Goverdhan Mehta FNA, FASc, FTWAS, FRS, FRSC (born 26 June 1943) is an Indian researcher and scientist.

Career

Mehta received his BSc and MSc from the BITS Pilani and PhD from

Pune University Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), formerly the University of Poona, is a collegiate public state university located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1949, and is spread over a campus in the neighbourhood of Ganeshk ...

. His post-doctoral research was at the Michigan State University under Prof. Don Farnum and at the Ohio State University under Prof. Paul G. Gassman. He joined IIT Kanpur in 1969 and remained there until 1977. From 1977 to 1998, he was Professor of Chemistry at the

University of Hyderabad The University of Hyderabad (IAST: ''Hydarāvād visvavidyālayamu'') is a top ranking public central research university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Founded in 1974, this mostly residential campus has more than 5,000 students a ...

and from 1998 to 2010, he was a Professor at the

Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute was ...

Bangalore. Since 2010 onwards, he is University Distinguished Professor and Dr. Kallam Anji Reddy Chair at Department of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad, India. Mehta has authored more than 450 research papers. He is a recipient of over 40 Honorary Doctorates from India/abroad and has delivered over 300 invited/plenary lectures at Universities/Institutions across the world.

Academic and Professional positions

* Research Associate, Michigan State and the

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

Universities, US,1967–1969 * Lecturer & Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, 1969–1977 * Professor,

, Hyderabad 1977–1998, Founder Dean 1977–1986 * Hon. Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, 1990–2009 * Visiting Professor,

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

, Indiana, USA, Jun-1990 * Srinivasa Ramanujan Research Professor,

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 ...

, 1992–1997 * Vice-Chancellor,

, 1994–98 * Professor, Department of Organic Chemistry,

, 1998–2005 * Director,

, Bangalore, 1998–2005 * Tarrant Distinguished Professor, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA, Jun-2002 * CSIR Bhatnagar Fellow,

, Bangalore, 2005–2010 * National Research Professor, 2009–2014 * Lilly-Jubilant Chair Professor, University of Hyderabad, 2010–2018 * Dr. Kallam Anji Reddy Chair, University of Hyderabad, 2018–

Awards

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, ...

in Chemical Sciences awarded by CSIR (1978) * Basudev Bannerji Medal & Prize awarded by Indian Chemical Society (1979) * Science & Technology Award of Rajasthan Government (1980) * Professor R.D. Desai Medal & Prize awarded by Indian Chemical Society (1982) * FICCI Award in Physical Sciences (1983) * Golden Jubilee Commemoration Medal (Chemical Sciences) awarded by

(1989) * G.D. Birla Award for Excellence in Science (1992) * Goyal Prize in Chemical Sciences awarded by Sri Kala Ram Trust (1994) * Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru National Award for Excellence in Science awarded by MP Government (1994) *

Humboldt Prize The Humboldt Prize, the Humboldt-Forschungspreis in German, also known as the Humboldt Research Award, is an award given by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany to internationally renowned scientists and scholars who work outside of G ...

(Humboldt-Forschungspreis) awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany (1995) (first in India) * Acharya P.C. Ray Medal awarded by Indian Chemical Society (1995) * Dr. Y. Nayudamma Gold Medal awarded by Andhra Pradesh Akademi of Sciences (now Telangana Academy of Sciences) (1998) *

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

awarded by Government of India (2001) * TWAS Medal awarded by World Academy of Sciences (2001) * Millennium Plaque of Honour awarded by Indian Science Congress Association (2002) * C V Raman Medal awarded by

(2003) *

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

awarded by Republic of France (2004) * Rajvotsava Award by Karnataka Government (2004) * Centenary Prize awarded by

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Instit ...

(2005) * Trieste Science Prize awarded by World Academy of Sciences (2007) * G M Modi Award for Innovative Science and Technology (2007) * H. K. Firodia Award for Science & Technology (2010) * Distinguished Alumnus Award from BITS Pilani (2011) * Cross of the Order of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz) awarded by the Federal Republic of Germany (2016) *

INSA The Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) is a non-profit, nonpartisan 501(c)(6) professional organization based in Arlington Virginia for public and private sector members of the United States Intelligence Community. History ...

Medal for Promotion and Service to Science (2017)

Fellowships

* 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 ...

* Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences * Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences * Fellow of the

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 ...

* Foreign Member of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across ...

* Fellow of the World Innovation Foundation (WIF) * Fellow of the

* Fellow of

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 ...

* Fellow of the Andhra Pradesh Akademi of Sciences (now Telangana Academy of Sciences) * Founding Member of Society for Scientific Values

Important Positions

* President of

(1999-2001) * Co-Chair (with Bruce Alberts of US NAS) of the Inter Academy Council (IAC) (2000-2005) * President, Chemical Research Society of India (2002-2005) * President, Association of Indian Universities (2003) * President of ICSU (2005-2008) * Chairperson, National Accreditation and Assessment (NAAC) (2006-2012) * Jury Member for Physical Sciences,

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 ...

(2012–2015) * Chairman, Board of Governors,

Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur (IIT Jodhpur or IITJ) is a public technical university located in Jodhpur in the state of Rajasthan in India. It is one of the eight new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) established by the Ministry ...

(2014-2018) * Chairman, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata (2016-2020) * Chairperson, Council of Management, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) (2018-2022) * Member, Board of Directors, Dr. Reddy's Institute of Life Sciences * Chairman & Member, University Grants Commission Panel on Chemistry (1983–93) * Member, Science & Engineering Research Council (SERC) (1984–90), (1994–97) * Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (1984–88) * Member, Government of India Scientific Commission on Bhopal Gas Leakage (1985–87) * Chairman, National Committee for IUPAC (1991–93) * Member, India-European Union (EU) Round Table of Eminent Persons

Controversy

In 2006, the US Government refused Mehta a visa; this decision was strongly criticised by Indian and American scientists. The US Ambassador to India David Mulford offered his apology to Prof. Mehta.

Publications

* * * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Goverdhan 1943 births Living people Scientists from Rajasthan Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy Fellows of the Royal Society Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni Directors of the Indian Institute of Science People from Jodhpur Indian chemical engineers Recipients of the Rajyotsava Award 2004 Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany