Obituary: Professor Arvind P. Kudchadker

Professor Arvind P. Kudchadker (1934-2024)

Professor Arvind Kudchadker, Professor Emeritus, IIT Bombay, passed away on Tuesday, Aug 13, 2024 in Chico, CA, USA, at his daughter’s place.  He was 90 years of age and had some age-related health complications, but the end was peaceful.

Professor Kudchadker was associated with multiple institutions during his professional life, but mainly as a faculty and administrator in IITs Kanpur and Bombay, and then after his formal retirement from IIT Bombay, as founding Director in two new Institutions he played a key role in creating, namely Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology (DAIICT) and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Petroleum University (PDPU), in Gujarat. Through his multifarious contributions to engineering education, research and academic administration, Prof Kudchadker has left an indelible mark on the academic scene in India.

Born in Goa on February 16, 1934, Kudchadker obtained his undergraduate degrees from Mumbai University, graduating with a BSc (Tech) in Oils Fats and Waxes from UDCT (now ICT) in 1958. Following this up with a PG Diploma in Chemical Engineering from the University of Birmingham, UK, he proceeded to the US to obtain an MS from University of Texas at Austin (1961) and a PhD from Texas A&M University (1967), both in Chemical Engineering. During his stay in the US, he also worked with the American Petroleum Institute, carrying out research in thermodynamic data and analysis.  He returned to India in 1968 to join the faculty of chemical engineering at IIT Kanpur. After 10 years during which he held several positions including the headship of the department, he moved to IIT Bombay in 1978 as Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. At IIT Bombay, apart from his role as a teacher and researcher, he played a key role in Institutional development, serving as the first Head of the newly created Computer-Aided Design (CAD) centre, as Dean of Research and Development (1984-86) and as Deputy Director (1986-94), all during the directorship of Prof B. Nag. His years in administration saw a number of initiatives which took R&D and Industry-academia interactions in the Institute to a new level. He played a key role in faculty recruitment, and was instrumental in attracting a large number of promising young faculty to IIT Bombay in various departments. These farsighted initiatives have paid dividends over the subsequent decades and are largely responsible for IIT Bombay’s standing in academics and research today. In the larger professional scene in the country too, Prof Kudchadker played an active role as a member of various governmental and private research bodies.

In research, Professor Kudchadker worked in Thermodynamics, and developed an active laboratory in thermodynamics research at IIT Bombay. He was among the first to recognize the importance of sustainable chemical processing, and initiated programs with a broad vision for shifting the focus to bio-based raw materials from fossil-based ones. He was a mentor to several generations of students, and was also early to recognize the importance of technology in bringing quality education to the masses. Post his retirement from IIT Bombay in 1994, Prof Kudchadker continued to be active professionally, helping set up the Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology (DAIICT) in 2001 and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Petroleum University (PDPU) in 2007, for both of which he served as the founding Director. His experiences in creating, developing and mentoring quality institutions are recorded in his book, ‘Creating a New Technological Institute’.

For his many contributions, Professor Kudchadker was variously recognized. Among these recognitions may be mentioned the Fellowship of the Indian National Academy of Engineering and Emeritus Professorship awarded by the Senate of IIT Bombay.

As a person, Prof Kudchadker is remembered as a jovial, easygoing person equally at home with his own peer group as well as with the generations of students that he mentored. His wife Shanti (who incidentally, was also a thermodynamicist) was an admirable foil to him in all his endeavours. A connoisseur of Hindustani classical music, Arvind and Shanti Kudchadker were regulars at the notable music concerts in Mumbai. 

The Department of chemical engineering at IIT Bombay and the Institute at large, fondly remember Professor Kudchadker’s many contributions, and will miss his occasional visits to the Institute and friendly interactions. May his soul rest in peace.

We invite people who have been associated with him, in any manner, to pay tributes and recall fond memories, by communicating through this page, for others to read and cherish.