Prof. Shri Krishna Joshi (6 June 1935 – 15 May 2020) was an Indian

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

. He was born on 6 June 1935 in the village of Anarpa in Kumaun,

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

, India.

Career

Joshi received his Ph.D. in physics from

Allahabad University , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...

in 1962. Joshi's broad areas of interest are

condensed matter 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

collision In physics, a collision is any event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other in a relatively short time. Although the most common use of the word ''collision'' refers to incidents in which two or more objects collide with great fo ...

processes. His early research was in the study of phonons in metals and insulators. Later, he studied electronic states in disordered systems and

electron correlation Electronic correlation is the interaction between electrons in the electronic structure of a quantum system. The correlation energy is a measure of how much the movement of one electron is influenced by the presence of all other electrons. Ato ...

in narrow band solids. He has also worked on

Surface states Surface states are electronic states found at the surface of materials. They are formed due to the sharp transition from solid material that ends with a surface and are found only at the atom layers closest to the surface. The termination of a mate ...

and

Segregation in materials In materials science, segregation is the enrichment of atoms, ions, or molecules at a microscopic region in a materials system. While the terms segregation and adsorption are essentially synonymous, in practice, segregation is often used to descr ...

. Joshi conducted studies on excitation and

ionization Ionization, or Ionisation is the process by which an atom or a molecule acquires a negative or positive charge by gaining or losing electrons, often in conjunction with other chemical changes. The resulting electrically charged atom or molecul ...

processes in atoms, ions, and molecules. His research interests lie in strongly correlated electron systems, such as

high temperature superconductor High-temperature superconductors (abbreviated high-c or HTS) are defined as materials that behave as superconductors at temperatures above , the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. The adjective "high temperature" is only in respect to previ ...

s, and also in nanotechnology, especially electron transport in quantum dots and nanotubes. Joshi supervised the Ph.D. theses of twenty scholars and has published more than 190 research papers. He was Professor of Physics at the

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 ...

from 1967 to 1986. He was the Director of the National Physical Laboratory from 1986 to 1991. In 1991, he was appointed the Director General of the Indian

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 ...

. After retiring in 1995, he was awarded the Sarabhai Research Professorship in Physics and worked on condensed matter theory at the National Physical Laboratory in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

Awards

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 ...

(1991) *

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 ...

(2003). * Watumull Memorial Prize (1965) *

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, ...

for Physical Sciences (1972) * CSIR Silver Jubilee Award in (1973) *

Meghnad Saha Meghnad Saha (6 October 1893 – 16 February 1956) was an Indian astrophysicist who developed the Saha ionization equation, used to describe chemical and physical conditions in stars. His work allowed astronomers to accurately relate the spe ...

Award for Research in Theoretical Sciences (1974) * Dr.

K.S. Krishnan Sir Kariamanikkam Srinivasa Krishnan, FRS, (4 December 1898 – 14 June 1961) was an Indian physicist. He was a co-discoverer of Raman scattering, for which his mentor C. V. Raman was awarded the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics. Early life K ...

Memorial Lectureship of INSA (1987) * FICCI Award in Physical Sciences (1990) * Dr. Mahendra Lal Sircar Prize by IACS Calcutta for 1989 (in 1994) * Goyal Prize in Physics by Goyal Foundation (1993) * CV Raman Medal of INSA (1999) * Kamal Kumari National Award (2011) He was awarded a D.Sc. ''honoris causa'' from

Kumaun University Kumaun University is a state university headquartered in Nainital, Uttarakhand, India. In 2017, it hosted the first Kautik Student Film Festival. Campuses The university has two campuses, DSB Campus Nainital, and KU campus Bhimtal Bhim ...

in 1994, from

Kanpur University Aerial view of Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University Campus Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University (CSJMU), formerly Kanpur University, is a public state university located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is administered under the state ...

in 1995, Benaras Hindu University in 1996, and the

University of Burdwan The University of Burdwan (also known as Burdwan University or B. U.) is a public university in Purba Bardhaman, West Bengal, India. It was established by the West Bengal Government as a teaching and affiliating university on 15 June 1960 with ...

in 2005. He was 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 Acade ...

in 1974. He was the Secretary of the Academy from 1983 to 1986 and its Foreign Secretary from 1989 to 1992. He was elected President of the INSA in 1993. He has been a 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 ...

since 1974, and was vice president from 1989 to 1991. Joshi was president of the Indian Physics Association from 1989 to 1990. He was president of the Materials Research Society of India. Joshi is a Fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences, and a Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In 2019, he inaugurated, with colleagues, the Aryabhatt Auditorium at the “Prof. Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) Institute of Physical Sciences for Study and Research" at the Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University of Jaunpur

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joshi, Shri Krishna 1935 births Scientists from Uttarakhand Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Physical Science Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences 20th-century Indian physicists 2020 deaths