Sukumar Chandra Sirkar obtained DSc (1933) from University of Calcutta. He served as Reader in Physics, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Kolkata (1943); Radiologist, Inspectorate of Ammunition, Kirkee (1944); Lecturer in Physics, University of Calcutta (1945-47); also Professor and Head (1947-52), and Mahendra Lal Sircar Professor of Physics (1953-63), Department of Optics, IACS, Kolkata.

Academic and Research Achievements: Sirkar carried out extensive work on Raman effect, X-rays and crystal structure, Kerr’s effect, electric moment of molecules, and cosmic rays. He did some experiments on the origin of extra Laue spots in the vicinity of Bragg reflection from crystals. He showed that experimental data were more in accord with the theory put forward by Zachariasen than that by Raman. He did some work of significance on ultraviolet absorption spectra of conjugated aromatic molecules in gaseous, liquid and solid phases as well as when dispersed in rigid matrices at low temperatures.

Other Contributions: Sirkar was an active Member of the Editorial Board of Science & Culture. He was also Member of the Indian Physical Society (sometime President).

Awards and Honours: Professor Sirkar won the Griffith Memorial Prize (1934) and Sir Asutosh Mookerjee Gold Medal by the Indian Physical Society (1935). He was elected President of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) in 1944.