Predhiman Krishan Kaw

Predhiman Krishan Kaw (15 January 1948 – 18 June 2017)^[1] was an Indian plasma physicist. He was the founding director^[2] of the Institute for Plasma Research and served as the institute's as the director from 1986 to 2012.

Predhiman Krishan Kaw
Born	(1948-01-15)15 January 1948 Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Died	18 June 2017(2017-06-18) (aged 69)
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	Indian Institute of Technology Princeton University Physical Research Laboratory
Known for	Plasma Physics Theory
Awards	Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award Padma Shri TWAS Prize
Scientific career
Fields	Plasma Physics, Laser Physics
Institutions	Institute for Plasma Research
Doctoral advisor	Prof. M. S. Sodha

Biography

Kaw was born on 15 January 1948 in Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir), India. He matriculated from Punjab University (1958) and completed his M.Sc. from Agra University in 1964. He received a PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 1966 under Supervision of Prof. M. S. Sodha, and was the first Ph.D. from the IIT, Delhi.^[3] Kaw received his Ph.D. at the age of 18,^[1] following which he completed his PostDoc at Princeton University. He was the founding director^[2] of the Institute for Plasma Research and served as the institute's as the director from 1986 to 2012. He was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri award, India's fourth-highest honor, in 1985 and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in 1986. On 28 December 2016, he was awarded the Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Prize of Plasma Physics for his seminal contributions in the areas of laser-plasma interactions, strongly coupled dusty plasmas, and turbulence, nonlinear effect in magnetic fusion devices. He is also a recipient of the 2008 TWAS Prize.^[4] His older brother is bureaucrat and author M. K. Kaw.

Professional details

Year	Institute	Designation
1967-1969	Princeton University	Postdoctoral Fellow
1969-1971	Princeton University, USA	Research Staff & Lecturer
1971-1974	Physical Research Laboratory, India	Associate Professor
1974-1975	Physical Research Laboratory, India	Professor
1975-1982	Princeton University, USA	Principal Research Physicist Lecturer in Astrophysical Sciences
1982-1986	Plasma Physics Programme, Physical Research Laboratory, India	Director
1986-2012	Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar, India	Director
2012–2017	Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar, India	DST Year of Science Professor

Selected articles and talks

• PK Kaw, "Fusion power, who needs it?" (pdf format), Current Science, 10 July 1993, 65(01) 20 (web format)