Profile of Dr. Srikumar Banerjee
Dr. Srikumar Banerjee is an Indian nuclear scientist and a metallurgical engineer. He was one of the senior Indian scientists involved in the 1974 Indian atomic test and the 1998 Indian nuclear testing. He retired as the Chairman Atomic Energy Commission of India (AECI) and the Secretary of Department of Atomic Energy ('DAE') on April 30, 2012. Prior to his stint as DAE Chairman, he was the Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). He is one of the leading experts in material science and technology in India and has made outstanding contributions to many materials related areas, basic as well as application oriented.
In recognition of Banerjee's distinguished contribution, he has been honoured with Government of India's prestigious civilian award, Padma Shri, in 2005.
In 1967, Banerjee obtained a B.Tech degree with honours in Metallurgical Engineering from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) in Kharagpur. Thereafter, he underwent training at the Training School of BARC. He joined the erstwhile Metallurgy Division of BARC in 1968 and spent his entire scientific career in this establishment. On the basis of the work carried out by him in the first few years of his 'career in BARC, he was awarded the Ph.D. degree in Metallurgical Engineering by IIT, Kharagpur, in 1974.
In the course of his distinguished professional career, Banerjee has published more than 300 scientific papers in reputed international and national journals. Some of these publications are regarded as landmark contributions in the field of materials science.
In recognition of Banerjee's important research contributions he has been the recipient of many awards and honours. These include Indian National Science Academy (INSA) Young Scientist Medal (1976), National Metallurgists' Day Award (1981), Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Prize in Engineering Sciences (1989), Materials Research Society of India (MRSI) Medal (1990), G.D. Birla Gold Medal of The Indian Institute of Metals (1997), INSA Prize for Materials Science (2001), MRSI-Superconductivity and Materials Science Prize (2003), Indian Nuclear Society Award (2003).
He received D.Sc (Honoris Causa) from the Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur (the second oldest engineering institute in India) at its annual convocation on 16 February 2010.