Man Mohan Sharma (born 1 May 1937) is an Indian chemical engineer. He was educated at Jodhpur, Mumbai, and Cambridge. At age 27, he was appointed Professor of Chemical Engineering in the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai. He later went on to become the Director of UDCT, the first chemical engineering professor to do so from UDCT.
In 1990, he became the first Indian engineer to be elected as a Fellow of Royal Society, UK. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan (1987) and the Padma Vibhushan (2001) by the President of India. He has also been awarded the Leverhulme Medal of the Royal Society, the S.S. Bhatnagar Prize in Engineering Sciences (1973), FICCI Award (1981), the Vishwakarma medal of the Indian National Science Academy (1985), G.M. Modi Award (1991), Meghnad Saha Medal (1994), and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (2001). He served as Professor for 33 years at UDCT, along with 8 years as Director of this institute. The book, authored by Anita Patil and published by Sundaram Digital Publication House, highlights Prof. Sharma's academic journey, pioneering research in chemical engineering, and his role in shaping scientific education in India. The biography was launched at the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, where he served as Director for many years. During this book launch ceremony, his former student Mukesh Ambani announced an unrestricted gift of ₹151 crore (equivalent to US$16.7 million) to the Institute of Chemical Technology to honor Sharma.
Awards
Sharma is a recipient of a number of prestigious academic honours and awards including the 1977 Moulton Medal of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, and is himself commemorated in the M M Sharma Medal awarded by the same institution for outstanding research contributions.
He won the Leverhulme Medal of the Royal Society "for his work on the dynamics of multi-phase chemical reactions in industrial processes". He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan (in 2001), and Padma Bhushan (in 1987) by the President of India. He is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, Honorary Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad, Fellow of the Royal Society, London. Subsequently, he was elected Honorary Fellow by the Royal Academy of Engineering and is Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Engineering.
He has been honoured by several universities including IITs by honorary doctorates.
Further reading
- ((transliteration: Gurūṇāṃ Guru) गुरूणां गुरु In Marathi)