Highlights
Dr Ajit Kumar Mohanty, a distinguished scientist from Odisha, was on Tuesday assumed charge as the Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), the country’s premier multi-disciplinary nuclear research facility. Prior to the new assignment, he was the Director, Physics Group in BARC and Director, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata.
Here is all you need to know about the new head of the Centre
- Mohanty is the recipient of Young Scientists Award of Indian Physical Society (1988), Young Physicist Award by Indian National Science Academy (1991) and Department of Atomic Energy Homi Bhabha Science and Technology Award (2001).
- He is also conferred with the CERN Scientific Associate position from in 2002-2004 and thereafter again from 2010-2011.
- Born in 1959 in Odisha, Dr Mohanty is a well-known nuclear physicist
- He has completed his Bachelor’s degree with Physics (Honours) in 1979 from MPC College, Baripada in Mayurbhanj district and Master’s degree in Physics in 1981 from Ravenshaw College, Cuttack.
- After completion of the training in the 26th Batch of the BARC Training School in 1983, he then joined the Nuclear Physics Division of BARC and later obtained his PhD degree from Bombay University.
- Dr Mohanty has worked in several areas of nuclear physics covering collision energy from sub-Coulomb barrier to relativistic regime. It includes experiment using Pelletron accelerator at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), PHENIX (Pioneering High Energy Nuclear Interaction eXperiment) and CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid Experiment) experiments at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), USA and CERN, Geneva, respectively.
- In addition to his research achievements, Prof Mohanty has held several honorary positions which include Secretary and Member Secretary of BRNS Basic Science Committee, General Secretary and President of Indian Physics Association (IPA), India-CMS Spokes Person etc to name a few.
- During the past 36 years, he has worked in several areas of nuclear physics covering collision energy from sub-Coulomb barrier to relativistic regime.
