Arvind Kumar (born 1943) is an Indian physicist and educationist. He was Centre Director,

Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE) is a National Centre of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, India. The broad goals of the institute are to promote equity and excellence in science and mathematics educatio ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, during the period 1994-2008. For his contributions in the field of science education, he was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), 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. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2010. He is a Fellow of the

National Academy of Sciences, India The National Academy of Sciences, India, established in 1930, is the oldest science academy in India. It is located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Prof. Meghnad Saha was the founder president. Fellows *Suddhasatwa Basu * Sudha Bhattacharya * Ch ...

, and is the recipient of several other honours and awards, including the

TWAS The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable devel ...

regional award for Science Education.

Early life

Arvind Kumar was born on 15 October 1943. He did his doctoral work in theoretical physics at the

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is a public deemed research university located in Mumbai, India that is dedicated to basic research in mathematics and the sciences. It is a Deemed University and works under the umbrella of the D ...

, Mumbai, and completed his dissertation in 1969.

Career

After his Ph.D., Kumar did postdoctoral stints at

CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gene ...

, Geneva, and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. Subsequently he returned to India and taught in the Department of Physics of

Bombay University The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...

for about twelve years. During this period he was an active worker and research guide in theoretical high energy physics. Kumar joined the

(HBCSE) as Professor in 1984. In 1994, after the retirement of V. G. Kulkarni, the founder-Director of HBCSE, Kumar was appointed Centre Director, and held the position until his superannuation in 2008. After his retirement he held the post of Raja Ramanna Fellow at HBCSE until October 2013. Subsequently he was associated with the Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences, Mumbai, as visiting faculty, and is currently a member of its Academic Board. He continues his association with HBCSE as visiting scientist. Kumar has been active in the Olympiad movement in the sciences. During his tenure as Director, HBCSE became the national nodal centre for the Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy and Mathematics Olympiads. Kumar was also responsible for the launch of a new programme called the National Initiative for Undergraduate Science. Kumar was closely involved in the process of evolving the

National Curriculum Framework (NCF 2005) The National Curriculum Framework 2005 (NCF 2005) is the fourth National Curriculum Framework published in 2005 by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in India. Its predecessors were published in 1975, 1988, 2000. T ...

as a member of the Steering Committee and as the Chair of the National Focus Group on the Teaching of Science. When The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) instituted regional Awards for Science Education in 2008, Kumar was among the first recipients. In 2010, he was honoured with the

Books written by Arvind Kumar

* ''Chaos, Fractals and Self-Organization'', published by National Book Trust, published 2011; .

Awards and honours

* Fellow, National Academy of Sciences, India (elected 2007) * The World Academy of Sciences Regional Prize for Science Education, 2008 *

2010

References

External links

Home page at HBCSE
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Arvind 1943 births Living people 20th-century Indian physicists Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education