Homi

Bhabha Biography
Homi Bhabha was the father of Indian nuclear programme. This
biography of Homi Bhabha provides detailed information about
his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.
Quick Facts
Also Known As

Homi Jahangir Bhabha

Nationality

Indian

Born on

30 October 1909 AD

Zodiac Sign

Scorpio

Born in

Mumbai, India

Died on

24 January 1966 AD

Father

Jehangir Hormusji Bhabha

Mother

Meheren

Married

No

Awards

Adams Prize (1942)

Padma Bhushan (1954)

The man who pioneered the Indian nuclear research

programme, Homi Jahangir Bhabha was a nuclear physicist who
laid the foundation for nuclear research in India. Often hailed as
the father of Indian nuclear programme, Bhabha was not only
a scientist, but also a visionary and an institution builder. From
childhood, he was an intelligent and hard working student and
his parents dreamed of him becoming a mechanical engineer.
However, young Bhabhas interest laid in studying physics and
not in becoming an engineer. Yet he honored his parents wish
and completed his degree in mechanical engineering. His
parents too respected their sons true interest and supported
him in his pursuit of scientific research. Bhabha studied in
Europe where he became acquainted with many great physicists
of his time, and was determined to contribute to Indias
scientific research upon his return. He had very ambitious plans
and upon returning to his home country, he set about
establishing the Cosmic Ray Research Unit. He helped to
formulate Indias strategy in the field of nuclear power for which
he is fondly remembered as the father of Indian nuclear power.
The great scientists brilliant career was cut short by a plane
crash which claimed his life.
Childhood & Early Life
He was born into the home of a well known Parsi lawyer
Jehangir Hormusji Bhabha and his wife Meheren. His
family was very wealthy and prominent, and he was
related to Dorabji Tata.
After receiving his primary education at Bombays

Cathedral and John Connon School, he went to

Elphinstone College. T hen he studied at the Royal
Institute of Science till 1927.
His parents and uncle Dorab Tata wanted the brilliant
young Homi to study mechanical engineering from
Cambridge University so that he could join Tata Steel Mills
upon his return to India.
Homi went to Cambridge University where he began
studying mechanical engineering. But he realized that his
true calling wasnt engineering but the pursuit of science.
He told his parents of this issue.
His father, a considerate person, promised to finance
Homis further studies in science provided he completed
his mechanical engineering in first class. He passed the
mechanical engineering exam in 1930 with first class.
Keeping up with his promise, his father let him continue
his studies. Homi studied mathematics under Paul Dirac
and later worked towards his doctorate in theoretical
physics.
In 1933, he received his doctorate in nuclear physics and
published his first scientific paper, T he Absorption of
Cosmic radiation which helped him win the Isaac Newton
Studentship in 1934 which he held for the next three
years.
During the 1930s, nuclear physics was an emerging field
that often set off hot debates in the scientific community.
Several breakthroughs were taking place in this field and
Homi Bhabha was deeply drawn to research in this field.
Care e r
During his studentship, he also worked with Niels Bohr in
Copenhagen along with his research work at Cambridge.
He published a paper in the Proceedings of the Royal
Society, Series A, in 1935 in which he gave the
calculation to determine the cross section of electronpositron scattering.

Along with Niels Bohr he published a paper, T he Passage

of Fast Electrons and the T heory of Cosmic Showers in
1936 in which they described how primary cosmic rays
from outer space interact with the upper atmosphere.
For his work Bhabha was awarded the Senior Studentship
in 1937 which helped him continue his work at Cambridge.
In 1939 he went to India for a brief vacation when the
World War II broke out and this prevented him from
returning to Cambridge.
He accepted a position in the Indian Institute of Science,
Bangalore, as a Reader in the Department of Physics
which was then headed by the eminent physicist,
C.V.Raman.
In 1944, Bhabha felt that India needed laboratories and
facilities to conduct research in nuclear science. T hus he
decided to solicit the support of the visionary and
industrialist, Dorabji Jamsetji Tata
T he Tata Trust accepted his proposal and the Tata
Institute of Fundamental Research was established in
1945 in Bombay which had the facilities for conducting
large scale research in physics, chemistry, electronics and
mathematics.
He also played a key role in the formation of Atomic
Energy Commission in 1948 and the Department of Atomic
Energy in 1954. A visionary, he had realized the
importance of nuclear research programme way back in
the 1940s when India was still under British rule!
He envisioned a three stage nuclear programme
consisting of utilization of natural uranium, thorium and
plutonium in advanced nuclear reactors with closed full
circle. Because of this, he was called the father of Indias
nuclear power programme.
Major Works
Hailed as the father of Indias nuclear power programme,
Homi Bhabha was a visionary who foresaw the need for

high quality facilities in the country to conduct research on

nuclear power. He envisioned the three stage nuclear
power programme which focused on extracting power from
thorium instead of uranium reserves.
Aw ards & Achie v e m e nts
In 1954, he was honored with the Padma Bhushan, the
third highest civilian award in India, for his invaluable
contributions to science and engineering.
Pe rsonal Life & Le gacy
Homi Bhabha was a bachelor, a man who fully devoted his
life to science. He was also a painter who loved classical
music and opera.
He was abroad the Air India Flight 101 which crashed near
Mont Blanc in the Alps on 24 January, 1966. He died in
that plane crash.