Prof. Shri Krishna Joshi (6 June 1935 – 15 May 2020) was an Indian

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 ...

. He was born on 6 June 1935 in the village of Anarpa in Kumaun,

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

, India.

Career

Joshi received his Ph.D. in physics from

Allahabad University The University of Allahabad is a Central University located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 23 September 1887 by an act of Parliament and is recognised as an Institute of National Importance (INI). It is the 4th oldest mode ...

in 1962. Joshi's broad areas of interest are condensed matter and

collision In physics, a collision is any event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other in a relatively short time. Although the most common use of the word ''collision'' refers to incidents in which two or more objects collide with great for ...

processes. His early research was in the study of

phonon A phonon is a collective excitation in a periodic, elastic arrangement of atoms or molecules in condensed matter, specifically in solids and some liquids. In the context of optically trapped objects, the quantized vibration mode can be defined a ...

s in metals and insulators. He later studied electronic states in disordered systems and

electron correlation Electronic correlation is the interaction between electrons in the electronic structure of a quantum system. The correlation energy is a measure of how much the movement of one electron is influenced by the presence of all other electrons. At ...

in narrow band solids. He has also worked on

Surface states Surface states are electronic states found at the Surface (topology), surface of materials. They are formed due to the sharp transition from solid material that ends with a surface and are found only at the atom layers closest to the surface. The t ...

and

Segregation in materials In materials science, segregation is the enrichment of atoms, ions, or molecules at a microscopic region in a materials system. While the terms segregation and adsorption are essentially synonymous, in practice, segregation is often used to descri ...

. Joshi conducted studies on excitation and

ionization Ionization or ionisation is the process by which an atom or a molecule acquires a negative or positive Electric charge, charge by gaining or losing electrons, often in conjunction with other chemical changes. The resulting electrically charged at ...

processes in atoms, ions, and molecules. His research interests lie in strongly correlated electron systems, such as high temperature superconductors, and also in

nanotechnology Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). At this scale, commonly known as the nanoscale, surface area and quantum mechanical effects become important in describing propertie ...

, especially electron transport in

quantum dot Quantum dots (QDs) or semiconductor nanocrystals are semiconductor particles a few nanometres in size with optical and electronic properties that differ from those of larger particles via quantum mechanical effects. They are a central topic i ...

s and

nanotube A nanotube is a nanoscale cylindrical structure with a hollow core, typically composed of carbon atoms, though other materials can also form nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are the most well-known and widely studied type, consisting of rolled- ...

s. Joshi supervised the Ph.D. theses of twenty scholars and has published more than 190 research papers. He was a Professor of Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee from 1967 to 1986. He was the Director of the National Physical Laboratory from 1986 to 1991. In 1991, he was appointed the Director General of the Indian

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 ...

. After retiring in 1995, he was awarded the Sarabhai Research Professorship in Physics and worked on condensed matter theory at the National Physical Laboratory in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

Awards

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

(1991) *

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 ...

(2003). * Watumull Memorial Prize (1965) *

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 Sciences (1972) * CSIR Silver Jubilee Award in (1973) *

Meghnad Saha Meghnad Saha (6 October 1893 – 16 February 1956) was an Indian astrophysicist and politician who helped devise the theory of Thermal ionization, thermal ionisation. His Saha ionization equation, Saha ionisation equation allowed astronomers to ...

Award for Research in Theoretical Sciences (1974) * Dr. K.S. Krishnan Memorial Lectureship of INSA (1987) * FICCI Award in Physical Sciences (1990) * Dr. Mahendra Lal Sircar Prize by IACS Calcutta for 1989 (in 1994) * Goyal Prize in Physics by Goyal Foundation (1993) * CV Raman Medal of INSA (1999) * Kamal Kumari National Award (2011) He was awarded a D.Sc. ''honoris causa'' from Kumaun University in 1994, from Kanpur University in 1995,

Benaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU), formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. The university incorporated the Central Hindu College, ...

in 1996, and the University of Burdwan in 2005. He was elected Fellow of the

Indian National Science Academy The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three b ...

in 1974. He was the Secretary of the Academy from 1983 to 1986 and its Foreign Secretary from 1989 to 1992. He was elected President of the INSA in 1993. He has been a Fellow of the

Indian Academy of Sciences The Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore was founded by Indian Physicist and List of Nobel laureates, Nobel Laureate Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, C. V. Raman, and was registered as a society on 27 April 1934. Inaugurated on 31 July 1934, it ...

since 1974, and was vice president from 1989 to 1991. Joshi was president of the Indian Physics Association from 1989 to 1990. He was president of the Materials Research Society of India. Joshi is a Fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences, and a Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In 2019, he inaugurated, with colleagues, the Aryabhatt Auditorium at the “Prof. Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) Institute of Physical Sciences for Study and Research" at the Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University of Jaunpur • A Science Center has been named after S. K. Joshi in his remembrance at Devasthal, ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute Of Observational Sciences). It was inaugurated by former ISRO Chairman Dr A. S. Kiran Kumar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joshi, Shri Krishna 1935 births Scientists from Uttarakhand Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Physical Science Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy Foreign members of the Russian Academy of Sciences 20th-century Indian physicists 2020 deaths