ITER NEWSLINE
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In memoriam
Dhiraj Bora, leading contributor to fusion and ITER
In memoriam | Dhiraj Bora, leading contributor to fusion and ITER
The ITER community was greatly saddened to learn of the passing of Dhiraj Bora, a well-known expert in plasma physics and tireless proponent of the ITER Project.
A specialist in radio frequency heating and current drive in tokamaks, Dhiraj Bora (1951-2021) was ITER Deputy Director-General (DDG) from 2007 to 2012. He returned to India to become Director General of the Institute for Plasma Research and served in this capacity from 2013 to 2016.
Professor Bora was a leading figure in fusion research in India and a well-respected member of the international fusion community, with former colleagues and friends across three continents.
A specialist in radio frequency heating and current drive in tokamaks, he was affiliated for the better part of his career with the Institute for Plasma Research (IPR) in Gandhinagar, a premier scientific research institute under the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India. He was project leader for the radio frequency group at that institute since its inception, developing high-power, megawatt-level heating and current drive systems.
From 2007 to 2012, he was Deputy Director-General (DDG) and Director of the CODAC, Heating & Diagnostics Directorate at the ITER Organization. During his time at ITER, many of the systems were in the design and early procurement phases, a process that culminated with the transfer of full technical specifications to the procuring Domestic Agencies through Procurement Arrangements. He was also closely involved in the planning for the ITER Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF), a test bed for the components and technologies of the neutral beam heating system.
In late 2012, after five years at the ITER Organization, he returned to India to become Director General of the Institute for Plasma Research, taking over from founding director Predhiman Krishan Kaw. He served in this capacity from 2013 to 2016, overseeing the first plasma of the Steady State Tokamak fusion reactor SST-1. He also remained closely involved with the ITER Project, attending the ITER Council as representative from India throughout the duration of his term as IPR Director General.
More recently, Professor Bora was the Vice Chancellor of the Assam Science and Technology University, ASTU.
Professor Bora passed away in Ahmedabad, India, on Saturday 19 June.
The Times of India published this obituary.
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