhawan Publishers & Distributors, 1992, * ''Concepts of Physics Part-2'', Bharati Bhawan Publishers & Distributors, 1992, * ''Quantum Physics'', Surya Publication, * ''Foundation Science Physics for class 9'', Bharati Bhawan Publishers & Distributors, * ''Foundation Science Physics for class 10'', Bharati Bhawan Publishers & Distributors, * ''Bhautiki Ki Samajh Part-1'', Bharati Bhawan Publishers & Distributors, * ''Classical Electromagnetism'', Bharati Bhawan Publishers & Distributors,

Online courses

*''Nuclear Physics: Fundamentals and Applications'' (organized by National Program for Technology Enhanced Learning, NPTEL) *''Learning Physics through Simple Experiments'' ( Massive Online Open Course in 2016) *''Physics of Semiconductors'' (Massive Online Open Course in 2017) *''B.Sc. courses in Hindi - Basics of Special Theory of Relativity'' (2018) *''Basics of Quantum Mechanics'' (2019) *''Advanced Course on the Special Theory of Relativity'' (2020) *''Classical Electromagnetism - Electrostatics'' (2020) *''Classical Mechanics'' (2021) *''The Story of Photoelectric Effect'' (2021)

Awards

(2021) * Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Shiksha Purashkar (2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verma, H. C. Recipients of the Padma Shri Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering Academic staff of IIT Kanpur Physics educators 1952 births Living people People from Darbhanga