Raja Ramanna
Former Director
Nuclear Explosion
barc
India
Biography
The first Peaceful Nuclear Explosion (PNE) was carried out in 1974, under the Directorship of Dr. Ramanna and he played a pivotal role in this experiment. He also played a leadership role in other important nuclear programs such as the Dhruva reactor, IGCAR, the Kolkata Cyclotron Centre and the CAT at Indore, which has been renamed as the Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology in his honour. Dr. Ramanna initiated and led the basic research in nuclear fission, using the neutron beams from the Apsara reactor in 1956. Pioneering research work was done on prompt neutrons and gamma rays, also on occasionally emitted alpha particles in fission, under Dr. Ramanna’s supervision. It was also under his supervision, that the scientific manpower development in DAE was initiated with the setting up of the DAE Training School in 1958. His PhD work (from King’s College, London), involved the development of a new kind of ion chamber, which could measure not only the energy of a nuclear particle, but also its angle, with respect to the direction of the chamber’s electric field.
Research Interest
Nuclear Explosion
