Progress of Instrumentation During Past Fifty Years in India

Abstract

During the past fifty years, India has progressed well in many branches of science and technology. Underlying developments in instrumentation and measurement systems have played a major role in this progress. The instrumentation industry has also established itself in the country and indigenously developed instruments are easily available now in most of the areas. The education and training programmes and career paths for young scientists and engineers in the field of instrumentation are also discussed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

V R Singh

V R Singh obtained his BE (Elect Engg) from Thaper Institute of Engg and Technology, Patiala in 1968 and PhD from IIT Delhi in 1974, in transducer instrumentation. He has thirty years of research experience in instrumentation, biomedical engineering and transducers/sensors technology. Currently, he is actively engaged in research in sensors/ transducers, electronic instrumentation, micro-sensors, smart intelligent systems and medical ultrasonics.

Dr V R Singh is the recipient of INSA Young Scientist Medal Award (1974); NPL Merit Award (1973); TIET Distinguished Alumi Award (1983); ICMR Young Scientist Award (1984); Certificate of Appreciation/Honor by JSUM (Japan Society of Ultrasound in Medicine) (1985); AFSUMB (Asian Fed Soc for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology) Medal (1987); the Institution of Engineers (India) Prizes for Best Research Papers (1989 and 1992); and IFUMB (Ind Fed Ultra Med and Biology) prize (1995). He has, to his credit, more than 200 research papers, a dozen of patents, 24 consultancies, 150 research presentations and around 70 invited talks in India and abroad. Under his guidance, 12PhD's, 16MTech/ME, and several BE/ BTech/MSc theses have been completed. He is the Fellow of IEEE (USA); Fellow of the Instn of Elect & Telecom Engrs; Life Fellow of Ultrasonics Society of India and Acoustical Society of India; Fellow of College of Ultrasound Radiologists and IFUMB (Bombay); Fellow of Metrology Soc of India; and life member of Biomed Engg Soc of India and NAFEN. Dr Singh has been serving since 1991 on Editorial Review Board of IEEE Trans on Instrum & Meas (USA), Sensors & Actuators (Switzerland), JIETE, JIE(I), Ind J Pure & Appl Physics, etc. He has been the Guest Editor of Special Issue of the IETE Tech Rev on Transducers & Sensors, March-April 1992.

At present, he is heading the Instrumentation and Sensors Group and Biomedical Ultrasonics activity of National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi.

E S R Gopal

E S R Gopal (Life Fellow IETE) was born in 1936 and started his research career in the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science. Bangalore, in 1956. After 3 years of post doctoral work at the University of Oxford, he joined IISc as a teaching staff, becoming the Professor of Physics, Head of the Physics Department, Head of the Instrumentation Unit. Dean of the Faculty etc. In 1991 lie became the Director of the National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, from where he retired in 1997 to become a CSIReritus Scientist back at IISc Bangalore. Dr Gopal's primary area of work is on precision measurements and condensed matter studies. He has written 4 books and over 200 research papars. About 60 students have taken their PhD working with him. He has won numerous awards and medals for his R&D work and is a Fellow of several national/international societies/academies.