Srinivasan Varadarajan (31 March 1928 – 11 May 2022) was an Indian chemist, civil servant, corporate executive and the former chairman of several

public sector undertakings A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

such as

Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (IPCL) was a petrochemicals company in India. At the time of its divestment to Reliance Industries Limited, its turnover for the financial year 2005-06 had crossed the US $2 billion mark. History IPCL ...

(IPCL), Petrofils Cooperative Limited,

Engineers India Limited Engineers India Limited (EIL) is an Indian Public Sector Undertakings in India, central public sector undertaking under the ownership of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Pe ...

(EIL), and Bridge and Roof Company (India). Born on 31 March 1928 in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, he obtained two master's degrees (MA and MSc) from

Madras University The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

and

Andhra University Andhra University (IAST: ''Āndhra Vișvakalāpariṣhat'') is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Maharaja of Jeypore was one of the biggest do ...

and two doctoral degrees (PhD) 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) ...

and

University of Cambridge , 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 ...

and worked as a faculty member at several educational institutions such as Delhi University (1949–53),

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

(1956-57) and Department of Radiotherapeutics, University of Cambridge (1957–59). He was 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 ...

(1983),

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 ...

(1972) and

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 ...

(1997). The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of 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 ...

, in 1985, for his contributions to society.

References

Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in civil service 1928 births 2022 deaths Scientists from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian chemists Indian business executives Indian civil servants University of Madras alumni Andhra University alumni Delhi University alumni Academic staff of Delhi University Alumni of the University of Cambridge Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy TWAS fellows {{India-scientist-stub

See also

References