Director
Dr. Subrata Kumar Datta received his B. E. degree in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering in 1989 from the Bengal Engineering College, Shibpur, India; and M. Tech and Ph. D. degrees in Microwave Engineering in 1991 and 1999, respectively, from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-BHU), Varanasi, India. During his doctoral research, he carried out pioneering theoretical research in beam-wave interaction in travelling-wave tubes (TWTs) ─ His quasi-Lagrangian and quasi-Eulerian hydrodynamical analyses bridge the existing Eulerian and the Lagrangian simulation approaches for analysing a TWT, and has been well cited in literature.
In 1991, he joined the Microwave Tube Research and Development Centre (MTRDC), Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Bengaluru, India and since then has served the Centre at various capacities. Currently, he is leading various activities as the Head of the Centre. He has enriched the computer-aided design and the allied technologies of TWTs by his research focussed on broad banding, efficiency enhancement and compactisation of the device. His work culminated in the development of a number of miniaturised Helix-TWTs for microwave power modules (MPMs). He has seven Indian Patents to the credit of DRDO as a co-inventor. He has authored/ co-authored 67 journal and 108 conference papers. He evolved and implemented several innovative techniques for analysing and combating instabilities in helix TWTs, and proposed novel concepts in TWTs using Chiral Dielectric and Metamaterial loading. His current research interests include design and development of different types of microwave vacuum electronic devices and electromagnetic wave propagation in conventional and un-conventional media.
He participated in monitoring and upgrading the teaching and curriculum of engineering education in the country as members of the Board of Studies in Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), Pune, India and Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT), Prayagraj, India. He also served as a visiting faculty to the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), Pune and taught Microwave Engineering and Microwave Tubes to postgraduate students. He has been serving as a reviewer for many national and international journals to review submissions and honoured by IEEE Electron Devices Society as Golden Reviewer for more than 13 years.
Dr. Datta is recipient of a number of awards: Young Engineer Award of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (2001), Sir C. V. Raman Young Scientist Award of the Karnataka State Council for Science & Technology (2002), DRDO Agni Award for Excellence in Self Reliance (2003), DRDO Silicon Medal (2007), DRDO Titanium Medal (2009), B. V. Baliga Memorial Award of the Institution of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineers India (2010), DRDO Scientist of the Year Award (2015), etc.
He is a life member of the National Academy of Sciences India (NASI); senior member of the IEEE, USA; life fellow of the Institution of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineers (IETE), India; life fellow of the Institution of Engineers India (IEI); and a life fellow of the Vacuum Electronic Devices & Applications Society (VEDAS), India.
He had been a key person in bringing together the Vacuum Electronic Devices (VED) fraternity of the country and formation of the Vacuum Electronic Devices and Applications Society (VEDAS), India as its founder General Secretary. He served the society as the General Secretary for three terms and presently one of the Vice-presidents of the society.
He is a member of the Vacuum Electronics Technical Committee (VETC) of the IEEE Electron Devices Society (IEEE-EDS), USA.