Sukh Dev

Last updated

Sukh Dev
Born (1923-06-17) 17 June 1923 (age 101)
Nationality Indian
Alma mater
Known forResearches on terpenoids
Contributions to the development of guggulsterone
Awards Padma Bhushan
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology
IISc Sudborough Medal ICS Acharya P. C. Ray Award
INSA Vishwakarma Medal
ACS Ernest Guenther Award
IISc Distinguished Alumnus Award
VASVIK Industrial Research Award
FICCI Award
INSA Professor T. R. Seshadri Seventieth Birthday Commemoration Medal
INSA Meghnad Saha Medal
Third World Academy of Sciences Award
ISCA Srinivasan Ramanujan Birth Centenary Award
ICS Lifetime Achievement Award
CRSI Lifetime Achievement Award
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
Doctoral advisor Praphulla Chandra Guha
John D. Roberts
Doctoral students Jhillu Singh Yadav, Goverdhan Mehta

Sukh Dev FNA, FASc (born 17 June 1923) is an Indian organic chemist, academic, researcher and writer, known for his contributions in the development of Guggulsterone, a plant-derived steroid used as a therapeutic and nutritional agent. [3] He has conducted advanced research in biomedical science and natural products chemistry and holds 55 patents for his findings. [4]

Contents

He is a recipient of several honors including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, the highest Indian award in science and technology. [5] In 2008, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour of India, for his contributions to science and technology. [6]

Biography

Sukh Dev was born on 17 June 1923 [5] at Chakwal, in the Punjab province of then- British India to Hari Chand Lala and Maya Vanti. [7] [8] He graduated with honors from Dayanand Anglo Vedic College, Lahore of the Punjab University in 1943 and secured his master's degree (MSc) from the same institution in 1945. [4] He then joined the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (IISc) as a research associate. Moving to India after the Partition, he studied under noted natural products chemist Praphulla Chandra Guha at the IISc, obtaining his PhD in 1948. [8] After taking his doctorate, he conducted post-doctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with John D. Roberts. [8]

From 1951 to 1953, he was a senior research fellow at the IISc. and continued there as a lecturer in organic chemistry from 1953 to 1959, with a brief stint as a research associate at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1957-58 under Elias James Corey. [8] After securing the degree of DSc from IISC in 1960, he joined the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune the same year as the Head (Assistant Director) of the Organic Chemistry (Natural Products) Division where he stayed till 1974, with a promotion to deputy director in 1968. [8] In 1974, he was appointed director of the Malti-Chem Research Centre in Nandesari where he worked till 1988. [7] [8] In 1989, he joined the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi as the INSA S. N. Bose Research Professor, shifting to the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Centre For Biomedical Research of Delhi University in 1994 where he is a visiting professor. [4] [8]

Legacy

Sukh Dev is known to have been involved in researches on terpenoids and have contributed to the structural elucidation of a number of them. It was during these investigations, he discovered new skeletal types in Sesqui- and diterpenoids. [5] Based on his researches, he proposed two rules; the Absolute Stereochemistry Biogenetic Rule and that exotic biological materials tend to produce exotic secondary metabolites. [7] He focused a part of his research on lac, turpentine, Cedrus deodara (Devadaaru) and Indian medicinal plants such as Guggulu Commiphora wightii, the last of which has resulted in the development of Guggulsterone, a steroid claimed to have cholesterol-lowering and nutrient properties. [4] His researches have earned him 55 patents and the body of his work has been documented in over 290 scientific articles. he has published 10 books, including Prime Ayurvedic Plant Drugs, a 2006 publication which explores the ancient and modern traditions of Ayurveda. [9] He has also mentored 92 research scholars, [10] which included many notable scientists. [11] [12]

Awards and honors

Sukh Dev received the Sudborough Medal of the Indian Institute of Science in 1949 when he was working at the institution as a research associate [4] but the first major award came his way in 1964 when the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) awarded him Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, the highest Indian honor in the science and technology categories. [5] In the 1970s, he received two awards; Acharya P. C. Ray Award of Indian Chemical Society in 1970 and Vishwakarma Medal of Indian National Science Academy in 1979. [13] The American Chemical Society awarded him the Ernest Guenther Award in 1980 [14] and he was selected for the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the Indian Institute of Science, [15] the VASVIK Industrial Research Award, [16] and the FICCI Award of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry the same year. He received two awards from the Indian National Science Academy in the 1980s, Professor T. R. Seshadri Seventieth Birthday Commemoration Medal in 1981 and Meghnad Saha Medal in 1987. [13]

Sukh Dev, who held the INSA S. N. Bose Research Professorship of the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi from 1988 to 1993, received the TWAS Prize in 1988 [17] and the Srinivasan Ramanujan Birth Centenary Award of the Indian Science Congress Association in 1992. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by two Indian chemical societies, the Indian Chemical Society in 1999 and the Chemical Research Society of India in 2000. [4] The Government of India included him in the Republic Day honors list in 2008 for the civilian award of the Padma Bhushan. In 2023, he was honoured by the board of the American Chemical Society for "60 Years of Service Excellence," and his 100th birthday was celebrated with a festschrift published in Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry . [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Institute of Science</span> Public university for scientific research and higher education in Bangalore

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, Karnataka. The institute was established in 1909 with active support from Jamsetji Tata and thus is also locally known as the Tata Institute. It was granted a deemed university status in 1958 and recognized as an Institute of Eminence in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nitya Anand</span> Indian medicinal chemist (1925–2024)

Nitya Anand was an Indian medicinal chemist who was the director of Central Drug Research Institute in Lucknow from 1974 to 1984. In 2005, Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) appointed him chairman of its scientific committee. In 2012, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vinod K. Singh</span> Indian chemist and professor (born 1959)

Vinod K. Singh is a Rahula and Namita Gautam Chair Professor of Chemistry at IIT Kanpur. He is also the Director's Chair Professor at IISER Bhopal & adjunct Professor at NIPER Hyderabad. He is currently the President, Chemical Research Society of India and the Chairman, Governing Council of IACS Kolkata.

V Ramgopal Rao is an Indian academic currently serving as the Group Vice Chancellor of Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani for campuses located in Pilani, Dubai, Goa, Hyderabad and Mumbai. He was previously the Director of IIT, Delhi for six years during 2016-2021.

Goverdhan Mehta FNA, FASc, FTWAS, FRS, FRSC is an Indian researcher and scientist. From 1998-2005 he was the Director of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Previously from 1977-1998, Mehta was a professor of chemistry and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Hyderabad. Mehta has authored over 550 research papers.

Paul Ratnasamy is an Indian catalyst scientist, INSA Srinivasa Ramanujan Research Professor and a former director of National Chemical Laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He was honored by the Government of India, in 2001, with one of the highest Indian civilian awards of Padma Shri.

Dipankar Das Sarma, popularly known as D.D. Sarma, is an Indian scientist and structural chemist, known for his researches in the fields of Solid State Chemistry, Spectroscopy, Condensed Matter Physics, Materials Science, and Nanoscience. He is a former MLS Chair Professor of Physics and Chairman of the Centre for Advanced Materials and the GAST Professor of Uppsala University, Sweden, A recipient of TWAS Physics Prize and the UNESCO Biennial Javed Husain Prize, Sarma was honored by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India, in 1994, with the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. V. Rama Rao</span> Indian chemist (born 1935)

Alla Venkata Rama Rao is an Indian inventor and chemist, known for his pioneering researches in the field of drug technology. He is the founder of the A. V. Rama Rao Research Foundation, a non governmental organization promoting research and doctoral studies in chemistry and Avra Laboratories, an organization dealing in intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients, used in therapeutics. An elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, India, and Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), Rama Rao is a recipient of several awards such as TWAS Technology Award, VASVIK Industrial Research Award and Om Prakash Bhasin Award. The Government of India awarded him Padma Shri in 1991 and Padma Bhushan in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swaminathan Sivaram</span> Indian chemist (born 4 November 1946)

Swaminathan Sivaram is an Indian polymer chemist, inventor, institution builder and a former director of the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. He is known for his pioneering work on alkylation of tertiary alkyl halides with trialkylaluminum and olefin polymerization and holds the highest number of US patents by an Indian working outside the US. He is a fellow of several significant professional organizations. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2006, for his contributions to Indian science.

Ganugapati Sree Rama Subba Rao is an Indian natural product chemist and a former chair of the department of sciences at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). He is known for his researches on dihydroaromatics obtained through Birch reduction of aromatic compounds and is an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, and the Indian Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1982, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Srinivasan Chandrasekaran is an Indian organic and organometallic chemist, academic and a former chair of the Department of Organic Chemistry and the Division of Chemical Sciences. He was also a former Dean of the Faculty of Science at the Indian Institute of Science. He was known for his research on organic reaction mechanisms and organic synthesis. and was an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, The World Academy of Sciences and the Indian Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1989, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Jhillu Singh Yadav is an Indian organic chemist and the co-founder of the Indo-French Joint Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry at Interfaces (JLSCI), jointly established by the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology and the University of Rennes 1. He is a former director of Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) and is known for his studies on organic syntheses of allylic and acetylenic alcohols and spiroacetals. He is an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, the Indian Academy of Sciences National Academy of Sciences, India, Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers and The World Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1991, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Suryanarayanasastry Ramasesha is an Indian quantum chemist and a former Dean of the Faculty of Science at the Indian Institute of Science. He is a former chair of the Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit and Amrut Modi Chair professor of Chemical Sciences at IISc. He is known for his studies on conjugated organic systems and low-dimensional solids and is an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, the Indian Academy of Sciences and The World Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1992, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Subramania Ranganathan (1934–2016), popularly known as Ranga, was an Indian bioorganic chemist and professor and head of the department of chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He was known for his studies on synthetic and mechanistic organic chemistry and was an elected fellow Indian National Science Academy, National Academy of Sciences, India and the Indian Academy of Sciences The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1977, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subramaniam Ramakrishnan</span> Indian polymer chemist, professor and designer

Subramaniam Ramakrishnan is an Indian polymer chemist, a professor at the Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry http://ipc.iisc.ac.in/~rk/ and the designer at th3 Macromolecular Design and Synthesis Group of the Indian Institute of Science. He is known for his studies on design and synthesis of controlled polymer structures and is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 2005, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Narayanaswamy Jayaraman is an Indian organic chemist and a professor and the chair of the department of organic chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science. He is known for his work on synthesis of complex carbohydrates and new dendrimers and is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 2009, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Swapan Kumar Pati is an Indian quantum chemist, a professor of the department of chemistry at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research and the head of the Quantum Theory Molecules to Materials Group at the institute. He is known for his studies on electronic optical and magnetic phenomena in molecular systems and is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, India and The World Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 2010, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Govindasamy Mugesh is an Indian inorganic and physical chemist, a professor and the head of the Mugesh Laboratory attached to the department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science. He is known for his studies on the mechanism of thyroid hormone action and is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, Royal Society of Chemistry and the National Academy of Sciences, India. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 2012, for his contributions to chemical sciences. In 2019, he was awarded the Infosys Prize in Physical Sciences for his seminal work in the chemical synthesis of small molecules and nanomaterials for biomedical applications.

Partha Sarathi Mukherjee is an Indian inorganic chemist and a professor at the Inorganic and Physical Chemistry department of the Indian Institute of Science. He is known for his studies on organic nano structures, molecular sensors and catalysis in nanocages. He is a recipient of the Swarnajayanthi Fellowship of the Department of Science and Technology and the Bronze Medal of the Chemical Research Society of India. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 2016, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Krishnaswami Venkataraman FNA, FASc, FNASc, FRSC, popularly known as KV, was an Indian organic chemist and the first Indian director at National Chemical Laboratory and University Department of Chemical Technology, Mumbai (UDCT). He was known for the demonstration of an organic chemical reaction involving 2-acetoxyacetophenones which later came to be known as the Baker–Venkataraman rearrangement and for his contributions in developing NCL into one of the leading research centres in organic chemistry. He was an elected fellow of several science academies which included the Royal Society of Chemistry, Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, USSR Academy of Sciences, Prussian Academy of Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Indian Academy of Sciences, and the Indian National Science Academy. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan, the third highest Indian civilian award, in 1961.

References

  1. "INSA :: Indian Fellow Detail". www.insaindia.res.in. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  2. Singh, Vishwakarma; Srikrishna, A. (8 January 2003). "A Tribute to Prof. Sukh Dev". Arkivoc. 2003 (3): 1–7. doi:10.3998/ark.5550190.0004.301. hdl: 2027/spo.5550190.0004.301 . ISSN   1551-7012.
  3. "A Tribute". ARKAT USA. 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Citation" (PDF). Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "A Brief Profile of the Awardee". Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  6. "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 Vishwakarma Singh; A. Srikrishna (January 2003). "A Tribute to Prof. Sukh Dev". Arkivoc. 2003 (3): 1–7. doi: 10.3998/ark.5550190.0004.301 . hdl: 2027/spo.5550190.0004.301 .{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sunil K. Talapatra (October–December 1998). "Journal of the Indian Chemical Society: Professor Sukh Dev 75th Birthday Commemorative Issue". Journal of the Indian Chemical Society. 75 (10–12): 1–3.
  9. Sukh Dev (January 2006). Prime Ayurvedic Plant Drugs. Anshan. ISBN   978-1-904798-44-6.
  10. "Pioneering chemist Sukh Dev to be felicitated". Times of India. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  11. "Vishwakarma Singh F.N.A". IITB. 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  12. "Dr. S. P. Acharya". Acharya Group. 2016. Archived from the original on 27 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  13. 1 2 "INSA Awards". INSA. 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  14. "Ernest Guenther Award". American Chemical Society. 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  15. "IISc Distinguished Alumnus Award". Indian Institute of Science Alumni Association. 2016. Archived from the original on 28 May 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  16. "Vasvik Award". Vividhlaxi Audyogik Samshodhan Vikas Kendra. 2016. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  17. "Prizes and Awards". The World Academy of Sciences. 2016.
  18. Kochat, H.; Yadav, J. S.; Singh, V. K.; Ramasastry, S. S. V. (26 June 2024). "Professor (Dr) Sukh Dev: an iconic scientist with an innate sixth sense who radicalized natural product synthesis & organic chemistry". Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry (20). Royal Society of Chemistry. doi:10.1039/d4ob90071e.

Further reading