Basanti Dulal Nagchaudhuri

B. D. Nag Chaudhuri
B. D. Nag Chaudhuri (second from left, front row) with Prof. Dr. Meghnad Saha and others.
Born(1917-09-06)6 September 1917[1]
Died25 June 2006(2006-06-25) (aged 88)[2]
NationalityIndian
EducationBanaras Hindu University
Allahabad University
University of California, Berkeley
OccupationPhysicist
Employer(s)Rajabazar Science College
University of Calcutta
Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics
Government of India
Planning Commission
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Organization(s)Indian National Science Academy
International Foundation for Science, Sweden
ITC Sangeet Research Academy
Known forBuilding India's first cyclotron
One of the pioneers of nuclear physics in India
SpouseDipali Nag
AwardsPadma Vibhushan

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 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. 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.

  1. ^ "Physicists". Biological Dictionary of Indian Scientists. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  2. ^ "Dr B D Nagchaudhuri passes away". ITC Sangeet Research Academy. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2012.