He pioneered the use of atomic energy in India: Who is Homi Jehangir Bhabha?

(1909-1966) Indian physicist. He pioneered the use of atomic energy in India. He was born on October 29, 1909 in Bombay. Being the son of a wealthy family, he received a good education in Bombay. He continued his education at Cambridge University with a scholarship he won in 1932 and completed his doctorate in 1934. Bhabha, who conducted research on atomic physics here, was elected as a member of the Royal Society in 1941 as a result of these studies.

Homi Jehangir Bhabha (30 October 1909 – 24 January 1966) was an Indian nuclear physicist who is widely credited as the "father of the Indian nuclear program". He was the founding director and professor of physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), as well as the founding director of the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) which was renamed the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in his honor. 

He returned to India in 1940, where I was a lecturer in theoretical physics at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and continued his research on atomic physics. Bhabha, who became a professor in 1942, was appointed director of the Tata Fundamental Research Institute in Mumbai in 1945. When the Indian Atomic Energy Commission was established in 1948, the post of chairman was given to Bhabha.

Bhabha, who has an international reputation, has been a member of various scientific organizations and has written articles for many scientific journals on quantum theory and cosmic rays. Bhabha, who also presided over the international conference on the peaceful use of atomic energy, organized by the United Nations in Geneva in 1955, died on January 24, 1966, in a plane crash over the Swiss Alps in his prime.

While studying at Cambridge University, Bhabha worked with Niels Bohr on quantum theory and with Walter Heitler on the electron shower, which is important data in the understanding of cosmic rays. After returning to India, Bhabha continued his research on cosmic rays and atomic physics. In addition to a laboratory for the research and production of atomic energy in Trombay, Asia's first atomic reactor was established in 1956 with the help of England and Canada.

Bhabha's last work before he died was on the production of plutonium. However, he opposed the use of produced plutonium in bomb-making, arguing that nuclear energy should be used for development in a country where poverty prevails.

Bhabha was an advocate of the peaceful use of nuclear energy and the banning of atomic bombs. Bhabha, who was also Nehru's technical advisor, has an important place in the scientific life of India.