Rajagopala Chidambaram
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Rajagopala Chidambaram (born 11 November 1936) is an
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
Physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
who is known for his integral role in India's nuclear weapons program; he coordinated test preparation for the
Pokhran-I Operation Smiling BuddhaThis test has many code names. Civilian scientists called it "Operation Smiling Buddha" and the Indian Army referred to it as ''Operation Happy Krishna''. According to Military Intelligence Corps (United States Army), U ...
(1975) and
Pokhran-II The Pokhran-II tests were a series of five nuclear bomb Nuclear weapons testing, test explosions conducted by India at the Indian Army's Pokhran#Pokhran Nuclear Test Range, Pokhran Test Range in May 1998. It was the second instance of nuclear t ...
(1998). Previously served as the principal scientific adviser to the federal
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, ...
, Chidambaram previously served as the director of the
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is India's premier nuclear research facility, headquartered in Trombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was founded by Homi Jehangir Bhabha as the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) in January 1 ...
(BARC)— and later as chairman, Atomic Energy Commission of the Government of India and he contributed in providing national defence and
energy security Energy security is the association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption. Access to (relatively) cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven d ...
to India. Chidambaram was chairman of the board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) during 1994–95. He was also a member of the Commission of Eminent Persons appointed by the Director-General, IAEA, in 2008 to prepare a report on "The Role of the IAEA to 2020 and Beyond". Throughout his career, Chidambaram played a key role in developing India's
nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
s, being a part of the team conducting the first Indian nuclear test (
Smiling Buddha Operation Smiling BuddhaThis test has many code names. Civilian scientists called it "Operation Smiling Buddha" and the Indian Army referred to it as ''Operation Happy Krishna''. According to United States Military Intelligence, ''Operation H ...
) at
Pokhran Test Range Pokhran is a village and a municipality located, outside of Jaisalmer city in the Jaisalmer district of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is a remote location in the Thar Desert region and served as the site for India's first underground nucle ...
in 1974. He gained international fame when he led and represented the team of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) while observing and leading efforts to conduct the second nuclear tests in May 1998.


Academic life

Chidambaram completed his early education in
Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...
and
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, completing his B.Sc. with
honors Honour (or honor in American English) is the quality of being honorable. Honor or Honour may also refer to: People * Honor (given name), a unisex given name * Brian Honour (born 1964), English footballer and manager * Gareth Honor (born 1979 ...
in
physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
, having stood first rank at the departmental and the university level of the
Madras University The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...
in 1956. After enrolling in master's program, Chidambaram taught introductory physics laboratory courses and obtained M.Sc. in physics, writing a fundamental thesis on
analog computer An analog computer or analogue computer is a type of computer that uses the continuous variation aspect of physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities (''analog signals'') to model the problem being solved. In ...
s from the same institution, in 1958. He was accepted for the doctoral programme of the
Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute was ...
(IISc), and was awarded the PhD in 1962. His thesis contained the research work on the development of
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a physical phenomenon in which nuclei in a strong constant magnetic field are perturbed by a weak oscillating magnetic field (in the near field) and respond by producing an electromagnetic signal with a ...
, and was conferred with the ''Martin Forster Medal'' for the best doctoral thesis submitted to the Indian Institute of Science. Chidambaram is a versatile scholar, interest first in physics. After graduating, his interest in nuclear physics diminished and his research interest in physics did not keep him motivated to contribute in his field. Instead, Chidambaram found himself interested in crystallography and condensed matter physics, writing scientific articles which later played an influential role in the development of modern materials science. His contribution to the enhancement of condensed matter physics and material science led him to be conferred with a
D.Sc. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
, in physics by the IISc after submitting his doctoral thesis on experiments which he conducted at IISc. He is also a recipient of D.Sc. from MKU,
Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
. He has been conferred doctoral degrees in physics by eight Indian universities. After the test of the nuclear device at Pokharan in 1974, Chidambaram started ‘open research' in the area of high pressure physics. For this a complete range of instrumentation such as diamond anvil cells, and gas-gun for launching projectiles were indigenously built. He also laid the foundation of theoretical high-pressure research for calculation of equation of state and phase stability of materials by first principles techniques. The papers published by his high pressure group are also well cited. The one on ‘Omega Phase in Materials’ is considered a textbook by researchers in Condensed Matter Physics/ Materials Science. He is an excellent orator, brightest mind with understanding of diverse subjects. A scientific visionary of India.


Nuclear program

After receiving his doctorate in physics, Chidambaram joined the
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is India's premier nuclear research facility, headquartered in Trombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was founded by Homi Jehangir Bhabha as the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) in January 1 ...
(BARC). He served as the director of the physics group initiating research on physical aspects of nuclear weapons. At BARC, he rose to become one of the senior nuclear scientists involved in various classified projects, and was one of the central figures building the nuclear programme. In 1967, Chidambaram joined the nuclear weapon designing effort along with his fellow scientists in constructing and building the metallurgical and physical aspects of the nuclear weapons. He and his colleagues worked out the equation of state of plutonium, which is still classified by all nuclear weapon states. He chose the implosion method and initiated research at BARC in very close interaction with the
Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) is a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) which comes under Ministry of Defence. Located in Chandigarh, the laboratory has become one of the major DRDO labs in the f ...
(TBRL) of the
Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, ...
(DRDO) to achieve this. Chidambaram also assisted the Indian Army to construct a nuclear test site at long-constructed Indian Army base,
Pokhran Test Range Pokhran is a village and a municipality located, outside of Jaisalmer city in the Jaisalmer district of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is a remote location in the Thar Desert region and served as the site for India's first underground nucle ...
in Rajasthan, Chidambaram was part of a team of scientists who participated in and supervised India's first nuclear test, codename Smiling Buddha, and was one of the scientists who were honoured by Indian Premier Indira Gandhi. Finally, in 1990, Chidambaram became Director of the BARC . His key participation in the design and successful execution of Operation Smiling Buddha saw him leading the DAE team of
Operation Shakti The Pokhran-II tests were a series of five nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by India at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range in May 1998. It was the second instance of nuclear testing conducted by India; the first test, code-named ''Sm ...
in 1998. As the director of BARC, he initiated the development of super-computers, which now have multi-teraflop speed capability. During his chairmanship of the Atomic Energy Commission, he accelerated the development of nuclear power. Upset by the secret manner in which the test was conducted, and given his instrumental role in the test, Chidambaram was not positively reciprocated when he approached the US for a visa to attend the 1998 annual conference of the
International Union of Crystallography The International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) is an organisation devoted to the international promotion and coordination of the science of crystallography. The IUCr is a member of the International Council for Science (ICSU). Objectives T ...
, of which was the vice-president, which was followed by his withdrawal of the visa application.


As Principal Scientific Adviser

Dr. R. Chidambaram was
Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India The Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) is the chief advisor to the government on matters related to scientific policy. It is currently a Secretary level position created in 1999 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. At the time, the position was a ...
(until Dr. Krishnasamy VijayRaghavan, replaced him in March 2018) and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory to the Cabinet of the Federal Government. Some of his initiatives as Principal Scientific Adviser, including the setting up of the Core Advisory Group for R&D in the Automotive Sector (CAR) to increase academia-industry interaction, the creation of RuTAGs (Rural Technology Action Groups) for effective need based technology delivery in rural areas, the establishment of SETS (Society for Electronic Transactions and Security), are making significant impact. During the last few years, he along with National Informatic Center helped conceptualise and supervise the setting up of the high-speed 'National Knowledge Network' to connect about 1,500 educational and research institutions in India. He has emphasized the need for 'Coherent Synergy' (a phrase he has coined) in India's Science & Technology (S&T) efforts to take India on a sustained fast-growth path. He has also focused on the importance of 'Directed Basic Research' as an addition to (not a substitute for) self-directed basic research.


Awards and honours

Chidambaram is the recipient a number of awards and honours. The Indian Government acknowledged his contribution to the successful nuclear tests by awarding 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 honour of the nation, in 1975 and the Padma Vibushan, the second highest civilian honour, in 1999. His other prominent awards are the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the Indian Institute of Science (1991), the C.V. Raman Birth Centenary Award of the Indian Science Congress Association (1995), the Distinguished Materials Scientist of the Year Award of the Materials Research Society of India (1996), the R.D. Birla Award of the Indian Physics Association (1996), the H. K. Forodia Award for Excellence in S & T (1998), the Hari Om Prerit Senior Scientist Award (2000), the Meghnad Saha Medal of the Indian National Science Academy (2002), the INS Homi Bhabha Lifetime Achievement Award of the Indian Nuclear Society (2006), the Life Time Contribution Award in Engineering (2009) from Indian National Academy of Engineering, the C.V. Raman Medal of the Indian National Science Academy. He has been awarded D.Sc. degrees (Honoris Causa) by more than twenty universities in India and abroad. Chidambaram is a Fellow of all the science Academies in India and the Third World Academy of Science (TWAS), Trieste (Italy). He has also served as a member, chairman and president of a number of organizations which, among others, include IIT-Madras, IIT-Bombay, the Materials Research Society of India, the
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research ( IAST: ''vaigyanik tathā audyogik anusandhāna pariṣada''), abbreviated as CSIR, was established by the Government of India in September 1942 as an autonomous body that has emerged as the ...
(CSIR), and the International Union of Crystallography. In early 2008, the IAEA invited Chidambaram to be a member of the "Commission of Eminent Persons", for making recommendations to the Board of Governors, regarding long-term priorities and funding. He is Indian Fellow of
Indian National Science Academy The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi for Indian scientists in all branches of science and technology. In August 2019, Dr. Chandrima Shaha was appointed as the president of Indian National Science Acade ...
. Chidambaram is chairman of Board of Governance of IIT, Jodhpur.https://iitj.ac.in/institute/index.php?id=chairman_bog


References


External links


Information page at the Technology Information Forecasting & Assessment Council

Home Page of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India


{{DEFAULTSORT:Chidambaram, Rajagopala Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in science & engineering Tamil scientists International Atomic Energy Agency officials University of Madras alumni Indian Institute of Science alumni 1936 births Living people Indian metallurgists Indian nuclear physicists Scientists from Chennai Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering 20th-century Indian physicists Indian condensed matter physicists