Hirdaya Behari Mathur (1928–1980) was an Indian physical chemist and the director of Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment, Kanpur. He was known for his studies on radioactive isotopes and solid state diffusion of metals. Mathur was a fellow of

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

and an elected fellow of the

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 the

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 ...

. 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 him 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, in 1973, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Biography

H. B. Mathur, born on 17 May 1928, graduated in chemistry from

Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, formerly Agra University, is an Autonomous University located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. The university is named after Bhimrao Ambedkar, Indian scholar, social reformer, and the architect of the Indian Consti ...

(formerly known as Agra University) in 1946 and passed his master's degree from

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

in 1948. Moving to the US, he secured a PhD in physical chemistry from

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1954. Joining the

National Chemical Laboratory The National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) is an Indian government laboratory based in Pune, in western India. Popularly known as NCL, a constituent member of the CSIR India, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) India, it was estab ...

in 1958, Mathur served the institution until 1976, reaching the position of the Scientist-in-charge of the physical chemistry division of the laboratory. In 1976, he joined Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment, the Kanpur station of the

Defence Research and Development Organization The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, ...

where he stayed until 1980. Mathur's researches were primarily in the fields of thermodynamics and he worked on the chemical application of Mossbauer spectroscopy and the beta and gamma spectroscopic studies isotopes in the closed shell region. He also did researches on intermetallic diffusion and kinetics of high-temperature oxidation of metals and alloys and thermodynamics of the formation of complex ions in aqueous solutions. Besides several articles published in peer-reviewed journals, Mathur authored a book, ''Radiochemical and Spectrometer Studies of Some New Nuclear Isomers Prepared by Cyclotron Bombardment'' and contributed a chapter to a book, ''Spectroscopy in Inorganic Chemistry - Vol I'' which was edited by

C. N. R. Rao Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao BR, (born 30 June 1934), is an Indian chemist who has worked mainly in solid-state and structural chemistry. He has honorary doctorates from 84 universities from around the world and has authored around 1,77 ...

. His articles have been cited by several authors in their publications. He was a member of the Uttar Pradesh State Council of Science and Technology and was associated with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research as a member of their Catalyst Research Committee and Metals Research Committee. Mathur sat in the Working Group on Materials and Components of Electronics Commission of the Government of India as well as in the editorial board of the ''Indian Journal of Chemistry''. His association with scientific organizations include memberships in

Indian Chemical Society The Indian Chemical Society is a scientific society dedicated in the field of chemistry from India. It was established in 1924 with Prafulla Chandra Ray as its founding president. The same year the society started to publish its "Quarterly Journa ...

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Association of India and the International Diffusion Research Association and the fellowship of

. Mathur was an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (1974) and the Indian Academy of Sciences (1975). The

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 1973. Mathur died on 12 January 1980 at the age of 51.

Selected bibliography

Books

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Articles

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Notes

References