Basanti Dulal Nagchaudhuri
B. D. Nag Chaudhuri | |
|---|---|
B. D. Nag Chaudhuri (second from left, front row) with Meghnad Saha and others. | |
| 3rd Director General of Defence research and development organisation | |
| In office 1970–1974 | |
| Preceded by | Suri Bhagavantam |
| Succeeded by | MGK Menon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 September 1917 Narayanganj, Dhaka, Bengal, British India |
| Died | 25 June 2006 (aged 88) Calcutta, West Bengal, India |
| Education | Banaras Hindu University Allahabad University University of California, Berkeley |
| Known for | Building India's first cyclotron One of the pioneers of nuclear physics in India |
| Awards | Padma Vibhushan |
| Organization(s) | Indian National Science Academy International Foundation for Science, Sweden ITC Sangeet Research Academy |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | Rajabazar Science College University of Calcutta Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics Government of India Planning Commission Jawaharlal Nehru University |
Basanti Dulal Nag Chaudhuri (6 September 1917 – 25 June 2006) was an Indian Nuclear scientist and academic, and Scientific Advisor to the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. He is known as one of the pioneers of nuclear physics in India. While serving as the Director General (chairman) to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), he played influential role in Pokhran-I (Smiling Buddha), India's first successful Nuclear bomb test on 18 May 1974. This historic achievement made India the sixth nation in the world to become a nuclear superpower, after the United States of America, Soviet Union (now Russia), England, France, and China. He also initiated the first feasibility studies on India's ballistic missile program.
In the early 1970s, as the Scientific Advisor to the Ministry of Defence and chair of the Cabinet Committee on Science and Technology, Basanti Dulal Nagchaudhuri played an influential role in Smiling Buddha, India's first nuclear test. He also initiated the first feasibility studies on India's ballistic missile program. Later, he also served as a member of the Planning Commission and as Vice Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University.