Chokkanathapuram Venkataraman Sundaram (7 November 1929 – 15 August 2008) was an Indian chemical metallurgist, best known for the commissioning of the
Fast Breeder Test Reactor at
Kalpakkam
Kalpakkam is a township in Tamil Nadu, India, situated on the Coromandel Coast 70 kilometres south of Chennai. A conglomerate of two villages (Puduppattinam and Sadurangappatinam) and a DAE township, it is about from Thiruvanmiyur and fro ...
. He was the director of the
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) is one of India's premier nuclear research centres. It is the second largest establishment of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), next to Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), located at Kal ...
(IGCAR). He was a recipient of the Sanjay Gandhi Award for Science and Technology as well as the
National Metallurgists Day Award and an elected fellow of the
Indian National Science Academy, the
Indian Academy of Sciences and the
Indian National Academy of Engineering. The
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
awarded him the
Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, in 1986.
Biography
![IISc Main Building](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/IISc_Main_Building.jpg)
C. V. Sundaram was born on 7 November 1929 at
Ottappalam
Ottapalam, (also spelled Ottappalam) is a town, taluk and municipality in the Palakkad District, Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ottapalam taluk. Ottapalam is located about 36 km from district headquarters Palakkad. ...
, in
Palakkad district
Palakkad District () is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It was carved out from the southeastern region of the former Malabar District on 1 January 1957. It is located at the centre of Kerala. It is the largest district i ...
of the south Indian state of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
.
His doctoral research was at the
Indian Institute of Science under the guidance of
Brahm Prakash
Brahm Prakash (21 August 1912 – 3 January 1984), was a metallurgist known for his work with nuclear materials in India.A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Former President of India ''Wings of Fire : An Autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam ''(1999)
Biograph ...
, a noted metallurgist who was a recipient of such honors as
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, ...
,
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (SSB) is a science award in India given annually by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for notable and outstanding research, Applied science, applied or Fundamenta ...
and
Padma Bhushan, which earned him a doctoral degree (DIISc) in 1952.
In 1956, he joined the
Department of Atomic Energy
The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) (IAST: ''Paramāṇu Ūrjā Vibhāga'') is a department with headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. DAE was established in 1954 by a Presidential Order. DAE has been engaged in the development of nucl ...
(DAE) where he was entrusted with the responsibility of the production of refractory metals. His next move was to
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre as the head of the department of metallurgy in 1975 where he worked until 1982, when he was appointed as the director of
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) is one of India's premier nuclear research centres. It is the second largest establishment of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), next to Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), located at Kal ...
(IGCAR).
He served out his regular career at IGCAR and after retirement from official service in 1989, he continued his association with DAE as a consultant to the
Nuclear Fuel Complex. Later, he moved to the
National Institute of Advanced Studies
National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) is a premier institute in India engaged in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research in natural sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. It was founded by J. R. D. Tata for providing an ...
, a centre of higher learning,
as the Homi Bhabha visiting professor until his full retirement in 2001.
In between, he did a short stint at the Regional Research Laboratory (present-day)
Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology
Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT) (formerly, Regional Research Laboratory, Bhubaneswar) is an advanced research institute in the field of mineralogy to materials engineering, established in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It was establ ...
, as the chairman of its research council.
Sundaram died on 15 August 2008, at the age of 78.
Professional profile
![Zirconium crystal bar and 1cm3 cube](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Zirconium_crystal_bar_and_1cm3_cube.jpg)
During his early years at the DAE, Sundaram was in charge of the production of
zirconium
Zirconium is a chemical element with the symbol Zr and atomic number 40. The name ''zirconium'' is taken from the name of the mineral zircon, the most important source of zirconium. The word is related to Persian '' zargun'' (zircon; ''zar-gun'', ...
,
beryllium
Beryllium is a chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a steel-gray, strong, lightweight and brittle alkaline earth metal. It is a divalent element that occurs naturally only in combination with other elements to form mi ...
,
titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
,
tantalum
Tantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as ''tantalium'', it is named after Tantalus, a villain in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a very hard, ductile, lustrous, blue-gray transition metal that is ...
and other
refractory metals
Refractory metals are a class of metals that are extraordinarily resistant to heat and wear. The expression is mostly used in the context of materials science, metallurgy and engineering. The definition of which elements belong to this group diff ...
and he contributed to the establishment of a production facility at
Nuclear Fuel Complex which produced zirconium sponge,
niobium
Niobium is a chemical element with chemical symbol Nb (formerly columbium, Cb) and atomic number 41. It is a light grey, crystalline, and ductile transition metal. Pure niobium has a Mohs hardness rating similar to pure titanium, and it has sim ...
and tantalum metal products.
He oversaw the project from research to production, including the setting up of a
pilot plant.
Later, when he moved to IGCAR, he took over the
Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) project and it was during his tenancy as the director, the reactor reached
criticality, in 1985. Subsequently, he guided the
Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor project until his retirement.
Sundaram was a pioneer of
extractive metallurgy
Extractive metallurgy is a branch of metallurgical engineering wherein process and methods of extraction of metals from their natural mineral deposits are studied. The field is a materials science, covering all aspects of the types of ore, wash ...
in India.
His studies have been documented by way of a number of articles.
Besides, he published two books on science, ''Materials Technology: Challenges and Opportunities'', published in 1995
and ''Atomic Energy in India, 50 Years'', published by the Department of Atomic Energy in 1998.
He also translated the ''
Shivananda Lahari
Shivananda Lahari (IAST ') is a devotional hymn composed by Adi Shankara, Advaita Vedanta, Advaita Hindu philosophy, philosopher, on Shiva. It literally means ''Wave of Auspicious Bliss''. It consists of one hundred stanzas of Sanskrit poetry in ...
'' of
Adi Shankaracharya into English.
He was an honorary member of the
Indian Institute of Metals
Indian Institute of Metals (IIM) was formed in Kolkata in 1946 under the leadership of Dr. Dara P. Antia, who was then Chief Metallurgist of Indian Aluminum Co. The IIM is over 60 years old premier professional Metallurgical Institute set up to ...
and a regular member of the Metallurgical Society (USA). He served as the chief editor of the ''Transactions'' journal of the Indian Institute of Metals from 1972 to 1980 as well as the ''Metals Materials and Processes'' journal and sat in the editorial board of the ''Journal of Nuclear Materials''.
He also served as the president of the Indian Nuclear Society and the
Indian Institute of Metals
Indian Institute of Metals (IIM) was formed in Kolkata in 1946 under the leadership of Dr. Dara P. Antia, who was then Chief Metallurgist of Indian Aluminum Co. The IIM is over 60 years old premier professional Metallurgical Institute set up to ...
(1981–82).
Awards and honors
The
Indian Institute of Metals
Indian Institute of Metals (IIM) was formed in Kolkata in 1946 under the leadership of Dr. Dara P. Antia, who was then Chief Metallurgist of Indian Aluminum Co. The IIM is over 60 years old premier professional Metallurgical Institute set up to ...
(IIM) awarded Sundaram, the Kamani Gold Medal in 1967; IIM honored him again in 1985 with the Platinum Medal in 1985,
the same year as he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the
Indian Institute of Science.
In between, he received the
National Metallurgists' Day Award in 1970
and the
VASVIK Industrial Research Award
VASVIK Industrial Research Award is an Indian award, instituted to recognize and promote excellence in industrial research in the areas of science and technology. The award is given annually to individuals or groups and carries a citation and a ca ...
in 1979.
He received two more awards in 1985, the Sanjay Gandhi Award for Science and Technology of the Government of India
and the Syed Husain Zaheer Medal of the
Indian National Science Academy.
The next year, he received the third highest civilian honor from the Government of India, the
Padma Bhusan
The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest Indian honours system, 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 January 1954, the award is given for " ...
.
The Indian Nuclear Society awarded him the INS Homi Bhabha Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 and the
Ministry of Mines of the Government of India selected him for the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.
He was an elected fellow of the
Indian Academy of Sciences (1974),
the
Indian National Science Academy (1979)
and the
Indian National Academy of Engineering.
Selected bibliography
Books
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Articles
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See also
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Mineral processing
*
Non-ferrous extractive metallurgy
Non-ferrous extractive metallurgy is one of the two branches of extractive metallurgy which pertains to the processes of reducing valuable, non-iron metals from ores or raw material. Metals like zinc, copper, lead, aluminium as well as rare and ...
Notes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sundaram, C. Venkataraman
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering
1929 births
2008 deaths
People from Ottapalam
Scientists from Kerala
Indian metallurgists
Fellows of the Indian National Academy of Engineering
Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy
Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences
20th-century Indian translators
Indian Institute of Science alumni
Malayali people
20th-century Indian scientists