Noted physicist Trilochan Pradhan passes away at 93

BHUBANESWAR : Eminent physicist and educationist Dr Trilochan Pradhan passed away due to age related ailments in Bhubaneswar on Saturday. He was 93. A native of Nayagarh district and alumni of the erstwhile Ravenshaw College, Pradhan was the founder director of Institute of Physics from 1974 to 1989. Prior to that, he had headed the Theoretical Nuclear Physics division at Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics in West Bengal for a decade from 1964.

After completing his schooling in Nayagarh, he pursued a degree in Physics from the Ravenshaw College and moved to Banaras Hindu University to complete MSc. Later in 1951, he joined Ravenshaw College as a faculty.

He served as the Vice-Chancellor of Utkal University from 1989 to 1991. In 2009, when the State government decided to constitute a 17-member task force for preparing ‘Vision 2020’ plan and suggest measures to improve higher education and bring it on par with international standards, Pradhan was appointed as its chairman.

For his contribution to the field of education and science, Pradhan was conferred the Padma Bhusan in 1990 and Kalinga Ratna Award in 2018. He had also received the Kalinga Samman award in 2014 for popularising Science.

Governor of Odisha Prof Ganeshi Lal, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and people from different walks of life condoled his death. “I am deeply saddened by the death of Dr Trilochan Pradhan. His invaluable contribution to the world of science will always be remembered. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family,” the Chief Minister tweeted.