D. D. Bhawalkar | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1940-10-16)16 October 1940 (age 85) Sagar,Madhya Pradesh, India |
| Occupation | Laser physicist |
| Years active | 1962-present |
| Known for | Lasers |
| Awards | Padma Shri Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Goyal Prize Firodia Award Homi Bhabha Award |
Dilip Devidas Bhawalkar is an Indian optical physicist and the founder director of theRaja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (CAT), an institute under theDepartment of Atomic Energy, serving as a centre for higher studies in the fields oflasers andparticle accelerators.[1] He is credited with pioneering research inoptics andlasers in India and is reported to have contributed in making CAT a partner in theInternational Linear Collider andLarge Hadron Collider experiments of theEuropean Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).[2] He is a recipient of theShanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, the highest Indian award in science and technology.[3] The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award of thePadma Shri in 2000.[4]
Bhawalkar, born on 16 October 1940 atSagar city ofDr. Hari Singh Gour University, in the Central Indian state ofMadhya Pradesh, completed his graduate (BSc) in 1959 and post graduate (MSc) studies in 1961 atSagar University, topping the examinations for which he receivedChintamanrao Gold Medal from the University. He continued his studies atSouthampton University, securing a master's degree (MSc) in Electronics and a doctoral degree (PhD) inLasers and started his career as a member of faculty at the same university in 1966.[2] His career at Southampton was short-lived as he returned to India in 1967 and accepted the job of a Scientific Officer at theBhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to continue his work on lasers. He stayed at BARC mainstream till 1987 during which period, he became the Section Head in 1973 and the Division Head in 1984.[5]
Dr. Bhawalkar was appointed as the founder director whenCentre for Advanced Technology was started by theDepartment of Atomic Energy in 1987. In 2000, when he was due for his statutory superannuation, the Government extended his service for a further period of two years, till October 2002.[1] After his retirement in 2002, he joinedQuantalase, an organization manufacturing industrial and medical lasers, as its director and holds the post till date.[6]
Bhawalkar is one of the pioneers of laser in India and one of the early doctoral scholars in the technology when the discipline was at its nascent stage.[2] He initiated research on lasers at BARC, has been one of the key figures in the establishment of theCentre for Advanced Technology of the DAE at BARC and was involved with the institution from its beginning till his superannuation. During this period, he was instrumental in setting up of various laboratories and facilities of CAT[2] and developing aNational Laser Programme for the country.[6][7] His efforts are reported behind the establishment of research infrastructure and courses onlasers andparticle accelerators at BARC training school and behind the introduction of R&D programmes at the Laser Division of BARC.[5] He also mentored 18 research scholars, including two fromSouthampton University, in their studies.[5]
Bhawalkar is credited with pioneering research on Lasers in India and was the initiator of a new method for measuringweak lensing in gases by employing aGaussian beam which has since been incorporated inPhotothermal spectroscopy.[5] His development of anNd Glass laser chain for generating 10GW of pulsed power has assisted the subsequent experiments onlaser-produced plasmas.[3] He has also contributed to the development of biological and medical applications of lasers.[5] He founded a prototype production facility at CAT which is reported to have supplied over 50 lasers for DAE researches and to the industry. The team led by him[8] is known to have contributed for the setting up of INDUS 1, the firstSynchrotron Radiation Source in India and the precursor ofIndus 2.[2] It was during his tenure as the director, CAT started its participation in theInternational Linear Collider[5] andLarge Hadron Collider experiments ofEuropean Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).[2] His researches have been documented by over 80 scientific and organizational[7] articles, published in national and international peer reviewed journals.[5]
Bhawalkar is a Distinguished Scientist of theCentre for Advanced Technology and a Distinguished Honorary Professor of theIndian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.[6] He served as the coordinator of DAE=CERN collaboration and theIntegrated Long Term Programme of Cooperation, an Indo-Russian joint venture on lasers and accelerators and as a member of the Steering Committee of theInternational Linear Collider programme.[5] He is the founder president of theIndian Laser Association.[9] He is a member of theIndian Physics Association,[6] and a former member of theAsian Committee for Future Accelerators and theInternational Committee for Future Accelerators.[5] He chaired theAsian Committee for Future Accelerators (ACFA) and the Advanced Technology Committee ofBoard of Research in Nuclear Sciences of theDepartment of Atomic Energy and is a member ofC-13 Committee ofInternational Union of Pure and Applied Physics.[6]
TheIndian Academy of Sciences elected Bhawalkar as its Fellow in 1986.[10] TheIndian National Science Academy (INSA)[5] and theNational Academy of Sciences, India (NASI) followed suit in 1990.[11] He was elected as a Fellow of theOptical Society of America in 1998[12] and was, subsequently, selected as the Foreign Fellow of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences.[5] The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) awarded him theShanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, the highest Indian award in the science and technology category in 1984,[3] the same year, as he was selected as the UGC lecturer by theUniversity Grants Commission of India. He received theGoyal Prize of theKurukshetra University in 1999[13] and he was included in the 2000Republic Day honours list for the civilian award of thePadma Shri, by the Government of India.[4] He received one more award,H. K. Firodia Award, in 2000.[14]
