Gattamraju Ravindra Kumar (born 15 June 1961) is an Indian laser physicist and a senior professor of Nuclear and Atomic Physics at

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is a public deemed research university located in Mumbai, India that is dedicated to basic research in mathematics and the sciences. It is a Deemed University and works under the umbrella of the ...

. Known for his research on

Ultrashort pulse In optics, an ultrashort pulse, also known as an ultrafast event, is an electromagnetic pulse whose time duration is of the order of a picosecond (10−12 second) or less. Such pulses have a broadband optical spectrum, and can be created by m ...

and Warm dense matter, Kumar is an elected fellow of 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 ...

and 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 Acade ...

. 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 ...

, 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 or fundamental, in biology, ...

, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to physical sciences in 2003. He is also a recipient of the B. M. Birla Science Prize and

Infosys Prize The Infosys Prize is an annual award given to scientists, researchers, engineers and social scientists of Indian origin (not necessarily born in India) by the Infosys Science Foundation and ranks among the highest monetary awards in India to r ...

Biography

Born on 15 June 1961, Ravindra Kumar did his graduate honors degree in mechanical engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani and continued there to earn an master's degree MSc honors degree in physics in 1983. Subsequently, he enrolled for doctoral studies at the

Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) Hindi: भारतीय प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान कानपुर) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was ...

from where he secured a PhD in 1990. His post-doctoral work was also at IIT Kanpur and in 1992, he joined

where he is a senior professor of the Department of Nuclear and Atomic Physics, heading UPHILL (Ultra-short Laser Pulse High Intensity Laser Laboratory.

Legacy

Kumar is known to have established UPHILL (Ultra-short Laser Pulse High Intensity Laser Laboratory), a centre for advanced laser experiments at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Here, he heads a group of scholars and researchers who are involved in studies related to laser-matter interactions. He is reported to have worked on the generation of megagauss magnetic pulses using ultrafast laser pulses and his group observed the ''turbulent magnetic fields created by instabilities of the high current electron beams driven by the laser pulse'' for the first time. Nanoparticle coated surfaces and pendular states of molecules are two of the other areas of his research. His studies have been documented by way of a number of articles and the online article repository of the Indian Academy of Sciences has listed 75 of them. He has also guided a number of students in their doctoral studies. He is a member of the

Optical Society of America Optica (formerly known as The Optical Society (OSA) and before that as the Optical Society of America) is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals and organizes conference ...

and sits in the International Committee on Ultra-High Intensity Lasers of the

International Union of Pure and Applied Physics 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 ...

. He is also a life member of Indian Society for Mass Spectrometry, Indian Society of Atomic and Molecular Physics, Plasma Science Society of India and Indian Laser Association. Plenary or invited lectures delivered by him include the lecture on ''Extreme Light, Extreme States'' of Infosys Science Foundation in March 2016.

Awards and honors

Ravindra Kumar was awarded the B. M. Birla Science Prize by B. M. Birla Science Centre in 2000. 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 or fundamental, in biology, ...

, one of the highest Indian science awards in 2003. The

elected him as a fellow in 2004 and he received the Salute Mumbai Award in 2005. The Department of Atomic Energy honored his work during the period between 2006 and 2011 with DAE-SRC Outstanding Research Investigator Award and the elected fellowship of the

reached him in 2008. The Infosys Science Foundation presented the

to him in 2015.

Selected bibliography

* * * * *

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, G. Ravindra Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Physical Science Scientists from Mumbai Indian scientific authors 1961 births Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy Indian optical physicists Living people