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Lal (Devendra) Papers
MSS 0756
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Devendra Lal Papers
Creator:
Lal, D. (Devendra), 1929-2012
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0756
Physical Description:
19.2 Linear feet
(48 archives boxes and 1 map case folder)
Date (inclusive): ca. 1950-2011
Abstract: The papers of Devendra Lal (1929-2012), geophysicist, Director of the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, India, and
Professor at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, UC San Diego. The papers document Lal's cosmic radiation and elementary
particle physics research, as well as his many scientific interests and writings in earth and planetary sciences.
Languages:
English
.
Scope and Content of Collection
The papers of Devendra Lal (1929-2012), geophysicist, Director of the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, India, and
Professor at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, UC San Diego. The papers document Lal's cosmic radiation and elementary
particle physics research, as well as his many scientific interests and writings in earth and planetary sciences.
Materials in the collection include biographical data, professional and personal correspondence, numbered reprints of Lal's
scientific papers as well as other writings, subject files and voluminous research materials, and a small selection of photographs
and negatives.
Arranged in seven series: Series 1) BIOGRAPHICAL, Series 2) CORRESPONDENCE, Series 3) NUMBERED REPRINTS AND WRITINGS, Series
4) TALKS AND SPEECHES, 5) SUBJECT FILES, Series 6) RESEARCH FILES, and Series 7) PHOTOGRAPHS.
Devendra Lal was born in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), India on February 14, 1929. He received his early education at a college
in Varanasi then joined Banaras Hindu University (BHU). After completing his Masters in Physics, Lal joined the Tata Institute
of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai in 1949 as a research student, and from 1958-1960 he joined the Scripps Institute of
Oceanography (SIO), UC San Diego as an Assistant Research Fellow. Lal completed his PhD in Physics from Bombay University
in 1960. While in India, Lal met and married his colleague Aruna, who became a devoted supporter of his career until her death
in 1993.
Over his long career, Lal divided his time between SIO and appointments in India, first as a professor at the Tata Institute
and then as professor and Director of the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad. SIO became his full-time academic home
when he was appointed Visiting Professor from 1989 to 2012. Lal also served as President of the International Union of Geodesy
and Geophysics (IUGG) from 1983 to 1987.
Lal's principal area of interest was the field of cosmic ray physics, with his seminal work on "Cosmogenic Nuclide Applications
in Earth and Planetary Sciences," although his natural curiosity and interest in interdisciplinary experimentation expanded
his research into many areas of theoretical and experimental science. During his tenure at the Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research and SIO, Lal and his colleagues discovered several cosmic ray isotopes, investigating their interactions and processes.
These pioneering efforts contributed to benchmark research in new fields of earth and planetary sciences.
Lal's research contributions won him several national and international recognitions, including: Foreign Associate of the
National Academy of Sciences, USA in 1975; Fellow of the Royal Society London in 1979; and Founder Fellow of the Third World
Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Fellow of all the three science
academies in India; Associate by the Royal Astronomical Society, London in 1984; Member of Sigma Xi; Member of the International
Academy of Astronautics, Paris in 1985; and Member of the Geophysical Union.
Lal was also a recipient of several awards and accolades including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology
(1967), the Sir C.V. Raman Birth Centenary Award (1996-1997), and the K. S. Krishnan Memorial Lectureship in 1981, the Goldschmidt
Award (1997). Lal was the recipient of the civilian award "Padma Shri" bestowed by the Government of India in 1971. In 2007,
Lal established the Devendra and Aruna Lal Fellowship in support of exceptional graduate students at the Scripps Institute
of Oceanography.
Lal passed away on December 1, 2012.
Devendra Lal Papers. MSS 756. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Acquired 2013
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. ALLOW ONE WEEK FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS.
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
An interview with Devendra Lal and James Arnold is part of the Oral History Project, UC San Diego. https://library.ucsd.edu/dc/object/bb6690530t
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Geophysics
Geophysicists -- Archives
Earth sciences
Planetary science
Lal, D. (Devendra), 1929-2012 -- Archives