Kedareswar Banerjee

Indian Scientists,

About Kedareswar Banerjee

Kedareswar Banerjee (September 15, 1900 – April 30, 1975) was an X-ray crystallographer and director of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata. Early in his career he determined the structures of naphthalene and anthracene. In 1931, he worked with Sir William Henry Bragg and developed one of the first direct methods of crystal structure determination. He was Professor of Physics at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science from 1943 to 1952 and Director of the Association from 1959 until his retirement in 1965. Between 1952 and 1959 he was Head of the Department of Physics at Allahabad University. His interests in crystallography were widespread and, with his death, India has lost a renowned teacher. K. Banerjee joined the research group of Sir C. V. Raman at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Calcutta, a premier Indian research institute of India. He worked in various institutions including IACS, the India Meteorological Department, University of Dhaka and Allahabad University and finally retired as the Director of IACS, Calcutta in 1965. Prof. Banerjee explained some points of crystal research to Homi J. Bhabha (21 Dec. 1956) also.

Honors and awards

At initiative of Murali Manohar Joshi, Allahabad University honored him with establishing an atmospheric and ocean science centre by his name which is called the K. Banerjee Centre of Atmospheric and Ocean Studies (KBCAOS)[4] in 2000 with full support of Prem Chand Pandey, the then Director, National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) which is first one academic centre of atmospheric and Ocean science in north Indian Universities. The KBCAOS got his name also because of the reason, K. Banerjee was the first scientist from University of Allahabad who worked with the India Meteorological Department.

He was elected Fellow of The National Academy of Sciences, India and Indian Academy of Sciences. He was the sectional President for Physical Science Group at the Indian Science Congress in 1947, Vice-President of NASc during 1958–1960 and General President NASc in 1967. He was a member of the first National Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO during 1947–1951, a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Planning Commission (India) during 1953–1956 and a member of the review committees and advisory boards of several national laboratories. In 1948, he was invited as a ‘Guest of Honour’ to the Inaugural Conference and General Assembly of the International Union of Crystallography. Apart from being a stellar scientist, Prof. Banerjee possessed a rare and pleasing personality. He was extremely kind and affectionate yet strong in his convictions. He lived a life of noble deeds and thoughts that brought him self-composure, freedom from fear and made him a truly international scientist.

As first crystallographer of India

Banerjee laid the foundation of X-ray Crystallographic research in India. In 1924, when only a few crystal structures had been determined throughout the world, Banerjee's work on the determination of atomic arrangements in crystalline naphthalene and anthracene received international attention. Banerjee was awarded the DSc degree of the University of Calcutta in 1930. He had close associations with almost all the leading crystallographers of his time including William Henry Bragg, William Lawrence Bragg, Paul Peter Ewald, John Desmond Bernal, Nikolay Vasilyevich Belov, J. M. Robertson, K. Lonsdale and Melvin Avrami (who known for his Avrami equation of phase transition). In 1933, Banerjee proposed a new approach to the crystallographic phase problem, which not only broke new ground beyond the 'trial and error' structure solution method of that time, but also heralded the extremely powerful direct methods of crystallography of the modern era. His seminal paper (Proc. Roy. Soc., 1933, 141, 188) on direct methods was cited in the Nobel Lecture of Dr. Jerome Karle in 1985. Apart from structural X-ray crystallography, Banerjee's research pursuits covered a wide field of crystal physics. His research contributions in various fields including low angle scattering, thermal diffuse scattering of X-rays from crystals, diffraction of X-rays by liquids, jute fiber and organic polymers, structures of coal and glass, determination of the elastic constants of crystals by X-rays, theoretical modelling of the vibrational spectra of crystal lattices and some topics in crystal optics have received international recognition. Perhaps his most significant contribution to the advancement of science in India was the creation of active schools of research wherever he went leaving behind a band of young, energetic research workers who became the torch bearers of his scientific tradition.