Homi Bhabha was an Indian nuclear physicist. He was known as "Father of the Indian nuclear Programme". In January 1933, Bhabha received his doctorate in nuclear physics. In his first scientific paper, "The Absorption of Cosmic radiation", he offered an explanation of the absorption features and electron shower production in cosmic rays. In a paper in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series A, he performed the first calculation to determine the cross section of electron-positron scattering. Bhabha gained international prominence after deriving a correct expression for the probability of scattering positrons by electrons, a process now known as “Bhabha Scattering”. Bhabha served as a Reader in the Physics Department of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. With the help of J. R. D. Tata, he played an instrumental role in the establishment of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai. His major contributions include - work on Compton scattering, R-process, and furthermore the advancement of nuclear physics. He was awarded Padma Bhushan by Government of India in 1954. He later served as a member of the Indian Cabinet's Scientific Advisory Committee and provided the pivotal role to Vikram Sarabhai to set up the Indian National Committee for Space Research, now ISRO. The famed radio telescope in Ooty, India was his initiative, and it became a reality in 1970. He was founding Director of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and also of the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) which is now named as the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in his honour. TIFR and AEET/BARC were the cornerstone of Indian development of nuclear weapons which Bhabha supervised as a Director.

Piara Gill was an Indian nuclear physicist. He was a pioneer in cosmic ray nuclear physics and worked on the American Manhattan project. He was research Professorship fellow of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) (1947), Officer-on-Special Duty (OSD) with the Atomic Energy Commission in New Delhi. He was the first Director of Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIO) of India. He established CSIO as a leader in advanced scientific instrument design in Asia. Gill was a key advisor on India's nuclear weapons strategy in the 1950-60s.