Deepak Kumar (physicist)
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Deepak Kumar (1 April 1946–26 January 2016) was an Indian
condensed matter physicist Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases which arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms. More generally, the su ...
and a professor at the School of Physical Sciences of
Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...
. Known for his research on quantum mechanics and other areas of condensed matter physics, Kumar was an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences. 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, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to physical sciences in 1988.


Biography

Born on 1 April 1946 in New Delhi, Kumar completed his early schooling at local schools in 1962 before joining
St. Stephen's College, Delhi St. Stephen's College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi, widely regarded as one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges for arts and sciences in India. It was established in 1881 by the Cambridge Mission to Delhi. The college ...
from where he graduated in science with honors in 1965. He continued his studies at the
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 after earning a master's degree in physics in 1967, he moved to the US to pursue his doctoral studies under the supervision of A. B. Harris at
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
to secure a PhD in 1972. Subsequently, Kumar returned to India to start his career as a member of faculty of the physics department at
University of Roorkee Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (abbreviated IIT Roorkee) is a technical university located in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India. It is the oldest engineering institution in India, and was founded as the College of Civil Engineering in Brit ...
(present-day
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (abbreviated IIT Roorkee) is a technical university located in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India. It is the oldest engineering institution in India, and was founded as the College of Civil Engineering in Bri ...
). He served the institution for 16 years and when
Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...
established a School of Physical Sciences, Kumar returned to his native place to take up the position of a professor at the school in 1988. In between, he had a short spell in Germany as an
Alexander von Humboldt Fellow The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (german: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) is a foundation established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education and Resear ...
during 1978–79. Kumar maintained his association with JNU for the rest of his life and it was during his return from the university on 25 January 2016, he fell ill. He died the next day at a local hospital, at the age of 69, survived by son, Sharad, and daughter Jyoti.


Legacy

The main focus of Kumar's research in condensed matter physics was the theory related to disordered magnetic systems. At IIT Roorkee, he collaborated with a number of scientists such as
Mustansir Barma Mustansir Barma is an Indian scientist specializing in Statistical Physics. He was former Director of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research from 2007 to 2014. Early life Mustansir Barma was born in Mumbai to a Dawoodi Bohra family. Awards ...
and S. Shenoy and studied
superparamagnetic Superparamagnetism is a form of magnetism which appears in small ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic nanoparticles. In sufficiently small nanoparticles, magnetization can randomly flip direction under the influence of temperature. The typical time be ...
particles,
magnetic anisotropy In condensed matter physics, magnetic anisotropy describes how an object's magnetic properties can be different depending on direction. In the simplest case, there is no preferential direction for an object's magnetic moment. It will respond to ...
and disordered ultrametric models. Kumar's work on the percolation threshold of anisotropic magnets widened the understanding of the fractal nature of spin clusters and was one of the first Indian scientists to estimate the consequences of the clusters near the percolation threshold.
Binary liquid Binary liquid is a type of chemical combination, which creates a special reaction or feature as a result of mixing two liquid chemicals, that are normally inert or have no function by themselves. A number of chemical products are produced as a resu ...
s,
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 ...
, phase separation, Stern–Gerlach measurement and Bell’s inequality were some of the other areas of his study for which he collaborated with many physicists including Subir Kumar Sarkar, Sanjay Puri, Rupamanjari Ghosh,
Ramamurti Rajaraman Ramamurti Rajaraman (born 11 March 1939) is an Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics at the School of Physical Sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University. He was also the co-Chairman of the International Panel on Fissile Materials and a membe ...
and A. K. Rastogi. Kumar's studies have been documented by way of a number of articles and the online article repository of Indian Academy of Sciences has listed 98 of them. Besides, he co-edited two books viz. ''Proceedings Of The Discussion Meeting On Physics Of Defects'' with
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 ...
, and ''Proceedings of the Conference on Quantum Many-Body Physics: From cosmology to superconductivity'' with S. Puri. Kumar also wrote about the sociological aspects of education and research, contributed chapters to books published by others and his work has drawn citations from others.


Awards and honors

Kumar, an
Alexander von Humboldt Fellow The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (german: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) is a foundation established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education and Resear ...
, was selected as a senior associate of
Abdus Salam 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 ...
in 1986 and the Indian Academy of Sciences elected him as a fellow in 1987. 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 1988. Kumar was also associated with Indian Physics Association and Material Research Society of India as a member.


Selected bibliography

* * * * * *


See also

* Order and disorder *
Superparamagnetism Superparamagnetism is a form of magnetism which appears in small ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic nanoparticles. In sufficiently small nanoparticles, magnetization can randomly flip direction under the influence of temperature. The typical time betwe ...
* Bell's theorem


Notes


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Deepak Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Physical Science Medical doctors from Delhi Indian scientific authors 1946 births 2016 deaths People from New Delhi 20th-century Indian physicists Indian condensed matter physicists St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni Delhi University alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni IIT Roorkee Jawaharlal Nehru University faculty Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences