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Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha was an Indian nuclear physicist, founding director, and professor of physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.[1]
He was born on 30 October 1909. His father was Jehangir Hormusji Bhabha, a well known Parsi lawyer and his mother was Meheren. Homi Jehangir Bhabha was born into a wealthy and prominent industrial family.[2]
He received his early studies at Bombay's Cathedral and John Connon School and entered Elphinstone College at age 15 after passing his Senior Cambridge Examination with Honours.[2]
He then attended the Royal Institute of Science in 1927 before joining Caius College of Cambridge University.[2]
Bhaba excelled in his mathematical studies under Paul Dirac to complete the Mathematics Tripos. Meanwhile, he worked at the Cavendish Laboratory while working towards his doctorate in theoretical physics.[3]
During the 1931–1932 academic year, Bhabha was awarded the Salomons Studentship in Engineering. In 1932, he obtained first class on his Mathematical Tripos and was awarded the Rouse Ball travelling studentship in mathematics.[3]
In January 1933, Bhabha received his doctorate in nuclear physics after publishing his first scientific paper, "The Absorption of Cosmic radiation". In the publication, Bhabha offered an explanation of the absorption features and electron shower production in cosmic rays.[3]
The paper helped him win the Isaac Newton Studentship in 1934, which he held for the next three years.[3]
The following year, he completed his doctoral studies in theoretical physics under Ralph H. Fowler. During his studentship, he split his time working at Cambridge and with Niels Bohr in Copenhagen.[3]
In 1935, Bhabha published a paper to calculate the cross section of electron-positron scattering. Electron-positron scattering was later named Bhabha scattering, in honour of his contributions in the field.[3]
In 1937, Bhabha was awarded the Senior Studentship of the 1851 exhibition, which helped him continue his work at Cambridge until the outbreak of World War II in 1939.[3]
In September 1939, Bhabha was in India for a brief holiday when World War II started, and he decided not to return to England for the time being.[3]
He accepted an offer to serve as the Reader in the Physics Department of the Indian Institute of Science, then headed by renowned physicist C V Raman.[3]
Later, on 20 March 1941, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.[3]
With the help of J R D Tata, he played an instrumental role in the establishment of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai.[3]
In 1948, Nehru led the appointment of Bhabha as the director of the nuclear program and tasked Bhabha to develop the nuclear weapons soon after.[4]
In the 1950s, Bhabha represented India in IAEA conferences, and served as President of the United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Geneva, Switzerland in 1955.[3]
The Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay (AEET) started functioning in 1954, the same year the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was also established, under his leadership.[5]
He was awarded Padma Bhushan by Government of India in 1954.[6]
He later served as the member of the Indian Cabinet's Scientific Advisory Committee and provided the pivotal role to Vikram Sarabhai to set up the Indian National Committee for Space Research.[3]
Bhabha is generally acknowledged as the father of Indian nuclear power. Moreover, he is credited with formulating a strategy of focussing on extracting power from the country's vast thorium reserves rather than its meagre uranium reserves.[7]
Bhabha died when Air India Flight 101 crashed near Mont Blanc on 24 January 1966.Misunderstanding between Geneva Airport and the pilot about the aircraft position near the mountain is the official reason of the crash.[8]
Many possible theories have been advanced for the air crash, including a claim the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved in order to paralyse India's nuclear program.[9]