Personal PDaulat Singh Kotharirofile

Daulat Singh Kothari was born in Udaipur (Rajasthan) on 6 July 1906. He was an eminent Indian scientist. He had his early education at Udaipur and Indore and did MSC in physics from Allahabad University in 1928 under guidance of great physicist Megh Nad Saha.

Eminent Positions

In 1933, he got his doctorate from Cambridge. Kothari’s fields of specialization were astrophysics and statistical mechanics. He was Reader and Professor of Physics at the University of Delhi from 1934 to 1973. Between 1981 and 1993,he was Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. In Independent India, he occupied eminent positions like
those of the Scientific Adviser to the Ministry of Defence (1948–1961), and Chairmanship of the University Grants Commission (1961–1973). In his later life, Kothari was not only an astrophysicist but also a physicist– philosopher who played active part in exploring the interplay between science and philosophy, as well as between science and religion
He worked in Delhi University from 1934 to 1961 in various capacities as reader, professor and Head of the Physics department. He was scientific advisor to Ministry of defence from 1948 to 1961. He was appointed as chairperson of University Grants Commission in 1961 where he worked till 1973.
DS Kothari was General president of the Indian Science Congress at its golden jubilee session in 1963. He was elected President of Indian National Science Academy in 1973. His notable research on Statistical Thermodynamics and Theory of White Dwarf Stars gave him international reputation.

In 1933, he got his doctorate from Cambridge. Kothari’s fields of specialization were astrophysics and statistical mechanics. He was Reader and Professor of Physics at the University of Delhi from 1934 to 1973. Between 1981 and 1993, he was Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.

In Independent India, he occupied eminent positions like those of the Scientific Adviser to the Ministry of Defence (1948–1961), and Chairmanship of the University Grants Commission (1961–1973). In his later life, Kothari was not only an astrophysicist but also a physicist– philosopher who played active part in exploring the interplay between science and philosophy, as well as between science and religion

He worked in Delhi University from 1934 to 1961 in various capacities as reader, professor and Head of the Physics department. He was scientific advisor to Ministry of defence from 1948 to 1961. He was appointed as chairperson of University Grants Commission in 1961 where he worked till 1973.

DS Kothari was General President of the Indian Science Congress at its golden jubilee session in 1963. He was elected President of Indian National Science Academy in 1973. His notable research on Statistical Thermodynamics and Theory of White Dwarf Stars gave him international reputation.

Awards and Recognition

The Padma Bhushan Award was conferred on him in 1962, and the Padma Vibhushan Award in 1973.

Kothari’s nomination for the Fellowship of the Royal Society

The nomination documents of Kothari show that in 1944 he was proposed by well-known scientists: Arthur S. Eddington, Edward A. Milne, Ralf H. Fowler, James H. Jeans, Charles G. Darwin, H. Jeffrey, R. Stonefly, B. Sahni, S. S. Bhavnagar and M. N. Saha 6.
About Kothari’s scientific achievements the nominators wrote: ‘Distinguished for work on Astrophysics.  First to appreciate  importance of pressure ionization and relative importance of conduction and radiation.’

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