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{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Bal Raj Nijhawan
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_date = 22 September 1915
| birth_place = [[Lyallpur]], [[British India]]
| death_date = 6 April 2014
| death_place =
| restingplace = Manasota Funeral Home and Crematorium, [[Bradenton]], [[Florida]]
| restingplacecoordinates = {{Coord|27|48|33|N|82|58|33|E|}}
| othername =
| occupation = Metallurgist
| yearsactive =
| known for =
| spouse = Pushpa
| domesticpartner =
| children = 2 sons
| parents = Lala Sukh Diyal Rajwanti
| website =
| awards = [[Padma Shri]] [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]] Iron and Steel Institute of Japan Gold Medal Government of Yugoslavia Award International Award [[Government of Poland]] [[Government of Czechoslovakia]] Award of Honour and Gold Medal [[Banaras Hindu University]] Distinguished Alumnus Award
}}
'''Bal Raj Nijhawan''', (1915 – 2014) was an Indian metallurgist, author and the first Director of Indian origin of the [[National Metallurgical Laboratory]], [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]] (CSIR).<ref name="Tampa Bay Times">{{cite web | url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sptimes/obituary.aspx?n=bal-raj-nijhawan&pid=170723904&fhid=6281 | title=Tampa Bay Times | publisher=Tampa Bay Times | date=20 April 2014 | access-date=19 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="Kokomo">{{cite web | url=http://kokomoperspective.com/obituaries/bal-raj-nijhawan/article_b59af3cc-c5a3-11e3-a439-001a4bcf887a.html | title=Kokomo | publisher=Kokomo | date=2015 | access-date=19 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="Avenue Mail">{{cite web | url=http://www.avenuemail.in/jamshedpur/first-indian-director-nml-b-r-nijhawan-passes-away/38087/ | title=Avenue Mail | publisher=Avenue Mail | date=11 April 2014 | access-date=20 April 2015}}</ref> He was a recipient of [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]], the highest Indian science award, which he received in 1964 in the Engineering sciences category.<ref name="SSB Prize">{{cite web | url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/Content/Detail.aspx?AID=295 | title=SSB Prize | publisher=SSB Prize | date=2015 | access-date=19 April 2015}}</ref> The [[Government of India]] honoured him in 1958, with the award of [[Padma Shri]], the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his services to the nation.<ref name="Padma Shri">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Shri |publisher=Padma Shri |date=2015 |access-date=11 November 2014 |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 |df=dmy }}</ref>

==Biography==
Bal Raj Nijhawan was born to Rajwanti and Lala Sukh Diyal Nijhawan, as one of their six children, four boys and two girls, on 22 September 1915<ref name="SSB Prize" /> in [[Lyallpur]], presently known as [[Faisalabad]], in the erstwhile [[British India]].<ref name="Tampa Bay Times" /><ref name="Kokomo" /> His early years were spent in the present day Pakistan and did his graduate studies at [[Banares Hindu University]] in metallurgy to get a BSc degree in 1936.<ref name="Insa India">{{cite web | url=http://www.insaindia.org.in/deceaseddetail.php?id=N57-0528 | title=Insa India | publisher=Insa India | date=2015 | access-date=20 April 2015 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812212757/http://www.insaindia.org.in/deceaseddetail.php?id=N57-0528 | archive-date=12 August 2016 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> Later, he moved to London and secured a doctorate in Metallurgy from [[University of Sheffield]] in 1941.<ref name="Insa India" />

Nijhawan moved to India with his family during the [[Partition of India]] in 1947 and joined the [[National Metallurgical Laboratory]] (NML), which was in its infancy at that time, in the fifties.<ref name="Insa India" /> Over the years, he became the Director of NML, the first Indian to reach the position. He worked there till 1966 when he moved to [[Vienna]], Austria<ref name="Tampa Bay Times" /><ref name="Kokomo" /> to join the [[United Nations Industrial Development Organization]] (UNIDO) as the Senior Inter-Regional Advisor (Metallurgical Industries).<ref name="Insa India" /> He worked with UNIDO for 28 years<ref name="Insa India" /> till his retirement in 1986.<ref name="Tampa Bay Times" /><ref name="Kokomo" />

After retirement from UNIDO, Bal Raj Nijhawan shifted his residence to [[Kokomo, Indiana]] and later, in 2013, he moved again to [[Florida]]. He was married to Pushpa and the couple had two sons, Pradeep and Pramodh. He died, aged 98,<ref name="Bhaskar">{{cite web | url=http://www.bhaskar.com/news/JHA-JAMS-dr-4577297-NOR.html | title=Bhaskar | publisher=Bhaskar | date=11 April 2014 | access-date=19 April 2015}}</ref> on 6 April 2014<ref name="Insa India" /> at his home in [[Sun City Center]], Florida and was cremated on 11 April 2014 at Manasota Funeral Home and Crematorium, [[Bradenton]], Florida.<ref name="Tampa Bay Times" /><ref name="Kokomo" />

==Legacy==
Nijhawan is one of the pioneers of engineering metallurgy in India and has done extensive research in the subject.<ref name="Insa India" /> He was one of the first Indian scientists to do advanced research on defence related technologies such as [[armour plate]] technology,<ref name="Tampa Bay Times" /><ref name="Kokomo" /> armour failures and control of austenitic grain size of steels.<ref name="Avenue Mail" /><ref name="Insa India" /> He is credited with the development of nickel-free [[austenitic]] [[stainless steels]] from Cr, Mn, and N systems<ref name="Tampa Bay Times" /><ref name="Kokomo" /> and indigenous raw materials.<ref name="Avenue Mail" /><ref name="Insa India" /> He led a research and development project on low-shaft ironmaking/steelmaking technologies which are in popular use the world over.<ref name="Tampa Bay Times" /><ref name="Kokomo" /> He was also reported to have developed ''several substitute families of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys''.<ref name="SSB Prize" /> His researches have been documented by way of a book,<ref name="Austenitic grain-size control of steel">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=751TAAAAMAAJ | title=Austenitic grain-size control of steel | publisher=Council of Scientific and Industrial Research | author=B. R. Nijhawan, A. B. Chatterjea | year=2007 | pages=58 | asin=B0007K2PTW}}</ref> a monograph,<ref name="Production of iron, steel, and high quality product mix: latest technological innovations and processes">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fx5UAAAAMAAJ | title=Production of iron, steel, and high quality product mix: latest technological innovations and processes | publisher=ASM International | author=B. R. Nijhawan | year=1992 | pages=315 | isbn=9780871704573}}</ref> several edited works<ref name="Symposium on Production, Properties and Applications of Alloy and Special Steels, Held on 1–4 February 1956">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NKr6SAAACAAJ | title=Symposium on Production, Properties and Applications of Alloy and Special Steels, Held on 1-4 February 1956 | publisher=National Metallurgical Laboratory | author=B. R. Nijhawan, P. K. Gupte | year=1958}}</ref><ref name="Development of Corrosion Resistant Alloys">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PFr-MgEACAAJ | title=Development of Corrosion Resistant Alloys | author=B. R. Nijhawan}}</ref><ref name="Some Problems of Iron- and Steelmaking in the Hindustan Steel Plants">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I47pHAAACAAJ | title=Some Problems of Iron- and Steelmaking in the Hindustan Steel Plants | author=P. H. Kutar, B. R. Nijhawan}}</ref> and over 500 technical publications and he held over 55 patents for his researches.<ref name="Tampa Bay Times" /><ref name="Kokomo" />

Nijhawan was the first director of Indian origin at the [[National Metallurgical Laboratory]].<ref name="NML">{{cite web | url=http://www.nmlindia.org/60years.html | title=NML | publisher=NML | date=2015 | access-date=19 April 2015}}</ref> As the director, he contributed in setting up of several pilot plants and in the initiation of research programs.<ref name="NML" /> During his tenure at [[UNIDO]], he assisted countries such as UK, US, Poland, Czechoslovakia and many developing countries in their metallurgical technology development.<ref name="Insa India" /> His contributions are noted in the establishment of 25 metallurgical engineering centres<ref name="Tampa Bay Times" /><ref name="Kokomo" /> and ''mineral and metallurgical RampD replica watches centres'' in developing countries.<ref name="Insa India" />

==Publications==
* {{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=751TAAAAMAAJ | title=Austenitic grain-size control of steel | publisher=Council of Scientific and Industrial Research | author=B. R. Nijhawan, A. B. Chatterjea | year=2007 | pages=58 | asin=B0007K2PTW}}
* {{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fx5UAAAAMAAJ | title=Production of iron, steel, and high quality product mix: latest technological innovations and processes | publisher=ASM International | author=B. R. Nijhawan | year=1992 | pages=315 | isbn=9780871704573}}
* {{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NKr6SAAACAAJ | title=Symposium on Production, Properties and Applications of Alloy and Special Steels, Held on 1-4 February 1956 | publisher=National Metallurgical Laboratory | author=B. R. Nijhawan, P. K. Gupte | year=1958}}
* {{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PFr-MgEACAAJ | title=Development of Corrosion Resistant Alloys | author=B. R. Nijhawan}}
* {{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I47pHAAACAAJ | title=Some Problems of Iron- and Steelmaking in the Hindustan Steel Plants | author=P. H. Kutar, B. R. Nijhawan}}

==Awards and recognitions==
Bal Raj Nijhawan, an elected fellow of the [[Indian National Science Academy]] since 1957, was awarded the civilian honour of [[Padma Shri]] in 1958.<ref name="Avenue Mail" /><ref name="Bhaskar" /> Six years later, in 1964, he received the [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]], the highest Indian award in the science category, for his services to the engineering sector.<ref name="Avenue Mail" /><ref name="SSB Prize" /><ref name="Bhaskar" /> He was accorded the honorary membership and gold medal of the Iron and Steel Institute of Japan in 1980, the same year as he received an award from the Government of [[Yugoslavia]].<ref name="Insa India" /> The [[Government of Poland]] honoured him with an award in 1986 and the Government of [[Czechoslovakia]] followed suit with their award of honour in 1989.<ref name="Insa India" />

Winner of the Distinguished Alumnus award from the [[Banares Hindu University]] in 1973, Nijhawan was an elected fellow of [[Institution of Mining and Metallurgy|Institute of Metallurgists, London]], [[ASM International (society)]], (former American Society of Metals) (1988) and the [[National Academy of Sciences, India]].<ref name="Insa India" /><ref name="Proceedings of the International Conference on Environmental Management in Metallurgical Industries (EMMI-2000):">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=91JYc4Dn3MgC&q=Bal+Raj+Nijhawan&pg=PR5 | title=Proceedings of the International Conference on Environmental Management in Metallurgical Industries (EMMI-2000) | publisher=Allied Publishers | date=2000 | isbn=9788177641042 | access-date=20 April 2015}}</ref> He was a member of the British Iron and Steel Institute (UK) and an honorary member of the Society Francoise de Metallurgies, Paris.<ref name="Insa India" /> He held the life membership of [[ASM International (society)|ASM International]] and the senior membership of [[American Iron and Steel Institute|Iron and Steel Society of USA]] during his lifetime.<ref name="Insa India" />

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[United Nations Industrial Development Organization]]
* [[National Metallurgical Laboratory]]
* [[Austenite]]
* [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]]
{{div col end}}
{{portal|India|Science}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{SSBPST recipients in Engineering Science}}

{{authority control}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Science & Engineering}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nijhawan, Bal Raj}}
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering]]
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Engineering Science]]
[[Category:Indian technology writers]]
[[Category:People from Faisalabad]]
[[Category:Indian metallurgists]]
[[Category:Indian officials of the United Nations]]
[[Category:Banaras Hindu University alumni]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Sheffield]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian engineers]]

Bal Raj Nijhawan - Revision history

>Monkbot at 00:24, 3 January 2021