Mihir Deb earned his BSc (Hons) in Geology from Presidency College, Kolkata, MSc (1966) in Applied Geology and PhD in Ore Geology under the supervision of SC Sarkar from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. He joined the University of Delhi as a Lecturer in Geology (1970), became Professor (1993) and served as the Head of the Department (2000-03). He was a post-doctoral fellow with Surendra Saxena at the Brooklyn College of the City University, New York (1974-75), and subsequently, on an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship (1984-86) he worked with KH Wedepohl and Joechen Hoefs in the Stable Isotope Laboratory at the Geochemisches Institut in Gottingen and with Brian Windley at the University of Leicester. He has also worked with Manfred schidlowski at the Max Planck Institute fur Chemie, Germany. He worked as the Director of the University Science Instrumentation Centre (2000-06) and has been the Director, School of Environmental Studies (2004).

Academic and Research Achievements: Dr Deb established the metamorphic nature of the Singhbhum ores for the first time, which helped in the development of a new volcanogenic hydrothermal model of origin of these large copper resources. He developed and nurtured the discipline of Economic Geology during his long academic career at the University of Delhi, interspersed with research tenures in foreign laboratories. His scientific contributions included the generation of the largest and most precise isotopic database in India for stable and radiogenic isotopes in ores, which, along with petrological and geochemical constraints in the geological environments of ore deposits, threw invaluable light on crustal evolution and metallogenesis in the northwestern Indian shield.

Other Contributions: At Delhi University Deb established an innovative postgraduate course in environmental studies and made significant contributions to the field of artisanal mining environment in India. He worked in different capacities in several national bodies such as Member, Council of Geological, Mining, Metallurgical Society of India, Working Group on Mineral exploration and Development, Planning Commission (2006); Apex Exploration Research Advisory Committee, DAE, etc. Deb is presently serving as the Indian representative to communities and small scale mining (CASM), a World Bank initiative. He is Asian representative in IUGS-GEM (Geoscience for Environmental Management) and Member, UNECE Ad Hoc Group of Experts on Harmonization of Fossil Energy and Mineral Resources Terminology.

Awards and Honours: Mihir Deb was awarded Nirmal Nath Chatterjee Medal of the Asiatic Society, Kolkata (1976), the MK Roychoudhury Medal of the Geological, Mining, Metallurgical Society of India (1994) and the National Mineral Award (1996). He is a Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists, USA (2004).