R. A. Mashelkar
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Raghunath Anant Mashelkar FRS FREng FRSC, also known as Ramesh Mashelkar, (born 1 January 1943) 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 ...
, born in a village Mashel in Goa and brought up in
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
. He is a former Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He was also the President of Indian National Science Academy (2004-2006), President of
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 ...
(2007) as also the President of
Global Research Alliance The Global Research Alliance is an organisation that promotes the Millennium Development Goals through research and development. It was launched in New Delhi, India in January 2003. Its guiding principle are stated as: :"Undertaking large-impac ...
(2007-2018). He was also first Chairperson of
Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) The Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) is an Indian institute of national importance, headquartered at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Human Resource Development Centre Campus, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. The in ...
. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng), Foreign associate of US National Academy of Engineering and the US
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
.


Life and work

Mashelkar studied at University of Bombay's University Department of Chemical Technology (UDCT; now the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai) where he obtained BE degree in chemical engineering in 1966, and
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
degree in 1969. He currently serves as chancellor of the institute. He served as the director general of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - a network of thirty-eight laboratories-for over eleven years. Prior to this, he was Director of National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) for six years. He has been a visiting professor at Harvard University(2007-2012), at University of Delaware (1976, 1988), and at Technical University of Denmark (1982). He has been Sir Louis Matheson Distinguished Professor at Monash University for thirteen years (2007-2019). He has been on the board of directors of several companies such as Reliance Industries Ltd, Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever, Thermax,
Piramal Group The Piramal Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate that has presence across various sectors such as healthcare, life sciences, drug discovery, financial services, alternative investment and real estate. History In the early 1980s, ...
, KPIT Technologies, etc. He has been a member of External Research Advisory Board of Microsoft (USA), Advisory Board of
VTT VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd is a state-owned and controlled non-profit limited liability company. VTT is the largest research and technology company and research centre conducting applied research in Finland. It provides resear ...
(Finland), Corporate Innovation Board of
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(France), Advisory Board o
National Research Foundation (Singapore)
among others. As Director of India's National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) during 1989-1995, Mashelkar gave a new orientation to NCL's research programmes with strong emphasis on globally competitive technologies and international patenting. NCL, which was involved only in import substitution research till then, began licensing its patents to multinational companies. As Director General of CSIR, Mashelkar led the process of transformation of CSIR. The book 'World Class in India', has ranked CSIR among the top twelve organizations, who have managed the radical change the best in post-liberalised India. The process of CSIR transformation has been heralded as one of the ten most significant achievements of Indian Science and Technology in the twentieth century, by eminent astrophysicist Prof. Jayant Narlikar, in his book
The Scientific Edge
Mashelkar campaigned strongly with Indian academics, researchers and corporates for strengthening the IPR ecosystem. Under his leadership, CSIR occupied the first position in WIPO's top fifty PCT filler among all the developing nations in 2002. CSIR progressed in US patent filing to an extent that they reached 40% share of the US patents granted to India in 2002. Led by Mashelkar, CSIR successfully fought the battle of revocation of the US patent on wound healing properties of ''turmeric (USP 5,401,5041)'' claiming that this was India's traditional knowledge and therefore not novel. Mashelkar also chaired the Technical Committee, which successfully challenged the revocation of the US patents on Basmati Rice (USP 5,663,484) by RiceTec Company, Texas, (2001). This opened up new paradigms in the protection of traditional knowledge with WIPO bringing in a new internal patent classification system, where sub-groups on traditional knowledge were created for the first time. This led to the creation of India's
Traditional Knowledge Digital Library The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) is an Indian digital knowledge repository of the traditional knowledge, especially about medicinal plants and formulations used in Indian systems of medicine. History Set up in 2001, as a collab ...
, which helped in prevention of the grant of wrong patents on traditional knowledge. He pioneered the concept of Gandhian Engineering in 2008 (Getting More from Less for More People). His paper with late C.K. Prahalad titled
Innovation’s Holy Grail
€™ has been considered as a significant contribution to inclusive innovation. His other contributions amplify the concept of More from Less for More. He was on the Engineering and Computer Science jury for the Infosys Prize from 2009 to 2015.


National contributions

He was a member of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and also of th
Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet
set up by successive governments. He has chaired twelve high powered committees set up to look into diverse issues ranging from national auto fuel policy to overhauling the Indian drug regulatory system & dealing with the menace of spurious drugs. He was appointed by the Government as Assessor for the One-man Inquiry Commission investigating into the Bhopal Gas Tragedy (1985–86), and as Chairman of the Committee for investigating the Maharashtra Gas Cracker Complex accident (1990–91). Deeply connected with the innovation movement in India, Dr. Mashelkar served as the Chairman of India's
National Innovation Foundation National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
(2000-2018). He chaired Reliance Innovation Council, KPIT Technologies Innovation Council, Persistent Systems Innovation Council and Marico Foundation's Governing Council. He co-chairs the
Maharashtra State Innovation Society Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdivi ...
.


Research

Mashelkar has made contributions in transport phenomena, particularly in thermodynamics of swelling, superswelling and shrinking polymers, modelling of polymerisation reactors, and engineering analysis of Non-Newtonian flows.


Controversy

In 2005, the Indian government established a technical expert group on patent laws under the chairmanship of Mashelkar. Its purpose was to determine whether amendments made in Indian patent law were TRIPS compliant. The committee unanimously concluded that the amendments were not TRIPS compliant. The report generated controversy when editorials published simultaneously in the '' Times of India'' and ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' alleged parts of the report had been plagiarised. Mashelkar subsequently withdrew the report due to the alleged plagiarism, admitting to flaws in the report whilst stating, "This is the first time such a thing has happened." He later also explained that the technical flaw was not the alleged lack of attribution but it was citing the attribution at the end of the report than in the body of the report due to the style adopted for the report. The controversy was raised in the Indian Parliament, with demands that the report be "trashed" and the issues be referred to a joint standing committee. However, the government instead referred the report back to the technical expert group to reexamine and correct the inaccuracies. The report was resubmitted after corrections in March 2009 and was accepted by the Government as such.


Awards and recognition

Dr. Mashelkar has received several awards and is a member of numerous scientific bodies and committees. So far, 45 universities from around the world have honored him with honorary doctorates, which include Universities of London, Salford, Pretoria, Wisconsin, Swinburne, Monash and Delhi. Honours by President of India: (highest Indian civilian awards) * Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award (1991) * Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award (2000) * Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award (2014) Election to Prestigious Academies (International): * Fellow, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) (1993) * Fellow, Royal Society (FRS), London (1998) * Foreign Associate,
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
, USA (2005) * Foreign Associate, National Academy of Engineering, USA (2003) * Foreign Member,
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 ...
, UK (1996) * Foreign Fellow, American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2011) * Corresponding Member of Australian Academy of Science (2017) * Foreign Fellow,
Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) is a learned academy that helps Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems. It was founded in 1975 as one of Australia's then four learned academies (now five) ...
(ATSE) (2008) * Fellow, US National Academy of Inventors (2017) * Fellow, World Academy of Arts & Science, USA (2000) * Fellow, International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry (2012) * Fellow, The Institute of Physics, London (1998) * Fellow, Institute of Electronics and Tele-communication Engineers (IETE) (1998) * Fellow,
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 ...
, UK (1996) * Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK (2006) Election to Prestigious Academies (National): * Fellow, Indian National Science Academy (1984) * Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences (1983) * Fellow,
Maharashtra Academy of Sciences Maharashtra Academy of Sciences is a learned society whose head offices are located in Pune, Maharashtra, India. MAS is an exemplary organisation located near Kashele in the Karjat Tribal Block about 100 km east of Bombay. The society was e ...
(1985) * Fellow, Indian National Academy of Engineering (1987) * Fellow,
The National Academy of Sciences, India The National Academy of Sciences, India, established in 1930, is the oldest science academy in India. It is located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Prof. Meghnad Saha was the founder president. Fellows *Suddhasatwa Basu * Sudha Bhattacharya * Ch ...
(1989) * Fellow, Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (1992) * Fellow, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata (2005) Presidency of Top Academic Bodies * President, Indian National Science Academy (2005-2007) * President, Institution of Chemicals Engineers, UK (2007–08) * General President, Indian Science Congress (1999-2000) * President, Materials Research Society of India (2004–06) * President, Physical Sciences,
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
(1991) * President,
Maharashtra Academy of Sciences Maharashtra Academy of Sciences is a learned society whose head offices are located in Pune, Maharashtra, India. MAS is an exemplary organisation located near Kashele in the Karjat Tribal Block about 100 km east of Bombay. The society was e ...
(1991–94) * President, Society for Polymer Science in India (1986–92) * President, Indian Society of Rheology (1986–93) * Vice-President, Materials Research Society of India (1993–95) * Vice-President, Indian Academy of Sciences (1995-2000) Awards and Honours: International *He won the TWAS Lenovo Science Prize, which is the highest honour given by
The World Academy of Science 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 ...
. * Judge, Queen Elizabeth Prize of Engineering 2019 * The TWAS medal (2005) by The World Academy of Sciences * World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO) Medal of Engineering Excellence (2003) by WFEO, Paris * Star of Asia Award (2005) of Business Week (USA) at the hands of George Bush (Sr), Former President of USA * Wolff-Ramanujam Medal Lecture, French Academy of Science, Paris (2007). * ETH Presidential Lecture (2007), Zurich. * Inaugural BP Innovation Oration,
Judge Business School Cambridge Judge Business School is the business school of the University of Cambridge. The School is a provider of management education. It is named after Sir Paul Judge, a founding benefactor of the school. The School is considered to be par ...
, University of Cambridge (2010). * IIFA Ben Gurion Award, Israel (2009) for contributions in Science & Technology * Asian Development Bank Eminent Speaker Forum Oration, Manila (2014) * P.V. Danckwerts Memorial Lecture, IChemE, London (1994)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mashelkar, Raghunath Anant Scientists from Goa 1943 births Living people Indian chemical engineers Rheologists University of Mumbai alumni Institute of Chemical Technology alumni Marathi people Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering People from North Goa district Recipients of the Maharashtra Bhushan Award Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in science & engineering 20th-century Indian chemists 20th-century Indian engineers Engineers from Goa Indian fluid dynamicists Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Foreign associates of the National Academy of Engineering Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Engineering Science