Bikash Sinha

Bikash Sinha is an Indian physicist, active in the fields of nuclear physics and high energy physics. Bikash Sinha was the director of the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics and Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre and the chairman of the Board of Governors of the National Institute of Technology, Durgapur in June 2005. He retired from service as the director of Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre and the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics in June 2009. Presently he is the Homi Bhabha Chair Professor of the Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre. He is also a member of scientific advisory board to the Prime Minister of India. He received Padma Shri in 2001 and Padma Bhushan in 2010. He is the cousin of late Atish Chandra Sinha and nephew of Bimal Chandra Sinha, Zamindar of Kandi in Murshidabad and Land Reforms Minister of West Bengal under the Chief Ministership of Bidhan Chandra Ray.

Bikash Sinha was born in 1945. He had his schooling at the Scottish Church Collegiate School, and later studied at Presidency College, Calcutta. He graduated with a first class in physics from the Presidency College, Calcutta, then affiliated with the University of Calcutta. He obtained his Tripos from Cambridge University in natural science in 1967 and then completed his PhD from London University in 1970. He was awarded a D.Sc. from London University in 1981. Sinha lived in England for about 12 years, teaching and researching in the Rutherford High Energy Physics Laboratory and King's College, London.

Internationally known, he has travelled extensively and is known to most of the peers of physics for Europe, USA, former USSR, Japan, China and Latin America. He has published more than 250 papers and delivered talks in international scientific conferences extensively. The pioneering work on Quark Gluon Plasma is already well recognised internationally. A series of invited talks in international conferences and membership of the significant advisory committees substantiate that reputation and credibility.

Sinha is the recipient of S.N. Bose Birth Centenary Award of the Indian Science Congress Association in 1994. Sinha joined Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in 1976 after coming back from England and was Director of Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre. He is a Fellow of the prestigious Indian National Science Academy as recognition of his outstanding research in Physics (1989).

He is also a Fellow of National Academy of Sciences, Allahabad (1993) and the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore (2004).

Currently,he is the chairman of board of governors, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur (NIT Duragpur).

Sinha has taken a keen interest in the application of nuclear medicine for diagnostics, and treatment of various diseases especially for cancer patients. The recently established Radiation Medicine Centre in Kolkata is a part of the Cyclotron Centre. Sinha held the concurrent charge as Director, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata, from November 1992 – till June 2009.

During his tenure as Director, the Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre as well as the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, the two premier institutions of the Department of Atomic Energy, flourished tremendously and have become acclaimed as centres of excellence internationally. Saha Institute expanded its activities including participation at CERN with a new chip called MANAS, an immediate world success. VECC on the other hand built the Photon Multiplicity Detector for CERN, LHC, another landmark success under Sinha's leadership.. Moreover, Prof. Sinha took a keen interest to explore the possibilities of extraction of Helium in large scale from Bakreswar-Tantloi geothermal area (hot springs) at West Bengal and Jharkhand and also from Natural Gas at ONGC Kuthalam Gas and Oil fields at Tamil Nadu. Presently he is taking the leadership to explore helium and geothermal power from Indian geothermal fields. He is also engaged in R & D activities with geochemical precursors for earthquakes using helium and radon geochemistry.

Sinha has been a Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet, Government of India from 14 June 1997 for two years and Chairman of the International Radiation Physics since February 1997 and the Chairman of the National Committee for International Union for Pure & Applied Physics, since 1998. Sinha was the Chairman of the executive Committee of National Council of Science Museum, Kolkata and also a Member of the Governing Council of National Council of Science Museums. He was also the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Birla Industrial & Technological Museum, Kolkata.

Sinha was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2001 for his contributions to science and technology. He has been nominated by Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, as a member on the Council of Management of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore, from March 2004.

President of India in his capacity as Visitor of the University of Hyderabad appointed him as his nominee on the Executive Council of the University of Hyderabad from June 2004 as a nominated member of the executive council of Visva-Bharati University from 2004.

Also the Prime Minister of India nominated Sinha as a Member of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister from 27 January 2005. He has been re-elected for the second time as a Member of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister from December 2009.

Bikash Sinha has been awarded D.A.E. – Dr. Raja Ramanna Prize 2001 and delivered the Pandya Endowment lecture Award, IPA, 2001 and Rais Ahmed Memorial Lecture Award, Aligarh, 2001.

He is a member of the Visva-Bharati University's Academic Council since 2002 and a member of the Senate of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He has become the Fellow of the 3rd World Academy of Sciences, Italy, 2002 and Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, 2004. Recently he was elected to the fellowship of the Institute of Physics, UK Bikash Sinha was the Vice-chancellor of West Bengal University of Technology since February 2003 to 18 December 2003 in addition to his regular responsibilities and also a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet, Govt. of India. Sinha has been awarded R.D. Birla Award for Excellence in Physics – 2002.

Recently Sinha has been awarded Honorius Doctorate in Physics from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (2005). The Ministry of Human Resource Development appointed Sinha as the Chairman of the Local Committee of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata, in June 2005. He was awarded the Humboldt Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany, in November 2005. He was awarded Meghnad Saha Memorial Lecture Award (2007) from The National Academy of Sciences, India, on 28 August 2007 and he was elected as President of the Indian Physics Association in November 2007. He was awarded prestigious "Bidhan Memorial Honor" on 1 July 2008 from Bidhan Memorial Trust, Kolkata. Recently Sinha was appointed as Distinguished Visiting Scholar by the Christ's College, Cambridge on 9 March 2009 and also elected as Fellow of the Institute of Physics, London in March 2009.

Bikash Sinha has been conferred Padma Bhushan Award by the President of India in 2010 for his significant contribution in science and technology. Dr. Sinha has been awarded Honorius Doctorate from National Institute of Technology, Silchar 2010, Burdwan University 2012, Netaji Subhas Open University 2013 and National Institute of Technology Agartala 2013.