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{{Short description|Indian chemist (1922-1992)}}
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{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
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| death_place      = [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], India
| death_place      = [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], India
| residence        =  
| residence        =  
| nationality      = [[Indian nationality|Indian]]
| fields            = {{ublist | [[Polymer chemistry]] | [[Quantum chemistry]] }}  
| fields            = {{ublist | [[Polymer chemistry]] | [[Quantum chemistry]] }}  
| workplaces        = {{ublist | [[University of Calcutta]] }}
| workplaces        = {{ublist | [[University of Calcutta]] }}
| alma_mater        = {{ublist | [[Rajabazar Science College]] | [[University of Calcutta]] }}
| alma_mater        = {{ublist | [[Rajabazar Science College]] | [[University of Calcutta]] }}
| doctoral_advisor  = Prafulla Kumar Bose
| doctoral_advisor  = Prafulla Kumar Bose
| doctoral_students = [[Mihir Chowdhury]]
| doctoral_students = [[Mihir Chowdhury]]<br>[[Animesh Chakravorty]]
| known_for        = Studies on geometry of molecular complexes
| known_for        = Studies on geometry of molecular complexes
| awards            = {{ublist | 1965&nbsp;[[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]] | 1984&nbsp;[[Indian Chemical Society|ICS]] Acharya JC Ghosh Gold Medal | 1988&nbsp;C. V. Raman Birth Centenary Commemoration Medal }}
| awards            = {{ublist | 1965&nbsp;[[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]] | 1984&nbsp;[[Indian Chemical Society|ICS]] Acharya JC Ghosh Gold Medal | 1988&nbsp;C. V. Raman Birth Centenary Commemoration Medal }}
}}
}}
'''Sadhan Basu''' [[Indian National Science Academy|FNA]], [[Indian Academy of Sciences|FASc]], [[Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry|FRSC]] (2 January 1922 – 5 October 1992) was an Indian physical chemist, academic and the Palit Professor of Chemistry at the [[University of Calcutta]] from 1964 to 1985.<ref name="Deceased fellow">{{Cite web |url=http://www.insaindia.res.in/detail/N62-0062 |title=Deceased fellow |date=2016 |publisher=Indian National Science Academy |access-date=5 November 2016}}</ref> He was known for his elucidation of the Quantum Mechanical Model of [[Robert S. Mulliken]]<ref name="Brief Profile of the Awardee">{{cite web | url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/Content/Detail.aspx?AID=297 | title=Brief Profile of the Awardee | publisher=Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize | date=2016 | access-date=5 October 2016}}</ref> and his article, ''Degree of Polymerization and Chain Transfer in Methyl Methacrylate'', co-authored by Jyotirindra Nath Sen and Santi R. Palit was the first published Indian article on polymer chemistry.<ref name="President's Message">{{cite web | url=http://www.spsi.co.in/files/president-old.php | title=President's Message | publisher=Society for Polymer Science, India | date=2016 | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref> He was an elected fellow of the [[Royal Society of Chemistry]], Chemical Society of France, [[Indian Chemical Society]], [[Indian National Science Academy]] and the [[Indian Academy of Sciences]].<ref name="Fellow profile">{{cite web | url=http://www.ias.ac.in/describe/fellow/Basu,_Prof._Sadhan | title=Fellow profile | publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences | date=2016 | access-date=5 November 2016}}</ref> The [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]], the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology]], one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1962, for his contributions to chemical sciences.<ref name="View Bhatnagar Awardees">{{cite web | url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/Content/AwardeeList.aspx | title=View Bhatnagar Awardees | publisher=Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize | date=2016 | access-date=5 October 2016}}</ref>
 
'''Sadhan Basu''' [[Indian National Science Academy|FNA]], [[Indian Academy of Sciences|FASc]], [[Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry|FRSC]] (2 January 1922 – 5 October 1992) was an Indian [[Physical chemistry|physical chemist]], academic and the Palit Professor of Chemistry at the [[University of Calcutta]] from 1964 to 1985.<ref name="Deceased fellow">{{Cite web |url=http://www.insaindia.res.in/detail/N62-0062 |title=Deceased fellow |date=2016 |publisher=Indian National Science Academy |access-date=5 November 2016}}</ref> He was known for his elucidation of the Quantum Mechanical Model of [[Robert S. Mulliken]].<ref name="Brief Profile of the Awardee">{{cite web | url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/Content/Detail.aspx?AID=297 | title=Brief Profile of the Awardee | publisher=Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize | date=2016 | access-date=5 October 2016}}</ref> His article, ''Degree of [[Polymerization]] and [[Chain transfer|Chain Transfer]] in [[Methyl methacrylate|Methyl Methacrylate]]'', co-authored with Jyotirindra Nath Sen and Santi R. Palit was the first published Indian article on [[polymer chemistry]].<ref name="President's Message">{{cite web | url=http://www.spsi.co.in/files/president-old.php | title=President's Message | publisher=Society for Polymer Science, India | date=2016 | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref> He was an elected fellow of the [[Royal Society of Chemistry]], [[Société chimique de France|Chemical Society of France]], [[Indian Chemical Society]], [[Indian National Science Academy]] and the [[Indian Academy of Sciences]].<ref name="Fellow profile">{{cite web | url=http://www.ias.ac.in/describe/fellow/Basu,_Prof._Sadhan | title=Fellow profile | publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences | date=2016 | access-date=5 November 2016}}</ref> The [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]], the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology]], one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1962, for his contributions to chemical sciences.<ref name="View Bhatnagar Awardees">{{cite web | url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/Content/AwardeeList.aspx | title=View Bhatnagar Awardees | publisher=Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize | date=2016 | access-date=5 October 2016}}</ref>


== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Basu was born on 2 January 1922<ref name="Fellow profile" /> in [[Kolkata]] (then Calcutta), to Jyotish Chandra Basu and Sarajubala.<ref name="Sadhan Basu — a physical chemist extraordinaire"/> Educated in the city, he graduated with a B.Sc. from the [[University of Calcutta]] in 1942, obtaining an M.Sc. from the same university in [[Rajabazar Science College]] campus in 1944.<ref name="Sadhan Basu — a physical chemist extraordinaire"/><ref name="Patrika_obit">{{cite web | url=http://www.ias.ac.in/public/Resources/Other_Publications/Patrika/patrika_27.pdf | title=Obituary - Sadhan Basu | publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences | date=January 1993 | access-date=25 December 2017}}</ref> He then conducted research into the properties of [[shellac]] at the Indian Lac Research Institute (now the [[Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums]]) under the supervision of noted chemist Prafulla Kumar Bose (1898-1983),<ref name="P_K_Bose">{{cite web | url=http://insaindia.res.in/BM/BM13_8817.pdf | title=Prafulla Kumar Bose (1898 - 1983) | publisher=Indian National Science Academy | date=1984 | access-date=25 December 2017}}</ref> for which he earned a D.Sc. from [[Rajabazar Science College]], [[Calcutta University]] in 1948.<ref name="Patrika_obit"/> In 1948, Basu joined the faculty of the [[Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science]], where he conducted pioneering research on [[chain transfer]] in [[radical polymerisation]] and established a standard procedure for estimating the molecular weight of polymers. From 1951 to 1953, he was a [[postdoctoral]] [[Fulbright fellow]] in chemistry at [[Indiana University Bloomington]], where he developed an interest in the emerging field of [[quantum chemistry]]; upon returning to India, he published six papers on free electron molecular orbital calculations.<ref name="Patrika_obit"/>
Basu was born on 2 January 1922<ref name="Fellow profile" /> in [[Kolkata]] (then Calcutta), to Jyotish Chandra Basu and Sarajubala.<ref name="Sadhan Basu — a physical chemist extraordinaire"/> Educated in the city, he graduated with a B.Sc. from the [[University of Calcutta]] in 1942, obtaining an M.Sc. from the same university at the [[Rajabazar Science College]] campus in 1944.<ref name="Sadhan Basu — a physical chemist extraordinaire"/><ref name="Patrika_obit">{{cite web | url=http://www.ias.ac.in/public/Resources/Other_Publications/Patrika/patrika_27.pdf | title=Obituary - Sadhan Basu | publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences | date=January 1993 | access-date=25 December 2017}}</ref> He then conducted research into the properties of [[shellac]] at the Indian Lac Research Institute (now the [[Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums]]) under the supervision of noted chemist Prafulla Kumar Bose (1898-1983),<ref name="P_K_Bose">{{cite web | url=http://insaindia.res.in/BM/BM13_8817.pdf | title=Prafulla Kumar Bose (1898 - 1983) | publisher=Indian National Science Academy | date=1984 | access-date=25 December 2017}}</ref> for which he earned a D.Sc. from the [[Rajabazar Science College]], [[Calcutta University]] in 1948.<ref name="Patrika_obit"/> In 1948, Basu joined the faculty of the [[Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science]], where he conducted pioneering research on [[chain transfer]] in [[radical polymerisation]] and established a standard procedure for estimating the [[molecular weight]] of polymers. From 1951 to 1953, he was a [[postdoctoral]] [[Fulbright fellow]] in chemistry at the [[Indiana University Bloomington]], where he developed an interest in the emerging field of [[quantum chemistry]]. Upon returning to India, he published six papers on free electron [[molecular orbital]] calculations.<ref name="Patrika_obit"/>


In 1954, Basu joined the faculty of the University of Calcutta as a [[Reader (academic rank)|reader]]; he would remain at the university for the next three decades.<ref name="Patrika_obit"/><ref name="History">{{cite web | url=http://www.caluniv.ac.in/academic/department/Chemistry.html | title=History | publisher=University of Calcutta | date=2016 | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref> One of the pioneers of polymer chemistry in India, his studies were primarily in the fields of charge transfer interactions, ligand field spectra, [[hydrogen bonding]], [[quantum chemistry]] and [[photochemistry]]. Focusing on the detection, and analysis of [[charge transfer band]] of molecular complexes and through experimental assignment of its vibrational structure, he supported the quantum mechanical model of the complexes originally propounded by [[Robert S. Mulliken]], the winner of 1966 [[Nobel Prize for Chemistry]].<ref name="Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners">{{cite web | url=http://www.csirhrdg.res.in/ssb.pdf | title=Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners | publisher=Council of Scientific and Industrial Research | date=1999 | access-date=5 October 2016 | pages=34}}</ref> In order to determine the [[Amidogen|-NH2 group]] in [[nylon]], he developed a methodology which has since been accepted as a standard industrial procedure. He calculated the transition energies and oscillator strengths of aromatic polyhydrocarbons using the gas model prescribed by [[Shin'ichirō Tomonaga]] in 1950, demonstrated that extended catacondensed planar structures could be derived only by using 3-4-6 membered rings and employing Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov, illustrated that, unlike triplet transitions, ''the longest wavelength singlet transitions in linear polyenes converge to a limit''.<ref name="Deceased fellow" /> Basu's researches were published in a number of articles and the article, ''Degree of Polymerization and Chain Transfer in Methyl Methacrylate'', he and his co-authors, J. N. Sen and S. R. Palit, published in 1950 was the first Indian article on polymer chemistry.<ref name="Degree of Polymerization and Chain Transfer in Methyl Methacrylate">{{cite journal | title=Degree of Polymerization and Chain Transfer in Methyl Methacrylate | author=Sadhan Basu, Jyotirindra Nath Sen, Santi R. Palit | journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society | volume=202 | issue=1071 | pages=485–498 | date=22 August 1950 | doi=10.1098/rspa.1950.0114| bibcode=1950RSPSA.202..485B | s2cid=98118634 }}</ref> He was associated with ''[[International Journal of Quantum Chemistry]]'', the ''Indian Journal of Chemistry'' and the ''Proceedings of the Proceedings of Indian National Science Academy'' as their associate editor and mentored a number of students in their doctoral researches.<ref name="“The Apple does not fall far from the tree”, and academic families (like teacher like student ?)">{{cite web | url=https://sciencetalk.wordpress.com/2016/07/05/the-apple-does-not-fall-far-from-the-tree-and-academic-families-like-teacher-like-student/ | title="The Apple does not fall far from the tree", and academic families (like teacher like student ?) | publisher=Science Talk | date=5 July 2016 | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="A man of action">{{cite web | url=http://www.biospectrumindia.com/biospecindia/news/159007/leading-indian-science-world-map | title=A man of action | publisher=BioSpectrum | date=5 December 2008 | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref>
In 1954, Basu joined the faculty of the University of Calcutta as a [[Reader (academic rank)|reader]]; he would remain at the university for the next three decades.<ref name="Patrika_obit"/><ref name="History">{{cite web | url=http://www.caluniv.ac.in/academic/department/Chemistry.html | title=History | publisher=University of Calcutta | date=2016 | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref> One of the pioneers of polymer chemistry in India, his studies were primarily in the fields of [[Charge-transfer complex|charge transfer]] interactions, [[Ligand field theory|ligand field]] spectra, [[hydrogen bonding]], [[quantum chemistry]] and [[photochemistry]]. Focusing on the detection and analysis of the [[charge transfer band]] of molecular complexes and through experimental assignment of its vibrational structure, he supported the quantum mechanical model of the complexes originally propounded by [[Robert S. Mulliken]], the winner of the 1966 [[Nobel Prize for Chemistry]].<ref name="Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners">{{cite web | url=http://www.csirhrdg.res.in/ssb.pdf | title=Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners | publisher=Council of Scientific and Industrial Research | date=1999 | access-date=5 October 2016 | pages=34}}</ref> In order to determine the [[Amidogen|-NH2 group]] in [[nylon]], he developed a methodology which has since been accepted as a standard industrial procedure. He calculated the transition energies and [[oscillator strength]]s of aromatic polyhydrocarbons using the gas model prescribed by [[Shin'ichirō Tomonaga]] in 1950. He thus demonstrated that extended catacondensed planar structures could be derived only by using 3-4-6 membered rings and employing the [[Hartree–Fock method|Hartree-Fock]] and [[Bogoliubov transformation|Bogolyubov]] methods, illustrated that, unlike triplet transitions, ''the longest wavelength singlet transitions in linear [[polyene]]s converge to a limit''.<ref name="Deceased fellow" /> Basu's research was published in a number of articles and the article, ''Degree of Polymerization and Chain Transfer in Methyl Methacrylate'', he and his co-authors, J. N. Sen and S. R. Palit, published in 1950 was the first Indian article on polymer chemistry.<ref name="Degree of Polymerization and Chain Transfer in Methyl Methacrylate">{{cite journal |author=Sadhan Basu, Jyotirindra Nath Sen, Santi R. Palit |date=22 August 1950 |title=Degree of Polymerization and Chain Transfer in Methyl Methacrylate |journal=[[Proceedings of the Royal Society]] |volume=202 |issue=1071 |pages=485–498 |bibcode=1950RSPSA.202..485B |doi=10.1098/rspa.1950.0114 |s2cid=98118634}}</ref> He was associated with the ''[[International Journal of Quantum Chemistry]]'', the ''Indian Journal of Chemistry'' and the ''Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy'' as their associate editor. He mentored a number of students in their doctoral research.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://sciencetalk.wordpress.com/2016/07/05/the-apple-does-not-fall-far-from-the-tree-and-academic-families-like-teacher-like-student/ | title="The Apple does not fall far from the tree", and academic families (like teacher like student ?) | publisher=Science Talk | date=5 July 2016 | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="A man of action">{{cite web | url=http://www.biospectrumindia.com/biospecindia/news/159007/leading-indian-science-world-map | title=A man of action | publisher=BioSpectrum | date=5 December 2008 | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref>


During 1961-62, Basu was a visiting professor at Indiana University Bloomington and was subsequently (1962–63) a visiting professor in the quantum chemistry group at the [[University of Uppsala]].<ref name="Sadhan Basu — a physical chemist extraordinaire"/> Following his return to India, Basu was appointed to the Palit Professorship of Chemistry at the [[Rajabazar Science College]] or University College of Science & Technology in 1964,<ref name="Chandra1994">{{cite book|author=A K Chandra|title=Introductory Quantum Chemistry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zocqImm7YAwC&pg=PR8|year=1994|publisher=Tata McGraw-Hill Education|isbn=978-0-07-462054-0|pages=8–}}</ref> the chair of which he held until his superannuation and retirement. He also served as head of the university's chemistry department from 1978 to 1980.<ref name="Patrika_obit"/> In 1981, he was appointed the director of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, but relinquished the post in 1982 due to ill health.<ref name="IACS_admin_80">{{cite book|pages=2|title=Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science: Annual Report for 1980-81 |publisher=IACS|year=1981}}</ref><ref name="IACS_admin_82">{{cite book|pages=1–4|title=Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science: Annual Report for 1982-83 |year=1983}}</ref> He also served the Indian National Science Academy council during 1982-84 as a member.<ref name="Announcements 1">{{cite web | url=http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Downloads/article_id_050_20_0925_0926_0.pdf | title=Announcements 1 | publisher=Current Science | work=Volume 50 Issue 20 | date=October 1981 | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="Announcements 2">{{cite web | url=http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Downloads/article_id_052_21_1039_1040_0.pdf | title=Announcements 1 | publisher=Current Science | work=Volume 52 Issue 21 | date=November 1983 | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref> Basu retired from the University of Calcutta in 1985,<ref name="Patrika_obit"/> and died on 5 October 1992, at the age of 70.<ref name="Brief Profile of the Awardee" /> He was survived by his wife, Rama Basu, who was also a theoretical chemist, and their son and daughter.<ref name="Sadhan Basu — a physical chemist extraordinaire"/><ref name="Patrika_obit"/> His scientific contributions have been documented in an article, ''Sadhan Basu — a physical chemist extraordinaire'', published in [[Resonance (journal)|Resonance journal]] in 2013.<ref name="Sadhan Basu — a physical chemist extraordinaire">{{cite journal | title=Sadhan Basu — a physical chemist extraordinaire | author=Ramprasad Misra and S. P. Bhattacharyya | journal=Resonance | date=July 2013 | volume=18 | issue=7 | pages=598–614 | doi=10.1007/s12045-013-0080-9| s2cid=122609160 }}</ref>
During 1961-62, Basu was a visiting professor at Indiana University Bloomington and was subsequently (1962–63) a visiting professor in the quantum chemistry group at the [[University of Uppsala]].<ref name="Sadhan Basu — a physical chemist extraordinaire"/> Following his return to India, Basu was appointed to the Palit Professorship of Chemistry at the [[Rajabazar Science College]] or University College of Science & Technology in 1964,<ref name="Chandra1994">{{cite book|author=A K Chandra|title=Introductory Quantum Chemistry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zocqImm7YAwC&pg=PR8|year=1994|publisher=Tata McGraw-Hill Education|isbn=978-0-07-462054-0|pages=8–}}</ref> the chair of which he held until his superannuation and retirement. He also served as the head of the university's chemistry department from 1978 to 1980.<ref name="Patrika_obit"/> In 1981, he was appointed the director of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, but relinquished the post in 1982 due to ill health.<ref name="IACS_admin_80">{{cite book|pages=2|title=Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science: Annual Report for 1980-81 |publisher=IACS|year=1981}}</ref><ref name="IACS_admin_82">{{cite book|pages=1–4|title=Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science: Annual Report for 1982-83 |year=1983}}</ref> He also served the Indian National Science Academy council during 1982-84 as a member.<ref name="Announcements 1">{{cite web | url=http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Downloads/article_id_050_20_0925_0926_0.pdf | title=Announcements 1 | publisher=Current Science | work=Volume 50 Issue 20 | date=October 1981 | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="Announcements 2">{{cite web | url=http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Downloads/article_id_052_21_1039_1040_0.pdf | title=Announcements 1 | publisher=Current Science | work=Volume 52 Issue 21 | date=November 1983 | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref> Basu retired from the University of Calcutta in 1985,<ref name="Patrika_obit"/> and died on 5 October 1992, at the age of 70.<ref name="Brief Profile of the Awardee" /> He was survived by his wife, Rama Basu, who was also a theoretical chemist, and their son and daughter.<ref name="Sadhan Basu — a physical chemist extraordinaire"/><ref name="Patrika_obit"/> His scientific contributions have been documented in an article, ''Sadhan Basu — a physical chemist extraordinaire'', published in the [[Resonance (journal)|Resonance journal]] in 2013.<ref name="Sadhan Basu — a physical chemist extraordinaire">{{cite journal | title=Sadhan Basu — a physical chemist extraordinaire | author=Ramprasad Misra and S. P. Bhattacharyya | journal=Resonance | date=July 2013 | volume=18 | issue=7 | pages=598–614 | doi=10.1007/s12045-013-0080-9| s2cid=122609160 }}</ref>


== Awards and honors ==
== Awards and honors ==
The Indian National Science Academy elected Basu as a fellow in 1962 and the [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]] awarded him the [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]], one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1965.<ref name="Chemical Sciences">{{cite web | url=http://www.csir.res.in/External/Heads/career/award/BPRIZE/CHEMICAL_SCIENCES.htm | title=Chemical Sciences | publisher=Council of Scientific and Industrial Research | date=2016 | access-date=7 November 2016 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912012851/http://www.csir.res.in/external/heads/career/award/BPRIZE/CHEMICAL_SCIENCES.htm | archive-date=12 September 2012 }}</ref> A UGC National Professor during 1972–73, he became an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1975<ref name="Fellow profile" /> and was a recipient of the Acharya J. C. Ghosh Gold Medal of Indian Chemical Society (1984) and the C. V. Raman Birth Centenary Commemoration Medal of the [[Indian Science Congress Association]] (1988).<ref name="Deceased fellow" /> In 1957, he was appointed a Fellow of the [[Royal Institute of Chemistry]] (FRIC), which merged with the Chemical Society in 1980 to become the [[Royal Society for Chemistry]].<ref name="Patrika_obit"/> He was also a fellow of the [[Indian Chemical Society]] and the Society of Physical Chemistry of France. The Indian Academy of Sciences issued a [[festschrift]], ''Dedicated to Prof. Sadhan Basu on the occasion of his sixtyfifth birthday'', on him in 1986 on his 65th birth anniversary<ref name="Dedicated to Prof. Sadhan Basu on the occasion of his sixtyfifth birthday">{{cite book | title=Dedicated to Prof. Sadhan Basu on the occasion of his sixtyfifth birthday | publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences | year=1986 | oclc=35479388}}</ref> and the contributors included Jack Simons, [[Debashis Mukherjee]], [[Werner Kutzelnigg]] and [[George G. Hall]] among others.<ref name="Special issue in dedication to Prof. Sadhan Basu on his 65th Birthday">{{cite web | url=http://www-old.ias.ac.in/j_archive/chemsci/96/vol96contents.html | title=Special issue in dedication to Prof. Sadhan Basu on his 65th Birthday | publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences | date=December 1986 | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref> The Indian National Science Academy has instituted an annual oration, ''Professor Sadhan Basu Memorial Lecture'' in his honor<ref name="Professor Sadhan Basu Memorial Lecture">{{cite web | url=http://insaindia.res.in/aa3.php | title=Professor Sadhan Basu Memorial Lecture | publisher=Indian National Science Academy | date=2016 | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="Bidyendu Mohan Deb">{{cite web | url=http://www.iiserkol.ac.in/people/faculty/dcs/bidyendudeb | title=Bidyendu Mohan Deb | publisher=IISER Kokata | work=Scientist profile | date=2016 | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref> and the University of Kolkata recognizes excellence in research in chemistry each year by an annual award, ''Professor Sadhan Basu Memorial Award''.<ref name="Professor Sadhan Basu Memorial Award">{{cite web | url=http://universe.bits-pilani.ac.in/goa/anjan/CV | title=Professor Sadhan Basu Memorial Award | publisher=BITS Pilani | work=faculty profile | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref>
The Indian National Science Academy elected Basu as a fellow in 1962 and the [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]] awarded him the [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]], one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1965.<ref name="Chemical Sciences">{{cite web | url=http://www.csir.res.in/External/Heads/career/award/BPRIZE/CHEMICAL_SCIENCES.htm | title=Chemical Sciences | publisher=Council of Scientific and Industrial Research | date=2016 | access-date=7 November 2016 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912012851/http://www.csir.res.in/external/heads/career/award/BPRIZE/CHEMICAL_SCIENCES.htm | archive-date=12 September 2012 }}</ref> A [[University Grants Commission (India)|UGC]] National Professor during 1972–73, he became an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1975.<ref name="Fellow profile" /> He was a recipient of the Acharya [[Jnan Chandra Ghosh|J. C. Ghosh]] Gold Medal of the Indian Chemical Society (1984) and the [[C. V. Raman]] Birth Centenary Commemoration Medal of the [[Indian Science Congress Association]] (1988).<ref name="Deceased fellow" /> In 1957, he was appointed a Fellow of the [[Royal Institute of Chemistry]] (FRIC), which merged with the Chemical Society in 1980 to become the [[Royal Society for Chemistry]].<ref name="Patrika_obit"/> He was also a fellow of the [[Indian Chemical Society]] and the Society of Physical Chemistry of France. The Indian Academy of Sciences issued a [[festschrift]], ''Dedicated to Prof. Sadhan Basu on the occasion of his sixtyfifth birthday'', on him in 1986 on his 65th birth anniversary.<ref name="Dedicated to Prof. Sadhan Basu on the occasion of his sixtyfifth birthday">{{cite book | title=Dedicated to Prof. Sadhan Basu on the occasion of his sixtyfifth birthday | publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences | year=1986 | oclc=35479388}}</ref> The contributors included Jack Simons, [[Debashis Mukherjee]], [[Werner Kutzelnigg]] and [[George G. Hall]] among others.<ref name="Special issue in dedication to Prof. Sadhan Basu on his 65th Birthday">{{cite web | url=http://www-old.ias.ac.in/j_archive/chemsci/96/vol96contents.html | title=Special issue in dedication to Prof. Sadhan Basu on his 65th Birthday | publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences | date=December 1986 | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref> The Indian National Science Academy has instituted an annual oration, ''Professor Sadhan Basu Memorial Lecture'' in his honor<ref name="Professor Sadhan Basu Memorial Lecture">{{cite web | url=http://insaindia.res.in/aa3.php | title=Professor Sadhan Basu Memorial Lecture | publisher=Indian National Science Academy | date=2016 | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="Bidyendu Mohan Deb">{{cite web | url=http://www.iiserkol.ac.in/people/faculty/dcs/bidyendudeb | title=Bidyendu Mohan Deb | publisher=IISER Kokata | work=Scientist profile | date=2016 | access-date=7 November 2016 | archive-date=20 November 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120183948/http://www.iiserkol.ac.in/people/faculty/dcs/bidyendudeb | url-status=dead }}</ref> and the University of Kolkata recognizes excellence in research in chemistry each year by an annual award, the ''Professor Sadhan Basu Memorial Award''.<ref name="Professor Sadhan Basu Memorial Award">{{cite web | url=http://universe.bits-pilani.ac.in/goa/anjan/CV | title=Professor Sadhan Basu Memorial Award | publisher=BITS Pilani | work=faculty profile | access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref>


== See also ==
== See also ==
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[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Bengalis]]
[[Category:20th-century Bengali people]]
[[Category:Indian scientific authors]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta faculty]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Calcutta]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian chemists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian chemists]]
[[Category:Indian polymer scientists and engineers]]
[[Category:Indian polymer scientists and engineers]]

Latest revision as of 08:44, 10 February 2026


Sadhan Basu
Born(1922-01-02)2 January 1922
Died5 October 1992(1992-10-05) (aged 70)
Alma mater
Known forStudies on geometry of molecular complexes
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
Doctoral advisorPrafulla Kumar Bose
Doctoral studentsMihir Chowdhury
Animesh Chakravorty

Sadhan Basu FNA, FASc, FRSC (2 January 1922 – 5 October 1992) was an Indian physical chemist, academic and the Palit Professor of Chemistry at the University of Calcutta from 1964 to 1985.[1] He was known for his elucidation of the Quantum Mechanical Model of Robert S. Mulliken.[2] His article, Degree of Polymerization and Chain Transfer in Methyl Methacrylate, co-authored with Jyotirindra Nath Sen and Santi R. Palit was the first published Indian article on polymer chemistry.[3] He was an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Chemical Society of France, Indian Chemical Society, Indian National Science Academy and the Indian Academy of Sciences.[4] The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1962, for his contributions to chemical sciences.[5]

Biography[edit | edit source]

Basu was born on 2 January 1922[4] in Kolkata (then Calcutta), to Jyotish Chandra Basu and Sarajubala.[6] Educated in the city, he graduated with a B.Sc. from the University of Calcutta in 1942, obtaining an M.Sc. from the same university at the Rajabazar Science College campus in 1944.[6][7] He then conducted research into the properties of shellac at the Indian Lac Research Institute (now the Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums) under the supervision of noted chemist Prafulla Kumar Bose (1898-1983),[8] for which he earned a D.Sc. from the Rajabazar Science College, Calcutta University in 1948.[7] In 1948, Basu joined the faculty of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, where he conducted pioneering research on chain transfer in radical polymerisation and established a standard procedure for estimating the molecular weight of polymers. From 1951 to 1953, he was a postdoctoral Fulbright fellow in chemistry at the Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed an interest in the emerging field of quantum chemistry. Upon returning to India, he published six papers on free electron molecular orbital calculations.[7]

In 1954, Basu joined the faculty of the University of Calcutta as a reader; he would remain at the university for the next three decades.[7][9] One of the pioneers of polymer chemistry in India, his studies were primarily in the fields of charge transfer interactions, ligand field spectra, hydrogen bonding, quantum chemistry and photochemistry. Focusing on the detection and analysis of the charge transfer band of molecular complexes and through experimental assignment of its vibrational structure, he supported the quantum mechanical model of the complexes originally propounded by Robert S. Mulliken, the winner of the 1966 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.[10] In order to determine the -NH2 group in nylon, he developed a methodology which has since been accepted as a standard industrial procedure. He calculated the transition energies and oscillator strengths of aromatic polyhydrocarbons using the gas model prescribed by Shin'ichirō Tomonaga in 1950. He thus demonstrated that extended catacondensed planar structures could be derived only by using 3-4-6 membered rings and employing the Hartree-Fock and Bogolyubov methods, illustrated that, unlike triplet transitions, the longest wavelength singlet transitions in linear polyenes converge to a limit.[1] Basu's research was published in a number of articles and the article, Degree of Polymerization and Chain Transfer in Methyl Methacrylate, he and his co-authors, J. N. Sen and S. R. Palit, published in 1950 was the first Indian article on polymer chemistry.[11] He was associated with the International Journal of Quantum Chemistry, the Indian Journal of Chemistry and the Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy as their associate editor. He mentored a number of students in their doctoral research.[12][13]

During 1961-62, Basu was a visiting professor at Indiana University Bloomington and was subsequently (1962–63) a visiting professor in the quantum chemistry group at the University of Uppsala.[6] Following his return to India, Basu was appointed to the Palit Professorship of Chemistry at the Rajabazar Science College or University College of Science & Technology in 1964,[14] the chair of which he held until his superannuation and retirement. He also served as the head of the university's chemistry department from 1978 to 1980.[7] In 1981, he was appointed the director of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, but relinquished the post in 1982 due to ill health.[15][16] He also served the Indian National Science Academy council during 1982-84 as a member.[17][18] Basu retired from the University of Calcutta in 1985,[7] and died on 5 October 1992, at the age of 70.[2] He was survived by his wife, Rama Basu, who was also a theoretical chemist, and their son and daughter.[6][7] His scientific contributions have been documented in an article, Sadhan Basu — a physical chemist extraordinaire, published in the Resonance journal in 2013.[6]

Awards and honors[edit | edit source]

The Indian National Science Academy elected Basu as a fellow in 1962 and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1965.[19] A UGC National Professor during 1972–73, he became an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1975.[4] He was a recipient of the Acharya J. C. Ghosh Gold Medal of the Indian Chemical Society (1984) and the C. V. Raman Birth Centenary Commemoration Medal of the Indian Science Congress Association (1988).[1] In 1957, he was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chemistry (FRIC), which merged with the Chemical Society in 1980 to become the Royal Society for Chemistry.[7] He was also a fellow of the Indian Chemical Society and the Society of Physical Chemistry of France. The Indian Academy of Sciences issued a festschrift, Dedicated to Prof. Sadhan Basu on the occasion of his sixtyfifth birthday, on him in 1986 on his 65th birth anniversary.[20] The contributors included Jack Simons, Debashis Mukherjee, Werner Kutzelnigg and George G. Hall among others.[21] The Indian National Science Academy has instituted an annual oration, Professor Sadhan Basu Memorial Lecture in his honor[22][23] and the University of Kolkata recognizes excellence in research in chemistry each year by an annual award, the Professor Sadhan Basu Memorial Award.[24]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Deceased fellow". Indian National Science Academy. 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Brief Profile of the Awardee". Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize. 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  3. "President's Message". Society for Polymer Science, India. 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Fellow profile". Indian Academy of Sciences. 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  5. "View Bhatnagar Awardees". Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize. 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Ramprasad Misra and S. P. Bhattacharyya (July 2013). "Sadhan Basu — a physical chemist extraordinaire". Resonance. 18 (7): 598–614. doi:10.1007/s12045-013-0080-9. S2CID 122609160.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 "Obituary - Sadhan Basu" (PDF). Indian Academy of Sciences. January 1993. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  8. "Prafulla Kumar Bose (1898 - 1983)" (PDF). Indian National Science Academy. 1984. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  9. "History". University of Calcutta. 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  10. "Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners" (PDF). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. 1999. p. 34. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  11. Sadhan Basu, Jyotirindra Nath Sen, Santi R. Palit (22 August 1950). "Degree of Polymerization and Chain Transfer in Methyl Methacrylate". Proceedings of the Royal Society. 202 (1071): 485–498. Bibcode:1950RSPSA.202..485B. doi:10.1098/rspa.1950.0114. S2CID 98118634.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ""The Apple does not fall far from the tree", and academic families (like teacher like student ?)". Science Talk. 5 July 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  13. "A man of action". BioSpectrum. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  14. A K Chandra (1994). Introductory Quantum Chemistry. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. pp. 8–. ISBN 978-0-07-462054-0.
  15. Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science: Annual Report for 1980-81. IACS. 1981. p. 2.
  16. Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science: Annual Report for 1982-83. 1983. pp. 1–4.
  17. "Announcements 1" (PDF). Volume 50 Issue 20. Current Science. October 1981. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  18. "Announcements 1" (PDF). Volume 52 Issue 21. Current Science. November 1983. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  19. "Chemical Sciences". Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. 2016. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  20. Dedicated to Prof. Sadhan Basu on the occasion of his sixtyfifth birthday. Indian Academy of Sciences. 1986. OCLC 35479388.
  21. "Special issue in dedication to Prof. Sadhan Basu on his 65th Birthday". Indian Academy of Sciences. December 1986. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  22. "Professor Sadhan Basu Memorial Lecture". Indian National Science Academy. 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  23. "Bidyendu Mohan Deb". Scientist profile. IISER Kokata. 2016. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  24. "Professor Sadhan Basu Memorial Award". faculty profile. BITS Pilani. Retrieved 7 November 2016.

External links[edit | edit source]

Further reading[edit | edit source]