H. Paria (1938-2006)
Prof. Paria was born on March 3, 1938 in a village in Midnapore district (now East Medinipur). He had
his schooling in his home town. He graduated with Physics (Hons.) from Vidyasagar College and joined
the M.Sc. (Tech.) course in Radio Physics and Electronics in 1958 and got his degree in 1961.
At that time late Professor Biswaranjan Nag was setting up his laboratory for research in
semiconductor physics and devices. Prof. Paria joined his team in 1961 and significantly contributed to
the development of the laboratory. The research school subsequently earned international acclaim.
Prof. Paria did some pioneering work in the field of semiconductor transport and his thesis was on high
field magnetoresistance of n-type germanium.
Prof. Paria had an extra-ordinary experimental skill and a sound knowledge of electronic circuits. He.
along with his co-workers, ingenuously, developed a goniometer, a high voltage electric pulser and an
NMR magnetometer with its power supply with which the magneto-resistance was measured. He also
contributed to the development of a microwave characterization technique for semiconductor samples.
In 1968, Dr. H L Hartnagel from Newcastle-upon-Tyne paid a short visit to this Institute under a joint
British Council-UGC agreement. The visit of Dr. Hartnagel gave a real boost to the research activity of
the department in semiconductors. He taught us the technique of fabricating Gunn diodes. Dr. Paria
was very quick to master the technique of fabricating the Gunn diodes. He also designed a cavity to
contain the diode.
Dr. Paria developed a few new instruments, like a lapping machine to make surfaces of semiconductor
sample atomically flat, and a high voltage high current pulser of nanosecond duration using a Hgwetted relay. He got one or two Indian patents for his work on instrumentation.
Dr. Hartnagel was so impressed with the technical skill of Dr. Paria that he made the least hesitation
in accepting him as a Visiting Scientist to his University under the then existing collaborative program.
Dr. Paria stayed in Newcastle-upon-Tyne for six months and worked further on Gunn oscillators and
learnt a number of experimental techniques.
Back in India, Dr. Paria was promoted to the post of reader in 1972. At that time the Ministry of
Defence was in the process of establishing Centres for Research and Training in Defence related
devices and systems. A Centre for Radar and Communication was established in the Department on
the basis of the accomplishments in Gunn oscillators.
Dr. Paria became professor in 1983. His research interest by that time shifted to Microelectronics. A
Centre on Microelectronics was established by MHRD in the department during 1980s and Prof. Paria
was involved in the development of the Centre.
During the later period of his academic career, Prof. Paria devoted his time almost entirely to
teaching. His mastery in teaching Circuits, Devices and Microelectronics placed him in high esteem by
his students. Many of his colleagues sought his help in repairing and fabricating electronic systems.
Prof. Paria served as the Head of the Department of Radio Physics and Electronics from September
1994 to August 1996. In that capacity, he earned the respect from his colleagues for his impartial
judgment, his regular and systematic habits and his readiness for the development of his department.
As a person, Prof. Paria was simple and kind-hearted. He talked quite less outside his class room. In
his close circle, he talked about literature, sports and contemporary events. He was associated with
Narendrapur R K Mission College and supervised a number of students’ projects there. He was a
resident in that college for a number of years.
Prof. Paria, who retired on March 31, 2003, breathed his last at 3.30 PM on October 5, 2006 after a
massive heart attack. Prof. Paria is survived by his wife and a daughter.