Tara Prasad Das

Tara Prasad Das, an internationally recognized condensed matter physicist, passed away on 18 July 2017. He was born on 7 July 1932 in Cuttack, Odisha, India to Radha Krishna and Krishna Priya Das. His father, Radha Krishna Das, was a professor of physics in Ravenshaw College, Cuttack. Tara Das was a brilliant student, entering college at the age 13 and receiving his PhD from the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata at age 23, under the guidance of A. K. Saha. Das then embarked on a long and distinguished career that began as a postdoctoral research associate at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, with R. Bersohn. Das’s subsequent work took him all over the world including positions at UC Berkeley (with E. L. Hahn), Columbia University (with Bersohn and M. Karplus), Bhabha Atomic Research Center in Mumbai, University of California at Riverside, University of Utah, and the State University of New York at Albany. Das spent most of his professional life at Albany, from 1971 to 2013.

Through his numerous research collaborations, Das interacted with physicists on six continents. During his highly productive academic career, he published more than 400 journal articles, three books, and several book chapters. One of his books, Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance Spectroscopy, written in collaboration with Hahn during his early scientific career, became a classic in the field. Das graduated 53 PhD students whom he and his wife treated as part of their extended family.

The central theme of Das’s research was to develop a deeper quantitative understanding of the electronic structure of physical systems (atoms, molecules, and solids) by studying their hyperfine properties (which probe electron-nuclear coupling) using state-of-the-art quantum mechanical methods. His research had profound effect in as diverse areas as defects in semiconductors, magnetic metals, surface and interface physics, biological molecules like proteins, and explosive molecules like RDX.

Professional honors of Das include US Senior Scientist Award, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany (two times); Yamada Science Foundation Award, Japan; Presidential Excellence in Research Award (SUNY Albany); Jawaharlal Nehru Visiting Professorship, Central University of Hyderabad, India; Eminent Scientist Award at Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) Japan; Monbusho (Ministry of Science, Education, Culture and Sports, Japan) Visiting Foreign Scientist Award. In addition to his work, he had a great interest in politics, literature, and sports. To the end of his life, he could quote the poetry of Tennyson.

Das was a person of great humility, with respect for knowledge and love for his students. He will be greatly missed, not only by his students and colleagues, but also by the scientific community.