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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bidyendu Mohan Deb | 2/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidyendu_Mohan_Deb | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T17:42:33.199521+00:00 | kb-cron |
== Pedagogy ==
A major part of Deb's academic career was spent in teaching as well as course and curriculum development. He developed and taught a myriad of undergraduate and postgraduate theory courses on general chemistry; general physical chemistry; atomic and molecular spectroscopy; quantum chemistry; quantum mechanics of many-electron systems; symmetry in chemistry; equilibrium statistical mechanics; mathematics for chemists; classical and quantum theories of adsorption on solid surfaces; bonding, structure and symmetry; density-functional theory; Indian heritage in science, literature and art. Deb also designed and implemented a number of experiments, including integrated and open-ended experiments, in the teaching laboratory for undergraduate and postgraduate laboratory courses on general chemistry, physical chemistry and inorganic chemistry.
Deb's passion for teaching encompassed being true to all his students and to the subjects being taught. His teaching methods were all student-centred. Even when teachers from other institutions sat in his classes, they became his students. Deb adopted primarily a chalk-and-blackboard approach, with every mathematical equation written on the blackboard being physically interpreted. In case difficult/ complicated diagrams were to be shown, he used different methods of presentation in which 4 colours were invariably employed for visual appeal, inspired by the topological 4-colour map concept.
Deb adopted a median level of teaching with encouragement to all students to face their own intellectual challenges. His discourses emphasized on students' understanding of the concepts because, according to Deb, "concepts are the fragrance of science". He encouraged students to ask questions ("no questions are stupid") in the classroom and to use the library as much as possible. He also advised them to be very strong in fundamentals so they could tackle unknown problems fearlessly.
Deb sought to keep students constantly interested in the subject at hand. Two notable aspects in this instance are: (i) In a longish derivation, he would casually introduce a twist for unsuspecting students and finally obtain a result which was unacceptable and could even be ridiculous. (ii) In a spectroscopy course – which would show the students many peaks - Deb took all the students along with a blackboard and chalk to the top of a 500-foot hill (which he had already climbed) to teach them molecular spectra and molecular structure on a few occasions. Deb felt it was necessary for students to realize that "innovations cannot become routine and must remain unpredictable". The only external influence in Deb's teaching of any course was that it should be at par with the best teaching available globally on that course and he never followed any icon.
Over a span of 45 years, Deb has delivered invited series of lectures at national workshops on chemistry, physics and mathematics, and numerous seminar/special lectures in chemistry and physics departments in India and abroad. He had also communicated excitement in chemical sciences and science in general, through instructional lectures to high school as well as junior college students. He has frequently used examples from Indian and western art in both expert and educational lectures.
Deb's philosophy of holistic science education in general and chemical education in particular, is encapsulated through his own words : "Learning of sciences cannot be achieved satisfactorily by confining different subjects into separate air-tight compartments each of which may further have air-tight sub-compartments. Science learning has to be multi-disciplinary and liberal, roaming across boundaries, with an understanding of aesthetics and fine arts as well." This educational philosophy has been laid down in detail in a number of articles in journals, namely, Science and Culture (Kolkata), Journal of Higher Education (UGC, New Delhi), Social Sciences Research Journal (Chandigarh), Current Science (Bangalore), Journal of Chemical Education (USA) as well as in a number of invited lectures at national-level symposia/ conferences on education.
Deb has played a significant role as a conceptualiser and as a member/convener of the various institutional and national committees involved in upgrading and modernisation of quite a few prominent educational curricula in India. He has always been available as a friend, philosopher and guide to his students and young faculty members. His life-long passion about understanding and application of concepts have also played a very important role in his research.
== Awards and honors == The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research awarded Deb the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1981. A guest scholar of the Kyoto University in 1989 and an honorary professor of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research from 1992 to 2004, he received the Sir C. V. Raman Award in Physical Sciences of the University Grants Commission of India in 1988, Biennial Professor S. R. Palit Memorial Award of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science in 1995 and the FICCI Award in Physical Sciences in 1996. He is also a recipient of the Silver Medal (2000) and the Gold Medal (2015) of the Chemical Research Society of India. The list of award orations he has delivered include Linus Pauling Memorial Lecture of Mahatma Gandhi University (1996), Professor Sadhan Basu Memorial Lecture of the Indian National Science Academy (1999), Mitra Memorial Lecture of Delhi University (2000), A. V. Rama Rao Foundation Lecture of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (2003), Distinguished Lectures and Institute/University colloquia at a number of national institutions including Panjab University Colloquium of 2016. The Indian Academy of Sciences elected him as a fellow in 1984 and he became a fellow of the Indian National Science Academy in 1987. He is also an elected fellow of The World Academy of Sciences and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. In 2019, Deb was conferred a Life-time Achievement Award from the Indian Chemical Society (estd. 1924) and received this at the Annual Convention of Chemists, Raipur, India.