Adinath Lahiri

Adinath Lahiri (1916–1975) was an Indian geochemist and fuel technologist, known for his efforts in developing the Central Fuel Research Institute, Dhanbad (CFRI) into one of the premier research institutions in India. He was the director of the National Coal Development Corporation (NCDC) and contributed towards the establishment of the Central Mining Research Station, which was later merged with CFRI to form the present day Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research). The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri, in 1960, and followed it up with the third highest civilian honour, the Padma Bhushan, in 1969, for his contributions to science and technology.

Biography Adinath Lahiri was born on 24 August 1916. After completing his master's degree in geology and geochemistry from the University of Calcutta, he obtained Sir Palit Foreign Fellowship of the university and did his doctoral studies at the Imperial College of the University of London to secure a PhD, winning the Judd Memorial Prize for the best thesis in geochemistry. He started his career as a research associate at the Department of Chemical Technology at Imperial College in 1942, but joined the Royal Air Force during World War II to serve as a Scientific Officer and, later, as the Head of the Fuel and Oil Research Section at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough airfield. After the war was over, he returned to India, in 1945, to take up the position as the Assistant Director (Planning) at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) when he contributed to the planning and establishment of the Central Fuel Research Institute (CFRI), Dhanbad. In between, he also underwent training under a Summer Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science in 1950. National Coal Development Corporation A New Approach, and Trekking on the Southern Bhutan Frontier counting among them. During his tenure with CFRI, he proposed the setting up of Central Mining Research Station for overcoming the coal mining issues faced in India and served as the director of the National Coal Development Corporation. Nine years later, in 1969, he was included in the Republic Day Honours list again, this time for India's third-highest civilian honour, the Padma Bhushan.