Ashesh Prosad Mitra FNA, FASc, FRS (21 February 1927 – 3 September 2007) was a

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 headed the National Physics Laboratory in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and was the director general of the

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR; IAST: ''vaigyanik tathā audyogik anusandhāna pariṣada'') is a research and development (R&D) organisation in India to promote scientific, industrial and economic growth. Headquarter ...

(CSIR). He is primarily known for his work on environmental physics.

Life

Mitra studied at the Bangabasi College, an affiliated college of the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

. He completed his post graduation studies from the renowned

Rajabazar Science College The University College of Science, Technology and Agriculture (formerly known as Rajabazar Science College) are two of five main campuses of the University of Calcutta (CU). The college served as the cradle of Indian sciences, where Raman won t ...

campus of same university. He was the director of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) from 1982 to 1986 and the director general of the

(CSIR) from 1986 to 1991. He died at New Delhi in September 2007.

Research

Radio and space physics was his area of specialization. He performed major work in the field of earth's near-space environment, through group based and space techniques. He worked on cosmic radio noise for studying the upper atmosphere led to a series of discoveries in ionosphere, solar physics and cosmic rays.

Honours and awards

*He was awarded the

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Shanti or Shanthi may refer to: In Sanskrit * Inner peace, a state of being mentally and spiritually at peace, with enough knowledge and understanding to keep oneself strong in the face of discord or stress * Kshanti, one of the paramitas of B ...

for Physical Science in 1968. The citation read: *Foreign Fellow of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences *Awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

in 1987 *Fellow of the

Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

in 1988. *President of the International Union of Radio Sciences - URSI between 1984 and 1987 *Member, General Committee of International Council of Scientific Unions between 1984 and 1988 *Fellow - Indian National Science Academy in 1961 *Fellow of the Indian Academy Sciences in 1974 *Fellow of the Thud World Academy of Sciences in 198 *President, National Academy of Sciences between 1992 and 1993 *Honorary President, URSI in 2002 *Jawahar La1 Nehru Fellowship between 1978 and 1980 *Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Fellowship between 1991 and 1996 *Senior Homi Bhabha Fellowship between 1996 and 1998 *Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Memorial Award for Physical Sciences in 1968 *C. V. Raman Award of University Grants Commission in 1982 *Om Prakash Bhasin Award for Physical Physical Sciences in 1987 *FICCI Award for Physical Sciences in 1982 *Meghnad Saha Golden Jubilee Award of Indian Association of Science in 1991 *Modi Science Award in 1992 *Vasuic Award on Environmental Science and Technology in 2002 *Meghnad Saha Medal by Asiatic Society in 1994 *S. K. Mitra Centenary Medal by Indian Science Congress Association in 1995 *DSc (Honors Causa) degrees from the universities of

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

Jadavpur Jadavpur is a neighbourhood of Kolkata, South Kolkata in Kolkata district in West Bengal, India. Jadavpur is one of the important junctions in South Kolkata. Jadavpur University and a number of research institutes of national and international ...

, Burdwan North Bangal, Vidhyasagar.

Personal life

Ashesh Prosad Mitra had two daughters with his wife, Sunanda, whom he married on 12 August 1956.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitre, Ashesh Prosade 1927 births 2007 deaths Scientists from Kolkata Bangabasi College alumni University of Calcutta alumni 20th-century Indian physicists 20th-century Indian educators Fellows of the Royal Society Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering Fellows of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences