Alok Krishna Gupta earned his BSc and MSc degrees from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, following which he joined University of Pittsburgh as a Teaching Assistant and then a post-doctoral Fellow (1965-71). He underwent post-doctoral training at the University of Western Ontario under Professor William S Fyfe. Subsequently, he worked with Professor ND Chatterjee at Ruhr University, Germany (1974-75), and at the Hokkaido University, Japan under the supervision of Professor Kenzo Yagi (1975-77). He joined the University of Roorkee (1978) and joined the University of Allahabad as a Professor (1985). He was a Visiting Professor at the University of Melbourne, Australia (1979-80); University of Tasmania (1983); University of Texas at Dallas (1994); University of Bristol, UK (1999); and Chernogolovka, Moscow (1987, 1998).

Academic and Research Contributions: Gupta has proved that leucite reacts with soda-rich fluid to be converted to analcime, or a nepheline-K-feldspar intergrowth to produce psedoleucite. This study is generally accepted internationally as the cause of the genesis of pseudoleucite. His study on more than 25 pseudo-ternary, quaternary and quinary systems in presence or absence of fluid under variable P-T conditions, elucidates the genesis of ultrapotassic rocks. He evidenced that the upper mantle is like a fruit cake, which evolved in this manner due to deep subduction of crustal materials into the mantle and these K-rich lavas have been originated due to periodic release of K or associated incompatible elements during decompression melting of phlogopite and/ or richterite-bearing peridotites. Gupta has co-authored two books, entitled, Petrology and Genesis of Leucite-bearing Rocks (Springer-Verlag) and Young Potassic Rocks (Theophrastus Greece).

Others Contributions: Gupta is the Founding Professor of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Allahabad. He set up the first National Centre of Experimental Mineralogy and Petrology in Allahabad and transformed it as a major centre of research related to the dynamic processes inside the earth up to a depth of 750 km (250 kbar and temperatures to 25000C).

Awards and Honours: Gupta is a recipient of Career Award and National Lecturer Award of UGC, SS Bhatnagar Prize; Rhode Memorial Award; Best Teachers Award; and Birbal Sahani Award of Indian Science Congress Association. He is a Fellow of Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore and National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad and Vice-President of Indian National Science Academy (2007-09) .