Indian chemists

Asima Chatterjee (23 September 1917 – 22 November 2006) was an Indian organic chemist noted for her work in the fields of organic chemistry and phytomedicine. Her most notable work includes research on vinca alkaloids, the development of anti-epileptic drugs, and development of anti-malarial drugs. She also authored a considerable volume of work on medicinal plants of the Indian subcontinent. She was the first woman to receive a Doctorate of Science from an Indian university.

Acharya Sir Prafulla Chandra Ray (also spelled Prafulla Chandra Rây and Prafulla Chandra Roy) CIE, FNI, FRASB, FIAS, FCS (Bengali: প্রফুল্ল চন্দ্র রায় Praphulla Chandra Rāy; 2 August 1861 – 16 June 1944) was an eminent Bengali chemist, educationist, historian, industrialist and philanthropist. He established the first modern Indian research school in chemistry (post classical age) and is regarded as the father of chemical science in India.

Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao BR, FNA, FASc, FRS, FTWAS, HonFRSC, MAE, HonFInstP (born 30 June 1934), is an Indian chemist who has worked mainly in solid-state and structural chemistry. He has honorary doctorates from 84 universities from around the world and has authored around 1,774 research publications and 54 books. He is described as a scientist who had won all possible awards in his field except the Nobel Prize.

Waman Dattatreya Patwardhan (30 January 1917 – 27 July 2007) was an Indian nuclear chemist, defence scientist and an expert in the science of Explosives engineering. He was the founder director of the Explosives Research and Development Laboratory (now known as the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL)) of India. He is considered one of the distinguished scientists in India due to his contributions to Indian space program, Indian nuclear program and missile program in their early stages. He developed the solid propellant for India's first space rocket launched at Thumba. He was responsible for developing the detonation system of India's first nuclear device which was successfully tested in 1974, an operation codenamed Smiling Buddha.

Dr. V. N. Krishnamurthy (born 12 January 1937) is the former Dy. Director of VSSC and Honorable Director of ISRO-UoP Interaction cell. He obtained his M.Sc. from Madras University and Ph.D. from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1967. He joined Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, (Indian Space Research Organization) in February 1968 as chief of analytical facility. He became head of the Propellant Engineering Division in 1976, Group Director Propellants Group in 1986, and Deputy Director in 1989 before retiring in February 1997. After retiring, he became the Honorary Director of DRDO-ISRO-UoP Cells, which coordinates the activities undertaken for ISRO and DRDO at University of Pune. His tenure was over in August 2004 and after that he worked as an editor for two different encyclopaedias. Now he spends his time writing books and doing special guest lectures at universities and colleges in India.

Gautam Radhakrishna Desiraju is an Indian chemist and educationist who has contributed substantially to the themes of crystal engineering and weak hydrogen bonding. He has authored books on these subjects. He has co-authored a textbook in crystal engineering (2011). He is one of the most highly cited Indian scientists and has been recognised by awards such as the Alexander von Humboldt Forschungspreis, the ISA Medal for Science 2018 of the University of Bologna and the TWAS Prize in Chemistry. He served as President of the International Union of Crystallography for the triennium 2011–2014.

V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai (Hindi: वी एन राजशेखरन पिल्लई; born 20 October 1949) is the Vice-Chancellor of Somaiya Vidyavihar University and Provost of Somaiya Vidyavihar,Mumbai. Prof. Pillai concurrently serves as the Chancellor of the ICFAI University, Tripura. He was President of Mewar University, Chiittorgarh, Rajasthan, India (2016–2018). He is the Founder President of Human Development Foundation India, a Civil Society Organisation in the National Capital Region, New Delhi. He served as the Executive Vice-President of the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, Govt of Kerala during the period 2011–2014. Simultaneously he held positions as the Principal Secretary, Science & Technology Dept of the Govt of Kerala, Chairman of the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority and the Kerala Biotechnology Commission. Prior to that Prof. Pillai was the Vice-Chancellor of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi (2006–2011) holding simultaneously the position of the Chairman, Distance Education Council, Govt of India. He served as Vice-Chairman & Chairman of the University Grants Commission, Govt of India, New Delhi during the period 2002-2006. He was the Executive Director of the National Assessment and Accreditaition Council (NAAC), Govt of India, during the period 2000–2002. Prior to that Prof. V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai was the Vice-Chancellor of the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Govt of Kerala and held additional charge of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (1996–2000). In 2000 he was on a Visiting Research Professor assignment in the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. From 1983 to 1996 Dr. Pillai worked in various academic and research executive positions in the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam such as the Founder Professor and Director of the School of Chemical Sciences, Dean of Faculty of Science, Founder Director of the School of Professional Distance Education, Director, College Development Council and Controller of Examinations of the University. During the period 1977–1983, Dr. Pillai worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, on deputation from Calicut University, Kerala, in the Universities of Tubigen and Mainz, Germany. From 1971 to 1983, he worked in the Universities of Kerala and Calicut University as UGC/CSIR Junor and Senior Research Fellow, Assistant Professor and Associate Professor in the area of Chemical Sciences. Professor Rajasekharan Pillai is an Elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences. Distinguished Fellow of the Kerala Academy of Sciences, and an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE), New Delhi. He has been a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and an Honorary Senior Fellow of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Banaglaore.

George Varghese Koppara (born 23 march 1958) is a physicist from India. He has published considerable amount of International journals based on the topic Crystals and Crystallography. He was also the former Principal of Catholicate College, Pathanamthitta. His interest on Environmental protection has inspired him to write book Jaivam Jeevanam, published by DC Books, Kottayam, Kerala. He has also written a book on latest trend in Nanoscience and Nanomaterials.

Kavirayani Ramakrishna Prasad (born 7 January 1969) is an Indian chemist. He is working in synthesis in organic chemistry. He is working in Indian Institute of Science. He received Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar awards in 2014.

Eluvathingal Devassy Jemmis or E. D. Jemmis (born 31 October 1951) is a Professor of theoretical chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. He was the founding Director of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram (IISER-TVM). His primary area of research is applied theoretical chemistry with emphasis on structure, bonding and reactivity, across the periodic table of the elements. Apart from many of his contributions to applied theoretical chemistry, an equivalent of the structural chemistry of carbon, as exemplified by the Huckel 4n+2 Rule, benzenoid aromatics and graphite, and tetrahedral carbon and diamond, is brought in the structural chemistry of boron by the Jemmis mno rules which relates polyhedral and macropolyhedral boranes to allotropes of boron and boron-rich solids. He has been awarded Padma Shri in Science and Engineering category (year 2014) by the Government of India.