Sushanta Kumar Dattagupta

Sushanta Dattagupta
Born (1947-12-19) December 19, 1947
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Occupation Condensed matter physicist, academic

Sushanta Kumar Dattagupta, known better as Sushanta Dattagupta, is a highly controversial Indian Condensed matter physicist,[1] who works in the area of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, dissipative quantum systems, nanomaterials, fluctuation spectroscopy and quantum optics.[2][3][4][5]

In 2014, the outgoing UPA Government headed by Manmohan Singh proposed to award him the title of Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the fields of science and technology.[6]

However, this led to protest from West Bengal Women’s Commission and the National Commission for Women over allegations of sexual misconduct levelled against him.[7][8] The allegations were later dismissed.[9]

On 15 February 2016, he was dismissed from his position as Vice-Chancellor of Visva-Bharati University by the President of India. This is the first time a Vice-Chancellor of any Indian Central University has been sacked in this manner [10][11]

Biography

Sushanta Dattagupta, was born in Kolkata, West Bengal, India on 19 December 1947[3] and graduated in Physics (BSc Hons), in 1965, from the University of Calcutta. His master's degree also came from the same university in 1967. The next year, in 1968, Dr. Duttagupta joined the Presidency College, Kolkata as a lecturer in Physics where he taught for one year.[2][3] In 1969, Duttagupta went to the US to join the Brookhaven National Laboratory, St. John's University where did his doctoral research to obtain a PhD in Physics, in 1973.[1] He continued in the US for three more years to work as a post doctoral fellow at the Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, till 1975, and later, at the University of Alberta, for a year.[1][2][3]

Dattagupta returned to India in 1976 to join the Materials Science Laboratory, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu where he worked as a scientific officer till 1981. The next assignment was as the Reader at the School of Physics, University of Hyderabad which lasted till 1986, marking his return to teaching career.[1] In 1986, Duttagupta was offered a job at the Jawaharlal Nehru University where he taught till 1999, first as a Professor and later as the Dean of the School of Physical Sciences.[2][3]

He returned to his native place, Kolkata, in 1999, assuming responsibility as the Director of the S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences[1] and worked there till his departure from there in 2005, allegedly due to a scandal.[12][13] This was followed by the Directorship of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata (IISER), an institute he still works for, presently as an Adjunct Professor.[14]

In 2011, Dattagupta was appointed as the Vice Chancellor of Visva-Bharati University, a place of higher learning founded by Rabindranath Tagore in 1921 and is the incumbent VC there.[5] Dattagupta also holds the position of honorary Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (from 2003 onwards) and the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (from 2005 onwards).[2][3]

Legacy

When the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata (IISER)[15] at Mohanpur, West Bengal, in July 2006, under the aegis of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, Dattagupta was its first Director.[1][4] He worked on the Aharonov-Bohm effect at IISER.[4] He has mentored many researchers in their doctoral studies.[1]

He has published his research findings as several books[16][17][18] and published over 100 articles.[2][4]

Dattagupta has also attended several national and international seminars to deliver the keynote addresses.[19][20]

Positions

Dattagupta has held many positions, both on academic and organizational levels.[21] He was the Vice President of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore during 2004-2009 and a council member of the National Academy of Sciences, India, Allahabad from 2001 to 2007, National Academy of Sciences from 2001 till date.[1][21] He has held the chair of the national committees of the Indian National Science Academy for International Council of Science (ICSU) and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and was the Vice Chairman of STATPHYS 22, an International Conference on Statistical Physics held in Bangalore in July 2004.[21] he served as the Convener of the sectional committee on Physical Sciences of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore during 1999-2003.[21] A referee for many journals such as Physical Review Letters, Physical Review A, B and E, Europhys. Letters, Solid State Communications and J. Physics C (Condensed Matter Physics), Dr. Duttagupta was also a member of CSIR Emeritus Scientists Committee during 2002-04, research council of the National Physical Laboratory during 2001-06 and the membership committee of the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) during 2004-06.[21]

Awards and recognitions

He has been an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow of Julich, Germany, Senior Associate of the The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste and the visiting Associate of Darwin College, Cambridge University.[1][3] A J. C. Bose fellow of the Department of Science and Technology, he was also awarded fellowships by the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore in 1992,[5] National Academy of Sciences, India, Allahabad in 1995,[5] Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS) in 1999[5] and the West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology in 2000.[1] He is a recipient of awards such as:

Controversy

In 2005, a female researcher at the S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences came out with allegations of sexual harassment against Dattagupta[22] which attracted an enquiry by a committee set up by the Ministry of Science and Technology.[12][13] Dattagaupta stepped down on the 3 March 2005, as his tenure had expired.[12][13]

Parenthetically, it was during the tenure of Kapil Sibal as the Minister for Human Resource Development, Dr. Dattagupta was appointed as the Vice Chancellor of the Visva-Bharati University, in 2011.[13]

Dattagupta's name was proposed for Padma Shri (India's fourth highest civilian award) by the outgoing UPA Govt headed by Manmohan Singh in 2014. However, this led to protest from West Bengal Women’s Commission and the National Commission for Women over allegations of sexual misconduct levelled against him.[7][8] The allegations were later dismissed.[23]

On 15 February 2016, he was dismissed from his position as Vice-Chancellor of Visva-Bharati University by the President of India. [10][11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "INSA". INSA. 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "ISER". ISER. 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "SN Bose". SN Bose NCBS. 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Serb.gov.in" (PDF). Serb.gov.in. 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "EDU Tech". EDU Tech. 28 September 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Padma 2014". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 25 January 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  7. 1 2 "India Today: Women's commissions write to President and PM against award of Padma Shri to Sushanta Dattagupta".
  8. 1 2 "NDTV: Row over Padma Shri for Visva Bharati Vice-Chancellor accused of sexual harassment".
  9. ↑ http://www.visvabharati.ac.in/files/377290114_SUBODH_MITRA_VS_UNION_OF_INDIA.pdf
  10. 1 2 "HRD Ministry Recommends Sacking Of Visva Bharati VC Sushanta Duttagupta".
  11. 1 2 "HRD ministry recommends sacking of Viswa Bharati VC".
  12. 1 2 3 "Daily Mail". Daily Mail. 26 January 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "India Today controversy". India Today. January 26, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  14. ↑ "VBU CV" (PDF). VBU. 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  15. ↑ "IISER". IISER. 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Sciencescape". Sciencescape. 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  17. ↑ "SN Bose books". SN Bose. 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Microsoft Academic Search". Microsoft Academic Search. 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Tatkal News". Tatkal News. 29 October 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Seminar". University of Tsukuba. 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 "SN Bose contribs". SN Bose. 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Forbes India". Forbes India. 3 January 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  23. ↑ http://www.visvabharati.ac.in/files/377290114_SUBODH_MITRA_VS_UNION_OF_INDIA.pdf

Further reading

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