Eminent nuclear scientist Dr Sreekumar Banerjee, who has retired as Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and Secretary to Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), died of a heart attack in Mumbai in the wee hours of Sunday.
A couple of months ago, he had tested positive for Covid-19 infection and had recovered.
Dr Banerjee played an important role in garnering public support for India’s nuclear power programme post the Fukushima incident.
Prior to his stint as DAE Chairman, he was the Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
By training, he was a metallurgical engineer from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur.
Banerjee was awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology in Engineering Science (1989) and Padma Shri, in 2005.
(Published 23 May 2021, 11:17 IST)
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