Dr. Susanta Mahapatra, Professor in the School of Chemistry, at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) has been elected as a fellow of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences – NASI (F.N.A.Sc, Allahabad). He was elected to the fellowship of Indian Academy of Sciences three year ago. Till date Dr. Mahapatra has about 120 publications to his credit.

Dr. Mahapatra born in West Bengal did his M.Sc. (Chemistry) from Banaras Hindu University, and Ph.D. (Theoretical Chemistry) from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He has worked as a Post doctoral fellow, at the University of Potsdam, Germany and also at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Dr. Mahapatra joined as a Lecturer in October 2000 at the University of Hyderabad. He was a Visiting scientist, December 2002 – February 2003 at the Technical University of München and from March 2003 – May 2003 at the University of Heidelberg, Germany.

Dr. Mahapatra’s research interests include:

-Classical and time-dependent wave packet dynamics of inelastic and reactive scattering: Differential cross sections, state-selected and state-to-state energy resolved reaction probabilities, nonadiabatic and geometric phase effects.

-Transition state spectroscopy: Identification and characterization of resonances in chemical systems, ro-vibrational spectroscopy of bound molecules.

-Phase space behavior of chemical systems: Classical and quantum chaos.

-Vibronic coupling: Electronic nonadiabatic effects and transitions, photoabsorption, photoemission, photodissociation dynamics of molecules on coupled electronic states, photoelectron spectroscopy of negative ions and neutral molecules, Jahn-Teller and pseudo-Jahn-Teller dynamics, femtochemistry.

Founded in the year 1930, the National Academy of Sciences, India is the oldest Science Academy of the country. The main objective of the Academy is to provide a national forum for the publication of research work carried out by Indian scientists and to provide opportunities for exchange of views among them. (http://www.nasi.org.in/index.htm)

Dr. S Mahapatra can be reached on e-mail: susanta.mahapatra@uohyd.ac.in or smsc@uohyd.ernet.in