Surindar Kumar Trehan obtained PhD (1958) from University of Chicago, USA. He was Dean, Science Faculty, and CSIR Professor Emeritus, Department of Mathematics, both at Panjab University, Chandigarh (1980-82, 1989).

Academic and Research Achievements: Trehan made significant contributions to our understanding of the stability of force- free magnetic fields, of jets and cylinders, and of inhomogenous plasmas. His work on the mathematical treatment of gaseous polytropes in the presence of a magnetic field was noted with keen interest. He also made contributions to the study of hydromagnetic waves and rotating gaseous masses. He carried out nonlinear studies in magnetohydrodynamics. He provided, for the first time, a consistent account of the modulational stability of bounded systems taking into account the boundary conditions consistently.

Other Contributions: Dr Trehan served on many expert committees of CSIR, UGC, etc.; Governing Council of Indian Statistical Institute and Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science; and Member, INSA Council (1977-79). He was also Editor, Bulletin of the Astronomical Society of India (1980-91); Member, Editorial boards of: Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy, and some other journals; and Editor of INSA Publications (1979-82).

Awards and Honours: Dr Trehan received the SS Bhatnagar Prize (1976); BC Roy Award `Eminent Person in Sciences’ (1989); UGC National Lecturer (1977-78); and UGC National Fellow (1983). He was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore and National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad; Chairman, National Committee for the International Astronomical Union (1978-81); Vice President, Astronomical Society of India (1976-78); and President, Mathematics Section, Indian Science Congress (1984).