Man Mohan Sharma

FREng Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) is an award and Scholarship, fellowship for engineers who are recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering as being the best and brightest engineers, inventors and technologists in the UK a ...

(born May 1, 1937 in

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...

, Rajasthan) is an Indian

chemical engineer In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is a professional, equipped with the knowledge of chemical engineering, who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and deals with the ...

. He was educated at Jodhpur,

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- ...

, and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. At age 27, he was appointed Professor of Chemical Engineering in the

Institute of Chemical Technology Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) is a state-funded deemed university in Mumbai, India. The institute also has campuses at Bhubaneswar, Odisha and Jalna, Marathwada. It is focused on training and research in the fields of chemical engin ...

, Mumbai. He later went on to become the Director of

UDCT Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) is a state-funded deemed university in Mumbai, India. The institute also has campuses at Bhubaneswar, Odisha and Jalna, Marathwada. It is focused on training and research in the fields of chemical engin ...

, the first chemical engineering professor to do so from UDCT. In 1990, he became the first Indian engineer to be elected as a Fellow of

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

, UK. He was awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest 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 "distinguished service ...

(1987) and the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service" ...

(2001) by the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

. he has also been awarded the

Leverhulme Medal of the Royal Society The Leverhulme Medal is awarded by the Royal Society every three years "for an outstandingly significant contribution in the field of pure or applied chemistry or engineering, including chemical engineering". It was created in 1960 after a donatio ...

, the S.S. Bhatnagar Prize in Engineering Sciences (1973), FICCI Award (1981), the Vishwakarma medal 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 ...

(1985), G.M. Modi Award (1991), Meghnad Saha Medal (1994), and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from

Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi is a public institute of technology located in New Delhi, India. It is one of the 23 IITs created to be Centres of Excellence for training, research and development in science, engineering and technolo ...

(2001).

Education

Sharma obtained Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (1958) from

and subsequently MSc (Tech) in 1960. He obtained PhD (Chemical Engineering) (1964) at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

with

Peter Danckwerts Peter Victor Danckwerts, (14 October 1916 – 25 October 1984) was a chemical engineer who pioneered the concept of the residence time distribution. In 1940, during the Second World War, he was awarded the George Cross for his work in defusing ...

. In 1964, he returned to India as Professor at the University of Bombay, and later became Director of the University Department of Chemical Technology (UDCT) (now the

). He served as Professor for 33 years at UDCT, along with 8 years as Director of this institute.

Academic career

Sharma made contributions to chemical engineering science and technology. His studies on Bronsted based catalysis in CO₂ hydration (published in the Transactions of Faraday Society) and subsequently kinetics of COS absorption in aqueous amines and alkanolamines brought out linear free energy relationship between CO₂ and COS absorption in solutions of amines and alkanolamines. He has contributed extensively on the role of microphases in multiple reactions which he pioneered. He also became an independent Editor of Chemical Engineering Science at a young age. He taught different subjects in chemical engineering and encouraged his doctoral students, from the very beginning, to publish independently their work in renowned journals. Under his stewardship, UDCT was granted autonomy by the UGC and the Institute increased the number of PhD graduates.

Awards

Sharma is a recipient of a number of prestigious academic honours and awards including the 1977 Moulton Medal of the

Institution of Chemical Engineers The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is a global professional engineering institution with over 33,000 members worldwide. It was founded in 1922 and awarded a Royal Charter in 1957. It has offices in Rugby, London, Melbourne, Wellingto ...

, and is himself commemorated in the ''M M Sharma Medal'' awarded by the same institution for outstanding research contributions. He won the Leverhulme Medal of the

"for his work on the dynamics of multi-phase chemical reactions in industrial processes". He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan (in 2001), and Padma Bhushan (in 1987) by the President of India. He was INSA President (1989–90). He is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, Honorary Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad, Fellow of the Royal Society, London. Subsequently, he was elected Honorary

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

by the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

and is Foreign Associate of the US

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...

. He has been honoured by several universities including IITs by honorary doctorates.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharma, Man Mohan 1937 births Living people Indian chemical engineers Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in science & engineering Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering Rajasthani people Fellows of the Royal Society Engineers from Rajasthan University of Mumbai alumni Institute of Chemical Technology alumni People from Jodhpur Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences 20th-century Indian engineers Fellows of The National Academy of Sciences, India Foreign associates of the National Academy of Engineering Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Engineering Science

Education

Academic career

Awards

Further reading

References

External links