Predhiman Krishan Kaw (15 January 1948 – 18 June 2017) was an Indian plasma physicist. He was the founding director of the Institute for Plasma Research and served as the institute's as the director from 1986 to 2012.
Biography Kaw was born on 15 January 1948 in Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir), India. He matriculated from Punjab University (1958) and completed his M.Sc. from Agra University in 1964. He received a PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 1966 under Supervision of Prof. M. S. Sodha, and was the first Ph.D. from the IIT, Delhi. Kaw received his Ph.D. at the age of 18, following which he completed his PostDoc at Princeton University. He was the founding director of the Institute for Plasma Research and served as the institute's as the director from 1986 to 2012. He was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri award, India's fourth-highest honor, in 1985 and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in 1986. On 28 December 2016, he was awarded the Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Prize of Plasma Physics for his seminal contributions in the areas of laser-plasma interactions, strongly coupled dusty plasmas, and turbulence, nonlinear effect in magnetic fusion devices. He is also a recipient of the 2008 TWAS Prize. His older brother is bureaucrat and author M. K. Kaw.
Professional details Year Institute Designation 1967-1969 Princeton University Postdoctoral Fellow 1969-1971 Princeton University, USA Research Staff & Lecturer 1971-1974 Physical Research Laboratory, India Associate Professor 1974-1975 Physical Research Laboratory, India Professor 1975-1982 Princeton University, USA Principal Research Physicist Lecturer in Astrophysical Sciences 1982-1986 Plasma Physics Programme, Physical Research Laboratory, India Director 1986-2012 Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar, India Director 2012–2017 Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar, India DST Year of Science Professor
Selected articles and talks PK Kaw, "Fusion power, who needs it?" (pdf format), Current Science, 10 July 1993, 65(01) 20 (web format)
References
External links Institute for Plasma Research, Gujarat, India Prof. PK Kaw Home Page Predhiman Kaw, founder of India’s fusion program and former PPPL physicist -- News