Rajagopala Chidambaram did his BSc (Hons) in Physics from Presidency College, Chennai and PhD and DSc degrees from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. He has been awarded the DSc (hc) from  more than twenty Universities in India and abroad. He joined the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in 1962 and became its Director (1990). He is currently the DAE - Homi Bhabha Professor in BARC.  He is  also the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet.

Academic and Research Achievements: Dr Chidambaram's early work was on NMR. His study of NMR in crystalline hydrates led him to postulate the widespread existence of bent hydrogen bonds in solids and the proposal of a bent hydrogen bond model for hexagonal ice. He initiated research in neutron crystallography and high-pressure physics in BARC. The studies of his group on hydrogen bonds in amino acids led to the development of potential functions for bent N-H-O bonds and a methodology for delineating the hydrogen bond pattern in the active sites in proteins. The 'high pressure physics group' established by him has done extensive work on equation of state and phase transitions at high pressures. He played a leading role in the design and execution of the Peaceful Nuclear Explosion experiment at Pokhran (1974) and also led the DAE team, which designed the nuclear devices and carried out the five Pokhran tests (1998) in cooperation with Defence Research and Development Organisation. He has made important contributions to many aspects of nuclear technology, with more than 200 research publications in refereed journals.

Other Contributions: Dr Chidambaram was a Member  and later  the Vice-President  of the Executive Committee of IUCr (1990-99). He was Chairman of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (1994-95) and also Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre(1990-94) and  the Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission & Secretary to the Government of India in DAE (1993-2000). He was one of the members of the Commission of Eminent Persons appointed by the Director-General, International Atomic Energy Agency (2008) to prepare a report on The Role of the IAEA to 2020 and Beyond. He is a Member of the Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change and the Chairman of the high-level Committee for the National Knowledge Network. He served INSA as Council Member (1988-90).

Awards and Honours: Dr Chidambaram is a recipient of CV Raman Birth Centenary Award of Indian Science Congress (1995), Padma Vibhushan (1999), RD Birla Award of the Indian Physics Association (1996), Meghnad Saha Medal of INSA (2002), Homi Bhabha Life Time Achievement Award of Indian Nuclear Society (2006), Lifetime Contribution Award(2009) from Indian National Academy of Engineering and the Jawaharlal Nehru Visiting Fellowship of INSA (1992). He is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, the National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad, the Indian National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Physics, London, and the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).