Homi Sethna

2021-10-27T17:54:07Z

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{{Short description|Indian nuclear scientist and chemical engineer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{More citations needed|article|date=January 2008}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name =Homi Nusserwanji Sethna
| birth_date ={{Birth date|df=yes|1923|08|24}}
| birth_place =[[Mumbai]], [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date ={{Death date and age|df=yes|2010|09|05|1923|08|24}}
| death_place =Mumbai, India
| citizenship =India
| nationality =[[Indian people|Indian]]
| fields =[[Chemical Engineering]]
| workplaces =[[Atomic Energy Commission of India]]
| alma_mater =[[Institute of Chemical Technology|University Department of Chemical Technology]] [[University of Michigan Ann Arbor]]
| known_for =[[Indian nuclear programme]] [[Smiling Buddha]] [[Operation Shakti]]
| awards =[[Padma Shri]] (1959) [[Padma Bhushan]] (1966) [[Padma Vibhushan]] (1975)
}}
'''Homi Nusserwanji Sethna''' (24 August 1923 – 5 September 2010) was an [[India]]n [[nuclear scientist]] and a [[chemical engineer]], gaining international fame as the Chairman of the [[Atomic Energy Commission of India|Atomic Energy Commission]] (India) during the time when the first nuclear test, codename ''[[Smiling Buddha]]'' in [[Pokhran|Pokhran Test Range]] in 1974 was conducted.<ref name="tt">{{cite news|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-09-07/india/28228588_1_homi-nusserwanji-sethna-nuclear-test-pokhran|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103090031/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-09-07/india/28228588_1_homi-nusserwanji-sethna-nuclear-test-pokhran|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 November 2012|title=Homi Sethna, nuclear legend, passes away|date=7 Sep 2010|first1=Srinivas|work=[[The Times of India]]|last1=Laxman}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://hindu.com/2010/09/07/stories/2010090755671300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100910013653/http://hindu.com/2010/09/07/stories/2010090755671300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 September 2010|title=Homi Sethna passes away|date=7 Sep 2010|work=[[The Hindu]]|location=Chennai, India}}</ref> He was the primary and central figure in India's civilian nuclear program as well as the construction of nuclear power plants. In 1991, he was appointed as [[Sheriff of Mumbai]].

He was awarded the second highest civilian award the [[Padma Vibhushan]] in 1975, by [[Government of India]].

Earlier in his career, he had full technical responsibility for setting up of the [[Thorium]] extraction plant at [[Alwaye]], [[Kerala]] India, for separation of rare earth from [[monazite]] sands.

==Early life and education==
Sethna was born to a [[Parsi]] family on 24 August 1923 in [[Bombay]] (now Mumbai).<ref>{{cite news|title=Dr Homi Sethna: The man who powered India's nuclear dream|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/report/homi-sethna-he-powered-indias-nuke-dream/20100906.htm|access-date=10 February 2018|work=Rediff.com|date=6 September 2010}}</ref> He did his schooling from [[St. Xavier's High School, Fort]], [[Mumbai|Bombay]].<ref>[http://www.xaviersfort.org/history/headlines.asp Notable alumni] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203144253/http://www.xaviersfort.org/history/headlines.asp |date=3 December 2008 }} ''[[St. Xavier's High School, Fort]]'' - Official website.</ref> He studied [[chemical engineering]] at [[Institute of Chemical Technology|University Department of Chemical Technology]] and the [[University of Michigan]] [[Ann Arbor]].

Homi Sethna's younger brother was the noted lawyer Rusi Sethna. Incidentally, Rusi Sethna's daughter, Behrouz Mistry, is the wife of Shapoorji Mistry, elder son of [[Pallonji Mistry]] and elder brother of [[Cyrus Mistry]].

==Career==
He was formerly Chairman of [[Atomic Energy Commission of India|Atomic Energy Commission]], in 1976 he became the first chairman of [[Maharashtra Academy of Sciences]], located in Pune, Maharashtra.

===Head of Trombay Nuclear Facility===
He completed the construction of the [[Thorium]] plant and the plant for the production of nuclear grade [[uranium]] metal at [[Trombay]], India. His first major challenging assignment was the setting up of the [[Plutonium]] Plant at Trombay in 1959. This was designed and constructed entirely by Indian scientists and engineers under H. N. Sethna as the Project Engineer. The [[Jaduguda Uranium Mine|Uranium Mill]] at Jaduguda, Jharkhand was also constructed under his guidance in 1967. He was also the Project Manager of a 40 MW reactor called Canada-India Reactor in 1956–58.

===Indian atomic test of 1974===
He was the guiding force behind the first [[Smiling Buddha|peaceful nuclear explosion]], [[Smiling Buddha|Project Smiling Buddha]] in India on 18 May 1974,<ref>[http://us.rediff.com/news/2006/jan/27inter1.htm 'He visualised a lively picture of a powerful India' - Interview/Dr Homi Sethna] ''[[Rediff.com]]'', 27 January 2006.</ref> and in 1975, Homi Sethna, then chairman of the [[Atomic Energy Commission of India|Atomic Energy Commission]], [[Raja Ramanna]] and [[Basanti Dulal Nagchaudhuri]] (head of the [[DRDO]]) received the [[Padma Vibhushan]].

==Awards==
* 1959: [[Padma Shri]]<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web |url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2015 |access-date=2015-07-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6U68ulwpb?url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 November 2014 }}</ref>
* 1960: [[SS Bhatnagar Prize]]
* 1966: [[Padma Bhushan]]<ref name="Padma Awards" />
* 1967: [[University of Michigan]] [[Sesquicentennial]] Award
* 1975: [[Padma Vibhushan]]<ref>[http://india.gov.in/myindia/padmavibhushan_awards_list1.php Padma Vishushan] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080131164854/http://india.gov.in/myindia/padmavibhushan_awards_list1.php |date=31 January 2008 }} ''Official listings.''</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070917035000/http://www.hindu.com/2007/09/13/stories/2007091354621300.htm Homi N. Sethna on 123 Nuclear deal] ''[[The Hindu]]''.

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Science & Engineering}}
{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}}
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1960–69}}
{{SSBPST recipients in Engineering Science}}
{{Smiling Buddha}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sethna, Homi Nusserwanji}}
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:2010 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian nuclear physicists]]
[[Category:Indian chemical engineers]]
[[Category:Parsi people from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in civil service]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in civil service]]
[[Category:Institute of Chemical Technology alumni]]
[[Category:University of Michigan alumni]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian chemists]]
[[Category:Scientists from Mumbai]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian physicists]]
[[Category:Sheriffs of Mumbai]]
[[Category:Parsi people]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Engineering Science]]
[[Category:Rare earth scientists]]

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Homi Sethna