Dhrubajyoti Mukhopadhyay earned his BSc and MSc degrees from the University of Calcutta. His research on 'Caledonian structure and metamorphism in Glen Strathfarrar area in Northwest Highlands' under the supervision of Dr John Ramsey earned him the PhD degree of the University of London and Diploma of the Imperial College (1964). The same year he joined the Presidency College, Calcutta, as an Assistant Professor of Geology. In 1981, he moved to the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad as Professor of Geology and became the Chairman of the Department of Applied Geology (1986-90). He returned to Calcutta as Professor of Geology (1990) at the University of Calcutta. He superannuated in 2003, and is, at present, an INSA Honorary Scientist there.

Academic and Research Achievements: Professor Mukhopadhyay initiated teaching and research on modern structural geology at the Presidency College, Kolkata, and worked with a dedicated team of research students on the geometry of structures in the Precambrian terrains of Singhbhum, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. He synthesized the new information to work out the structural evolution of these terrains. His research encompasses some basic aspects of kinematics of rock deformation. His early work on similar folding pinpointed the importance of buckling combined with flattening as the important mechanism of fold formation. He anticipated the currently popular model of sheath folding by demonstrating that homogeneous strain on folds with slightly non-rectilinear fold axes produces such geometry. He made a systematic study of the patterns of deformed lineation in superposed folding and modelled the mechanism of formation of such patterns in ductile shear zones. He employed different methods to compute the finite strain in deformed rocks from the shapes of clasts, pebbles, and folded veins and laminae in slates and phyllites. His current research is on the analysis of neotectonic deformation using satellite geodesy.

Other Contributions: Mukhopadhyay is a Member of the Indian National Committee of the International Geological Correlation Programme. He has served as Editor of Indian Journal of Geology, and was a Member of the Editorial Board of the Geological Society of India. He is actively involved in promoting science awareness and is the President of Breakthrough, an organization dedicated to building up a comprehensive science movement. He served as an INSA Council Member (1997-99).

Awards and Honours: Mukhopadhyay received Mysore Geologists Association Gold Medal of GSI (1985), J Coggin Brown Gold Medal of MGMI (1987), National Mineral Award (1995), Professor K Naha Memorial Medal of INSA (2001), Kamal Kumari National Award for Science and Technology (2004) and GSI Sesquicentennial Award of Asiatic Society (2006). He is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, and the National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad.