Sekhar Basu

Sekhar Basu
Born 20 September 1952
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Occupation Nuclear Reactor Engineer
Awards Padma Shri
INAE Fellow
Indian Society for Non Destructive Testing Fellow
DAE Group Achievement Award
Indian Nuclear Society Award
DAE Special Achievement Award

Sekhar Basu is an Indian nuclear scientist[1][2][3] and regarded by many as the architect of the land based Nuclear Submarine Propulsion Plant at Kalpakkam[4] and the 80 mega watt compact pressurised water reactor (PWR),[5] commissioned to power the Arihant-class submarine for the Indian Navy.[6][7][8] The Government of India honoured him, in 2014, by awarding him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the fields of science and technology.[9]

Biography

Conceptual drawing of Arihant 1

Sekhar Basu was born on 20 September 1952[1] in Kolkata, West Bengal, India and completed his schooling at the Government High School, Ballygunje, Kolkata district.[2][3] His graduate studies was in mechanical engineering at the Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), University of Mumbai[5][6][8][10] which he completed in 1974 to join Bhabha Atomic Research Centre training school[11] and did a one year training programme in nuclear science and engineering.[1][2][3][8]

Basu started his career by joining BARC in their Reactor Engineering Division in 1975 where his initial assignments were in designing fuel for boiling water reactors.[1][2][3] In 1988, Basu was transferred to Kalpakkam as the project Director with the responsibility to build India's first compact Pressurised Water Reactor powered by enriched uranium,[10] which he is reported to have accomplished in 2006.[6] He continued his work there to commission India's first shore based nuclear submarine propulsion plant.[8] In 2000, he became the Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Recycle Board and is reported to have played a vital role in the establishment of nuclear recycle plants in Kalpakkam, Tarapur and Trombay.[1][2][3][6] He is also credited with the establishment of the India-based Neutrino Observatory in Theni, Tamil Nadu.[1][2][3]

In June 2012, Basu was made the Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre[2][3][6][8][10] and is the incumbent officer there.[1]

Legacy

Nuclear Regulatory Commission image of pressurized water reactor vessel heads

One of the first achievements of Sekhar Basu was his contribution in the development of fuel for boiling water reactors, a feat he achieved while working in the Reactor Engineering Division of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.[6] When Basu was transferred to Kalpakkam, in 1988, as the Director of the BARC facilities there,[8] one of his primary assignments was to oversee the commissioning of India's first pressurized water reactor, in the capacity of the Project Director of the Plutonium Recycling Project (PRP).[10] Six years later, Basu and his team commissioned the shore based reactor[7][8] which commenced operations on 22 September 2006.[6] The achievement had far reaching impact as this reactor was the prototype for the one that powered Arihant-class submarine,[5][6] the first indigenously designed and built Indian submarine.[12] In July 2009.[13] The lead vessel in this class, INS Arihant was launched, the vessel beginning sea trials in 2014.[14]

It was under the leadership of Sekhar Basu that the Nuclear Recycle Board,[5] designed, developed and built the reprocessing and waste management plans at Trombay, Tarapur and Kalpakkam.[6][15] He is also credited with the development of the first Integrated Nuclear Recycle Plant in India.[15] His current activities center around the major expansion prgrammes of BARC in the food and health sectors,[11] particularly in the areas of nuclear agriculture, food preservation and nuclear medicine.[2][3] He is also overseeing the development of the 1 Gev Superconducting Accelerator and the setting up of a nuclear fuel cycle park with fuel fabrication and reprocessing facilities in Visakhapatnam.[2][3] His contributions are reported for the setting up of the Fusion Reactor Programme (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor)in France.[11]

Sekhar Basu is also credited with several articles, published in national and international journals.[1][2][3][11]

Positions

Sekhar Basu has held many important positions in the nuclear energy field in India such as:

Basu has represented India at various international agreements such as Arrangements and Procedures agreement with the US Government for reprocessing of US hypothecated fuel.[1][2][3][4] He was a member of the Indian delegation to the Spent Fuel Management Conference[17] organized in Vienna by the International Atomic Energy Agency.[4] He has also held the Chairmanship of the international committee of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor programme (ITER).[1][2][3]

Awards and recognitions

Sekhar Basu has been honoured by way of fellowships by many academic institutions such as the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE)[4] and the Indian Society for Non Destructive Testing (ISNT).[1][2][3][18] Jadavpur University, Kolkata conferred DLitt (Honoris Causa) on him in 2013,[1][2][3] the next year, the Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of Padma Shri.[1][9] He is also a recipient of DAE Group Achievement Award (2006),[4] Indian Nuclear Society Award (2002)[4] and the DAE Special Achievement Award (2007).[1][2][3][4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "NPCIL". NPCIL. 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "BARC" (PDF). BARC. 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "Barc Profile". BARC. 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Business Week". Business Week. 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Outlook India". Outlook India. 31 March 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "The Hindu". The Hindu. June 20, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  7. 1 2 "TOI". TOI. 31 March 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Indian Express". Indian Express. 20 June 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  9. 1 2 "Padma 2014". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 25 January 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Jagaran Josh". Jagaran Josh. 21 June 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Bhavini profile". Bhavini. 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  12. ↑ "BBC Arihant". BBC. 10 August 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Naval Technology". Naval Technology. 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  14. ↑ "TOI Arihant". TOI. 21 January 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  15. 1 2 "Waste management". The Hindu. October 29, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Bhavini". Bhavini. 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  17. ↑ "IAEA". IAEA. 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  18. ↑ "ISNT". ISNT. 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
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