Dr Srikumar Banerjee, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, passed away on Sunday at his Mumbai residence after suffering a heart attack. Banerjee, 75, had recovered from Covid last month. The veteran nuclear scientist had retired as the secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy in 2012. Prior to the Atomic Energy Commission, Banerjee had served as the director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (Barc).

My dear friend, a world-class scientist, an able and competent administrator, Dr Srikumar Banerjee is no more. He conquered Covid but died of a heart attack. He was one of the most charming persons I have known in this almost soul-destroying and daunting administrative jungle that runs the great empire of atomic energy spread across the country.

Srikumar rose above all the hurdles and knew exactly his way about to get things done and he did it.

As chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, he excelled, modest but assertive.

By profession, he was an excellent metallurgist, but had a very good grasp on practical applications, such as nuclear power stations. Once he showed me an element from the core of the nuclear power station and how continuous bombardment of radiation and neutrons had changed the configuration of the “core element” — I noticed a surrealistic beauty and as a metallurgist he saw a different beauty, complementary though.

Soon, we got close and I discovered his varied interests — poetry, history and even heavyweight Indian classical music. The last item is rather rare among diehard engineers trained at IITs. Srikumar had been educated at IIT Kharagpur.

When he spoke among academics about material science, he spoke as a learned proposer of material science, but when he discussed with his fellow engineers he was a seasoned and experienced engineer.

He took over as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission at a very difficult time, just after India had signed Nuclear Deal 123 with the US in 2008. The deal nationalists got at him, saying he had sold India to the Americans — the usual slogan of devoted nationalists. But he stood by his conviction, strong and unbending — that was quite a task.

Only recently, we discussed at great length about mathematical physicist and Nobel laureate Roger

Penrose’s visit to the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and how he is going to be honoured and received.

As a member of the TIFR council, Srikumar was very helpful. He was a rare person, modest, yet hugely successful, charming and affable. I, and a whole host of people, near ones and dear friends, will miss him greatly.

Before I end, I would like to recall for my readers one very touching incidence on December 27, 2012, when my book Sristhi O Kristhi was released. My good friend Saumitra Chatterjee did the honours (Alas, he is gone too).

Srikumar was there with his wife in the audience surprisingly, and he spoke eloquently, almost brilliantly.

I was moved. He took the trouble to come to his friend’s book release. After death, people of eminence are remembered either with reverence or with affection. Srikumar Banerjee will be remembered with affectionate reverence.

Prof. Bikash Sinha is an Indian National Science Academy senior scientist and former Homi Bhabha Professor, Department of Atomic Energy, former director of the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics and Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre