Asok Kumar Barua

Asok Kumar Barua (1 July 1936 – 30 May 2021) was an Indian condensed matter physicist and the honorary Emeritus Professor of Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, who focused on research in optics and optoelectronics. He was honoured by the Government of India in 2003 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.

Biography Asok Kumar Barua was born on 1 July 1936 in Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. His masters studies were at the Rajabazar Science College, Kolkata University (1956) after which he secured his PhD a director in 1982 and worked there till 1989.

Barua had done research in optics and optoelectronics and had been credited with the indigenous development of amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar cells and solar modules including production technology and equipment. and the West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology. He had held the chair of the Research and Development committee of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission on solar photovoltaics.

Barua received the Distinguished Materials Scientist of the Year Award in 2002 from the Materials Research Society of India.