Deepak Dhar (born 30 October 1951) is an Indian theoretical physicist and a distinguished professor at the department of physics of
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER Pune) is an autonomous public university established in 2006. It is one of the seven Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, and was one of the first IISERs to ...
. He is widely respected for his research on
statistical physics
Statistical physics is a branch of physics that evolved from a foundation of statistical mechanics, which uses methods of probability theory and statistics, and particularly the Mathematics, mathematical tools for dealing with large populations ...
and
stochastic processes
In probability theory and related fields, a stochastic () or random process is a mathematical object usually defined as a family of random variables. Stochastic processes are widely used as mathematical models of systems and phenomena that appe ...
. In 2022, he became the first ever Indian scientist to be chosen for the
Boltzmann Medal
The Boltzmann Medal (or Boltzmann Award) is a prize awarded to physicists that obtain new results concerning statistical mechanics; it is named after the celebrated physicist Ludwig Boltzmann. The Boltzmann Medal is awarded once every three years ...
, the highest recognition in statistical physics awarded once every three years by
IUPAP
The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP ) is an international non-governmental organization whose mission is to assist in the worldwide development of physics, to foster international cooperation in physics, and to help in the ...
, for exceptional contributions to the subject. Dhar is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies –
Indian Academy of Sciences
The Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore was founded by Indian Physicist and Nobel Laureate C. V. Raman, and was registered as a society on 24 April 1934. Inaugurated on 31 July 1934, it began with 65 founding fellows. The first general meet ...
,
Indian National Science Academy
The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi for Indian scientists in all branches of science and technology.
In August 2019, Dr. Chandrima Shaha was appointed as the president of Indian National Science Academ ...
and
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 ...
– as well as of
The World Academy of Sciences
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 ...
. The
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (IAST: ''vaigyanik tathā audyogik anusandhāna pariṣada''), abbreviated as CSIR, was established by the Government of India in September 1942 as an autonomous body that has emerged as the l ...
, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded Dhar the
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology
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 ...
, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to physical sciences in 1991.
Biography
![Au science faculty](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Au_science_faculty.jpg)
Born on 30 October 1951 at
Pratapgarh, in the north Indian state of
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
to Murli Dhar-Rama Gupta couple, Deepak Dhar graduated in science from the
University of Allahabad
, mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees"
, established =
, type = Public
, chancellor = Ashish Chauhan
, vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava
, head_label ...
in 1970 before earning a master's degree in physics from the
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 1972.
Moving to the US, he enrolled for his doctoral studies under the guidance of
Jon Mathews at
California Institute of Technology, and after securing a PhD in 1978,
returned to India to start his career as a research fellow at
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) the same year.
After two years of research, Dhar became a full-time fellow in 1980 and served in that position until 1986 when he was promoted as a reader. Before his superannuation from regular service, Dhar held various positions at TIFR such as that of an associate professor (1991) and professor grades from G to J (1995–2008). In between, he had a one-year sabbatical at the
University of Paris
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
as a visiting scientist during 1984–85) and a month-long stint at
Isaac Newton Institute
The Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences is an international research institute for mathematics and its many applications at the University of Cambridge. It is named after one of the university's most illustrious figures, the mathema ...
in May 2006 as a Rothschild Professor. Post-retirement, Dhar continues his association with TIFR as a distinguished professor of the institution.
He also serves as a distinguished visiting faculty at the
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER Pune) is an autonomous public university established in 2006. It is one of the seven Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, and was one of the first IISERs to ...
.
Dhar is married to Manju and the couple has two children. The family lives in TIFR Housing Colony along Homi Bhabha Road in Mumbai.
Legacy
![BMonSphere](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/BMonSphere.jpg)
Focusing his studies on
statistical physics
Statistical physics is a branch of physics that evolved from a foundation of statistical mechanics, which uses methods of probability theory and statistics, and particularly the Mathematics, mathematical tools for dealing with large populations ...
and
stochastic processes
In probability theory and related fields, a stochastic () or random process is a mathematical object usually defined as a family of random variables. Stochastic processes are widely used as mathematical models of systems and phenomena that appe ...
, Dhar has worked on the
statistical mechanics
In physics, statistical mechanics is a mathematical framework that applies statistical methods and probability theory to large assemblies of microscopic entities. It does not assume or postulate any natural laws, but explains the macroscopic be ...
and kinetics of random
lattices and his work is reported to have widened our understanding of the disciplines.
He is credited with the introduction of ''
spectral dimension
The spectral dimension is a real-valued quantity that characterizes a spacetime geometry and topology. It characterizes a spread into space over time, e.g. a ink drop diffusing in a water glass or the evolution of a pandemic in a population. Its d ...
'' concept in the studies of
fractals and contributed to developing a methodology for determining their
critical phenomena
In physics, critical phenomena is the collective name associated with the
physics of critical points. Most of them stem from the divergence of the
correlation length, but also the dynamics slows down. Critical phenomena include scaling relations ...
using real-space
renormalization group
In theoretical physics, the term renormalization group (RG) refers to a formal apparatus that allows systematic investigation of the changes of a physical system as viewed at different scales. In particle physics, it reflects the changes in the ...
techniques which was the first time the mathematical apparatus was used for calculations on ''nontrivial critical exponents'' on fractals.
Dhar worked with
Ramakrishna Ramaswamy
Ram Ramaswamy (born 14 October 1953 in Chennai, India) is an Indian scientist. He obtained his B.Sc. in chemistry (1972) from Loyola College, Chennai, then M.Sc. in chemistry from the IIT, Kanpur, and Ph.D. (1978) from Princeton University whe ...
to solve the
Abelian sandpile model
The Abelian sandpile model (ASM) is the more popular name of the original Bak–Tang–Wiesenfeld model (BTW). BTW model was the first discovered example of a dynamical system displaying self-organized criticality. It was introduced by Per Bak, ...
of
self-organized criticality and developed a new model
which came to be known as ''Dhar-Ramaswamy model''.
Working on ''directed-site animals-enumeration problem''
using
Bethe ansatz method, he proposed the evolution operator which has since been subjected to studies by other researchers as ''Dhar directed-site animals-enumeration problem''.
Dhar also demonstrated the predominance of slow flipping of ''isolated unfrustrated clusters'' in auto-correlation functions and proposed models of metastable glassy states in stochastic evolution.
His studies have been documented by way of a number of articles
and the online article repository of Indian Academy of Sciences has listed 113 of them.
Dhar is an associate editor of
Journal of Statistical Physics
The ''Journal of Statistical Physics'' is a biweekly publication containing both original and review papers, including book reviews. All areas of statistical physics as well as related fields concerned with collective phenomena in physical systems ...
, a
Springer publication since 2005 where he sat in the editorial board on two previous terms (1993–96 and 1999–2002).
He is an editorial board member of the ''Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Physics'' (IJPAP) of the
(NISCAIR),
a former editorial adviser to
Physica A
Physica may refer to:
* Physics (Aristotle)
The ''Physics'' (Ancient Greek, Greek: Φυσικὴ ἀκρόασις ''Phusike akroasis''; Latin: ''Physica'', or ''Naturales Auscultationes'', possibly meaning "Natural philosophy, lectures on ...
, an
Elsevier
Elsevier () is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as ''The Lancet'', ''Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, '' Trends'', th ...
science journal, and has been associated with journals such as ''Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment'',
Physical Review E and
Pramana as an editorial board member. He was a member of the ''Commission on Statistical Physics'' of the
International Union of Pure and Applied Physics from 1992 to 1995
and is a member of the program committee of the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences.
Dhar has also delivered invited speeches and the special lecture on ''The Curious Relationship Between Physics and Mathematics'' at the University of Mumbai on 19 October 2016 was one among them.
Awards and honors
During his doctoral days at
Caltech
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
, Dhar held two institutional fellowships; E. P. Anthony fellowship (1972–73) and R. P. Feynman fellowship (1974–76).
He received the Young Scientist Medal of the Indian National Science Academy in 1983.
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research awarded him the
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 ...
, one of the highest Indian science awards in 1991.
Two year's later,
International Centre for Theoretical Physics
The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) is an international research institute for physical and mathematical sciences that operates under a tripartite agreement between the Italian Government, United Nations Education ...
selected him for the 1993 J. Robert Schrieffer Prize.
INSA honored Dhar again in 2001 with the Satyendranath Bose Medal
and he received the
TWAS Prize
This is a list of recipients of the TWAS Prize, awarded annually by The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).
Summary
Agricultural Sciences
Biology
Chemistry
Earth Sciences
Engineering Sciences
Mathematics
Medical Sc ...
of
The World Academy of Sciences
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 ...
in 2002.
Dhar was elected as a fellow by the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1990 where he is a sitting council member.
He became an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy on 1995
and the National Academy of Sciences, India elected him as a fellow in 1999.
Dhar received the elected fellowship of the World Academy of Sciences in 2006
and was selected for the J. C. Bose National fellowship of the
Science and Engineering Research Board
Science and Engineering Research Board is a statutory body under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, established by an Act of the Parliament of India in 2009 ( SERB ACT,2008). The Board is chaired by the Secretary to t ...
in 2007, with the tenure running until 2017.
Dhar has been chosen for the prestigious
Boltzmann Medal
The Boltzmann Medal (or Boltzmann Award) is a prize awarded to physicists that obtain new results concerning statistical mechanics; it is named after the celebrated physicist Ludwig Boltzmann. The Boltzmann Medal is awarded once every three years ...
award for the year 2022 and becomes the first Indian to receive the honor.
It is bestowed upon a scientist with exceptional contributions in the field of statistical physics, every three year. Dhar shares his prize with
John Hopfield
John Joseph Hopfield (born July 15, 1933) is an American scientist most widely known for his invention of an associative neural network in 1982. It is now more commonly known as the Hopfield network.
Biography
Hopfield was born in 1933 to Pol ...
.
Selected bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
See also
*
Lattice model (physics)
In mathematical physics, a lattice model is a mathematical model of a physical system that is defined on a lattice, as opposed to a continuum, such as the continuum of space or spacetime. Lattice models originally occurred in the context of cond ...
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhar, Deepak
1951 births
People from Pratapgarh district, Uttar Pradesh
Scientists from Uttar Pradesh
Indian scientific authors
Indian theoretical physicists
University of Allahabad alumni
IIT Kanpur alumni
California Institute of Technology alumni
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research faculty
Academic staff of the University of Paris
TWAS fellows
Fellows of The National Academy of Sciences, India
Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences
Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy
TWAS laureates
Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Physical Science
Living people
20th-century Indian physicists