| Pranawachandra Deshmukh | |
| Birth Date: | 12 September 1950 |
| Birth Place: | Amravati, India |
| Nationality: | Indian |
| Fields: | Atomic and molecular Physics |
| Workplaces: | Indian Institute of Technology Madras Indian Institute of Technology Mandi Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati Dayananda Sagar University, Bengaluru R V Univeristy Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, New Delhi. |
| Alma Mater: | Nagpur University (B.Sc, M.Sc, PhD) |
| Doctoral Advisor: | |
| Spouse: | Sudha Deshmukh |
| Children: | Wiwek Deshmukh |
Pranawachandra Deshmukh[1] [2] is an Indian physicist and educator renowned for his contributions to theoretical atomic physics, atomic collisions, light-matter interactions, ultrafast atomic processes, and applications of Lambert W Function in pure and applied physics. He has made significant contributions to physics education, including publishing foundational classical and quantum physics textbooks.[3] Throughout his teaching career, he has instructed courses in classical mechanics,[4] electrodynamics, quantum mechanics, and quantum collision physics.[5] [6] Many of his lectures are freely accessible through the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning[7] [8] (NPTEL), Swayamprabha where they benefit students and educators across India and beyond. His research group is one of the main contributors to the relativistic many-body studies of atomic photoionization,[9] [10] [11] [12] [13] especially the studies of free and confined atoms and of attosecond time delay.[14] [15] [16]
Currently, he serves as the Founder-Convenor and Mentor of the Center for Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Sciences ad Technologies (CAMOST[17])[18] in Tirupati. CAMOST is a joint initiative of the Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati (IITT)[19] and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati (IISERT).[20] Concurrently, he is RV Chair Professor at the Centre for Quantum Science and Technology (CQST), School of Computer Science and Engineering (SoCSE)[21] at RV University, where he guides research and educational efforts in quantum science, drawing on his vast expertise to support the center’s growth and innovation. Besides, he is the Chief Technology Advisor to the Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies (VIPS), Delhi[22]
PCD was born in Amravati, Bharat, on 12 September 1950. He received his entire education in Nagpur,[23] where he studied at the Saraswathi Vidyalaya, Hadas High School, Institute of Science, and the Postgraduate Department of Physics of Nagpur University. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1970 and a Master of Science (Physics) in 1972. After his master’s degree, he obtained a Ph.D. in Physics at Nagpur University in 1979 under the supervision of Dr. C. Mande and Dr. P. L. Khare.
Following his doctoral work, Deshmukh was a DANIDA fellow at the University of Aarhus in the Department of Theoretical Chemistry (1978 - 1979), where he worked with Professor Jan Linderberg. He then worked as a Research Associate at the University of Notre Dame with Professor Robert Hayes and Professor W. R. Johnson.[24] From 1980 until 1983, Deshmukh was a Research Associate and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Georgia State University, collaborating with Professor S. T. Manson.[25]
In 1984, Deshmukh joined the Department of Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras as an Assistant Professor of Physics, becoming a full Professor in 1995, a position he held until 2016. During his tenure at IIT Madras, he was appointed on deputation as Professor of Physics and Dean of Academics at the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi (2009–2010).
In 2016, Deshmukh joined the Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati as a Professor of Physics. Simultaneously, the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati invited him to deliver several courses and mentor its students. In 2020, Deshmukh set up CAMOST, a joint initiative of IITT and IISERT.
Professor Pranawachandra Deshmukh has supervised numerous Ph.D. students: Dr. N. Shanthi, Dr. R. Padma, Dr. E. W. B. Dias, Dr. Tanima Banerjee, Dr. Hari R Varma, Dr. S. Sunil Kumar, Dr. Jobin Jose, Dr. Gagan Bihari Pradhan, Dr. Manas Ranjan Parida, Dr. N. M. Murthy, Dr. K. Sindhu, Dr. A. K. Yadav, Dr. Arthi Ganeshan, Dr. Ummal Momeen, Dr. Soumyajit Saha, Dr. Ankur Mondal, and Dr. Sourav Banerjee.[26] [27]