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Homi Jehangir Bhabha
⬧ Born on October 30, 1909 in Mumbai's wealthy and prestigious Parsi family, Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha, a multifaceted genius, attracted the attention of the best scientists from all over the world for his theoretical researches and also made incomparable contributions to the building of national scientific institutions.
⬧ Praising him, Dr. C.V. Raman said in the Indian Science Congress of 1941, 'Bhabha is a great lover of music, a very talented artist, a brilliant engineer and an outstanding scientist’. He is Leonardo da Vinci of the modern times.
⬧ After early studies in Mumbai, Bhabha studied mechanical engineering from Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge. However, his passion was towards nuclear physics rather than engineering. In the year 1934, he did his PhD in Physics.
⬧ Bhabha toured Europe and worked with Wolfgang Pauli in Zurich and Enrico Fermi in Rome. In Germany, he conducted studies and experiments on cosmic rays. Homi Bhabha had the opportunity to work with renowned scientists Rutherford and Niels Bohr.
⬧ He recognized the immense potential of nuclear energy and the possibility of its successful use in power generation and ancillary sectors.
⬧ Dr. Bhabha started this work with the aim of achieving self-reliance in the field of nuclear science and engineering and today's Department of Atomic Energy, which is a group of diverse science and engineering fields, is the result of Dr. Bhabha's vision.
⬧ Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha initiated the Indian nuclear program in March 1944, recognizing the high potential of nuclear energy as a viable alternative source of electricity generation.
⬧ It was the vision of Dr. Bhabha that started nuclear research in India at a time when the miracle of nuclear fission was being discovered by Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann and then the feasibility of continuous nuclear chain reactions was reported by Enrico Fermi and colleagues.
⬧ Dr. Bhabha was an accomplished scientist and committed engineer, as well as a dedicated architect, careful planner and efficient executive.
⬧ Bhabha's work at Cambridge was mainly focused on cosmic rays. Bhabha and Heitler explained the cosmic rays shower in 1937.
⬧ In the year 1940, he was appointed to the post of Reader in the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. There he established a separate department for the discovery of cosmic rays.
⬧ When he was elected a member of the Royal Society in 1941, he was only 31 years old. With the inspiration of Bhabha, JRD Tata established the 'Tata Institute of Fundamental Research', of which Bhabha became the Director General.
⬧ In the year 1948, the Atomic Energy Commission was established and Dr. Bhabha was appointed its chairman.
⬧ In the year 1954, the Department of Atomic Energy was established and Bhabha was appointed Secretary to the Government of India. Along with this, he established the laboratory named Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay, which is now known as Bhabha Atomic Research Center.
⬧ With his efforts, Fertilizer Corporation of India established its first Heavy Water Plant in the year 1962.
⬧ In the year 1965, he announced to All India Radio that if needed, we can make atomic bomb within 18 months. On January 24, 1966, the life of this great scientist ended in a plane crash on the Mount Blanc mountain range while going to Vienna, but he is still an inspiration to young scientists.

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