Director’s note
I am honored to be associated with the oldest research Institute in India, IACS which was established to promote fundamental research among the Indian natives in the frontier areas of basic sciences going beyond the boundaries of traditional practices and prejudices. The founder and a great Scholar, Dr. Mahendralal Sircar was supported by many leaders and social reformers of the time including Pandit Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, who has been an idol for many including me. This novel initiative resulted to the only Nobel Prize-winning work, the discovery of Raman effect. Most of the luminaries in India such as Mahendralal Sircar (founder), Asutosh Mukherjee, C.V. Raman, Satyendranath Bose, Meghnad Saha, K. S. Krishnan, Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri, T V. Ramakrishnan, C.N.R. Rao, etc. have been associated with IACS in various capacities..
The institute is continuing to excel in the objective of “cultivating Science in all its departments with a view to its advancement by original research and with a view to its varied application to the arts and comforts of life”. We have passed through the eras of Dr. Mahendralal Sircar, C. V. Raman, K. S. Krishnan and now Meghnad Saha, who built the present campus and was the first Director in the present setup of administration. It is now time to take the excellent teaching atmosphere forward as envisaged by the Founder, promote fundamental research beyond tradition boundaries and explore possibilities of translational research keeping in mind societal relevance [Quantum Materials/Technology, Energy, Environment, Natural products/New molecules for Diagnostics & Therapeutics, Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning ...]. We aim to create a green campus at Baruipur for world standard undergraduate program, active visitor’s program, and Advanced Materials Research. Forthcoming events of importance are the celebration of 150 years of the Institute and 100 years of the discovery of Raman Effect.
About the Director
Prof. Kalobaran Maiti took over as the Director, IACS on 19th March 2025 taking leave from TIFR Mumbai where he is a senior Professor. He served in the administration within TIFR and outside at various capacities. The latest being Dean, NSF for about 6 years. He completed his undergraduate studies in Kolkata; he is the topper in BSc (Physics) at Presidency College, Kolkata and topped in MSc (Physics) at Calcutta University. He did his PhD as a CSIR fellow at IISc Bangalore and received Toulouse medal for the best thesis in the faculty of sciences at IISc. He did his post-doctoral work as an Alexander von Humboldt fellow at Forschungszentrum-Juelich, Germany. He is working at TIFR Mumbai since 16th February 2001.
He is a leading scientist in the field of quantum materials studied by high-resolution (energy, momentum, spin, and time-resolved) electron spectroscopy. He built a state-of-the-art highresolution electron spectroscopy laboratory at TIFR, a unique one in the country and comparable to the best few in the world. He is well known for his seminal contributions in the field of quantum materials such as correlated electron systems, magnetic materials, Fe-based superconductors, and topological materials. Some of his notable works are the discovery of a method to identify surfacebulk differences in electronic properties of correlated systems (dept-resolved electron spectroscopy), method to heat electrons of selective symmetry without affecting other electrons, physics behind the density wave in insulators, magnetism in non-magnetic materials, etc.
He played key roles in promoting bilateral programs such as Indo-German, Indo-Japan, Indo-Italian, etc. He was awarded ‘The Title of Honorary DAAD Advisor (2006 – 2009)’ by the President of Germany for outstanding commitment and leadership in promoting Indo-German relations in Education. He is a fellow of all the three major science academies in India. He received many awards and recognitions throughout his career including the most prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in Physics.
