Balwant Rai Puri obtained PhD from the University of Panjab in 1940. His interest areas were physical chemistry and surface chemistry. He contributed significantly to the research on the properties of capillary condensates, surface chemistry of carbons, catalytic reactions of industrial and environmental interest and physicochemical behaviour of proteins. He served as a member of the American Carbon Society. Dr Puri was a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chemistry, London and Indian Chemical Society, and Founder President of the Indian Carbon Society.

Putcha Venkateswarlu obtained his DSc from Banaras Hindu University in 1947. He extensively researched EPR, NMR, microwave spectra, laser-excited fluorescence, energy transfer and energy upconversion in rare earth ion doped crystals, nonlinear optics and optical phase conjugation. He discovered the first triatomic free radical CF2. It was an essential contribution as it ushered in the spectroscopy of free radicals. He initiated research in microwave and resonance spectroscopies (NMR & ESR). He was elected member of the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Indian National Science Academy. He was awarded C V Raman centenary medal in 1988.

13-14 June, 2023

At London, UK.