Prof. K. KISHORE Profile
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Kaushal Kishore
received his early education in chemistry from Lucknow
University, and his Ph.D. from the Gorakhpur University
under the guidance of the distinguished physical chemist,
Professor R. P. Rastogi. After a brief stint at Gorakhpur
University as a lecturer, he moved to the Department of
Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, at the Indian Institute
of Science, as an Assistant Professor in 1974.
Subsequently, he rose through the academic ladder to
become a full professor in 1984 and served as the head of
the department during the years 1994-1998. |
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Kishore started his
career at the IISc working on the kinetics and
thermodynamics of combustion, specifically as it related
to solid propellants. During this early period, he
collaborated with Professor Pai Vernekar on several
programs on solid propellants that were funded by ISRO and
DRDO. His work in this area led to several novel
discoveries that shed light on the role of various
components in such solid propellants. One was the finding
that the polymeric binders used in these systems undergo
several chemical transformations during combustion and
also as a result of aging leading to the generation of
polyperoxides.1 He showed that these polyperoxides caused
an accelerated combustion in such solid propellant
compositions. With this insight, he soon discovered a
phenomenon unique to these polymers, that he termed
autopyrolysis,2,3 which catapulted him into fame. His
continued interest in this new class of polyperoxides, led
to many other new research directions which helped in
understanding both the polymer formation process as well
as in developing potential applications for this class of
polymers.4 Thus, in his early work, he brought to bear
upon the phenomenon of combustion his deep understanding
of chemical thermodynamics to formulate, quantify and
provide a detailed mechanistic insight into the complex
process of combustion,5 especially in composite
formulations such as solid propellants. This led to many
years of fruitful collaborations between his group and
both the defense laboratories and ISRO, which lasted even
during his last days at IISc. |
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The knowledge of
combustion and flammability of polymers naturally led him
to another burning issue and that was flammability of
synthetic polymers this time, however, on how to inhibit
or suppress combustion. Given the contextual importance of
this topic, he soon designed and tested various models for
assessing the flammability of combustible materials and
defined a new dimensionless quantity he termed
Flammability Index.6 Further, he went on to design new
additives that would retard/inhibit the flammability of
various polymeric materials making flame retardancy his
newly found love.7 His interest in understanding the
effect of such additives on the various properties of
polymers, primarily on the lowering of their glass
transition temperature (Tg), led him to yet another
topical area in polymer science plasticization. Some of
his early work on studying phosphorous containing
additives that act as both plasticizers and
flame-retardants is well acclaimed. |
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| His interest in the later years primarily focused on two subjects one was related to the mechanism of plasticization in polymers and the other to polymer degradation. His was a search for a molecular basis for the plasticization of polymers. To this end, he designed several novel plasticizers with different molecular topologies and attempted to relate various macroscopic characteristics, such as their flow behaviour to the effectiveness in plasticizing PVC, in particular.8 His efforts in designing polymers similar to polyperoxides, which he termed weak-link polymers, drew his attention to analogous systems, such as polydisulfides.9 Towards the later part of his career, he primarily addressed issues related to the degradation mechanism of these weak link polymers here again attempting to relate the mechanism to the intrinsic bond energies and heats of formation. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Professor Kishore's work was always characterized by its ingenuity, depth and simplicity of analysis. He saw science in everything and had a strong conviction and motivation to understand all phenomena he observed at the microscopic, and if possible at a molecular level. His solid foundation in chemical thermodynamics brought to polymer chemistry a much-needed thermodynamic bias a term he often used to characterize his work. Using numerous tools, starting from thermal analytical methods, rheological measurements, NMR and computational methods, he attacked his problems with passion and a characteristic zeal which often culminated in nailing the issue on the head. Kishore was extremely industrious, and often worked in the lab till the wee hours of the morning, writing papers, reading journals and discussing science with his students. His students will always remember him with fondness for he was not only their research guide but also their friend and a confidant. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Recognition for his achievements came in many forms. Professor Kishore was awarded the Bhatnagar prize in 1988, was elected to the Fellowship of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1991 and later to that of the Indian National Science Academy in 1999. He has also been on the editorial board of J. Appl. Polym. Sci., since 1995. Kishore served on several important decision-making bodies in the country various assessment committees, research councils of national laboratories and in many others. His later years were turning out to be busier than he probably would have liked it, requiring him to take up frequent travel. He often joked that the security guards at the airport mistook him for someone very important and would stand in attention whenever he passed by. His stature and personality, without his knowing, often generated this reaction little did they know of the gentle soul within. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kishore enjoyed company and had a great sense of humor even when he was the subject of the joke. He savored good food, was a avid cricket fan with an enviable knowledge of cricket statistics and great lover of Hindi cinema all of it - from the days when he was a teenager to the most recent ones, something very few of us can boast of. This speaks volumes about his personality a willingness to adapt to the changing times. Kaushal Kishore died in the year 1999. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Prof. K. Kishore Memorial Award Winnners of The Society for Polymer Science, India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Professor K. Kishore Memorial Award (2021-2022) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The award is in honour of one of our very distinguished polymer scientists,
Professor K. Kishore. This award will recognize young outstanding polymer scientists of our country
who have made important research contributions and have demonstrated the potential to become global
leaders in their chosen fields of research. The award is open to researchers, under 45 years of age (born after December 31, 1977),
who are working in India. The award will carry a cash prize of Rs 100,000/- along with a citation. |
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| Nomination Form Click here | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||