Kumar Bhattacharyya, Baron Bhattacharyya Explained

Honorific Prefix:The Right Honourable
The Lord Bhattacharyya
Office:Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Term Start:3 June 2004
Term End:1 March 2019
Life peerage
Birth Name:Sushanta Kumar Bhattacharyya
Birth Date:1940 6, df=yes
Birth Place:Dhaka, Bengal Presidency, British India
Death Place:Birmingham, United Kingdom
Party:Labour
Alma Mater:Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (BTech)
University of Birmingham (MS, PhD)
Website:WMG's Founder Page
Known For:Founder of WMG, University of Warwick

Sushanta Kumar Bhattacharyya, Baron Bhattacharyya, [1] [2] (6 June 1940 – 1 March 2019), was a British-Indian engineer, educator and government advisor.[3] In 1980, he became Professor of Manufacturing Systems at the University of Warwick and founded the Warwick Manufacturing Group.[4] In 2004, he was made a life peer and became a member of the House of Lords.[5] [6]

Early life and education

Sushanta Kumar Bhattacharyya was born on 6 June 1940 to a Bengali Brahmin family in Dhaka.[7] He was the elder son of Sudhir Kumar Bhattacharyya (1909–1987) and Hemanalini Chakravarti. The Bhattacharyyas were an aristocratic zamindar family based in the Dacca district of the Bengal Presidency of British India (now Bangladesh).[8] At the time, his father, a distinguished professor of physical chemistry and subsequently Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, was a professor at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, where Bhattacharyya spent the first 12 years of his life. In 1952, upon his father's appointment as head of the chemistry department at the new Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur,[9] the family moved to Kharagpur.

Bhattacharyya studied at Hijli High School, situated inside IIT Kharagpur campus & then studied Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, successfully sought honours and titles, taking his Bachelor of Technology (BTech) degree in 1960. The following year, he moved to Britain, where he worked for six years as a graduate apprentice at Lucas Industries, a large British manufacturing company.[9] During this time, he studied at the University of Birmingham, where he was awarded a Master of Science (MSc) degree in engineering production and management, followed by a PhD in engineering production in 1970.[10] While completing his PhD at Birmingham, he was appointed as a lecturer and began the process of establishing a manufacturing education programme for industry there.[9]

Career and research

In 1980, he moved to the University of Warwick and, with the support of Vice-Chancellor Jack Butterworth, he founded WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group) of which he served as chairman until his death. WMG is now one of the largest academic departments of the university and is known for its collaborative research and education programmes with industry.[11] During this time, he was instrumental in brokering significant partnerships for UK manufacturing including the takeover of Jaguar Land Rover by Indian firm Tata Motors[12] [13] in 2008 and the investment in the National Automotive Innovation Centre at the University of Warwick.[14]

Lord Bhattacharyya's contribution to innovation in academia and industry led to several prime ministerial visits to WMG. Margaret Thatcher called Bhattacharyya "a true pioneer" in a 1990 speech opening WMG's Advanced Technology Centre.[15] A decade later, Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair said WMG was "an outstanding example of combining academic excellence with industrial relevance."[16] In a 2007 speech, Blair's successor, Gordon Brown, said that WMG "provides a prime example of how the knowledge created in our universities can be transferred to make a difference in the real world".[17]

In 2016, Prime Minister Theresa May visited WMG with Chancellor Philip Hammond as part of her government's development of a UK Industrial Strategy.[18]

Bhattacharyya was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1997 New Year Honours and knighted in 2003. On 3 June 2004, he was created a life peer as Baron Bhattacharyya of Moseley in the County of West Midlands. He sat on the Labour benches in the House of Lords.

In 2014, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).[2] [19] He was also a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering[1] and a number of other professional bodies including the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Indian National Academy of Engineering and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.

Kumar Bhattacharyya was a past member of the UK Council for Science and Technology and a past board member of Advantage West Midlands, the West Midlands Regional Development Agency (RDA).[20] He also served as a scientific adviser to the government of South Africa. He sat on the Policy Advisory Council of the Institute for Public Policy Research[21] and served on the National Consumer Council from 1990 to 1993.

House of Lords

Kumar Bhattacharyya sat on the Labour benches in the House of Lords. His focus was on policy areas such as business and industry, economy and finance, education, international affairs and science and technology. Throughout his career, he was a passionate advocate for engineering innovation and the revival of British industry.[22] Lord Baker paid tribute to his enormous contribution to technical education in the UK as "quite remarkable".[23]

Books

In 2002, Andrew Lorenz wrote a book about Bhattacharyya's career and the growth of WMG, entitled Kumar Bhattacharyya: The Unsung Guru.[24]

Awards and honours

His nomination for the Royal Society reads:

"Kumar Bhattacharyya is the founder and leader of the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) whose mission is to improve the competitiveness of industry through innovative collaborative research, educational and knowledge transfer programmes WMG employs over 300 staff with a similar number seconded from industry. It has a global reputation in automotive research, the built environment, digital technology and healthcare systems. Kumar Bhattacharyya was the primary architect of the Integrated Graduate Development Scheme, now considered best practice in CPD by many Universities, and was the first to run the Eng Doc programme on similar principles. In 30 years, the Education programmes have involved over 25,000 individuals and over 500 UK companies. Bhattacharyya has received many international honours, awards and honorary doctorates."[2]

Named after Lord Bhattacharyya

In November 2018, Coventry City Council deputy leader Abdul Khan announced that the council had asked the University of Warwick to rename part of University Road as Lord Bhattacharyya Way. The university agreed, and additionally announced that the UK's National Automotive Innovation Centre building, which will be sited on Lord Bhattacharyya Way, would be named The Lord Bhattacharyya building.[44]

Personal life

Bhattacharyya and his Irish wife, Bridget, had three daughters, Anita, Tina and Malini. As well as Bengali and English, he either spoke or understood Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.[45] He wrote a regular opinion column for the Birmingham Post.[46] [47]

Death

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya died on 1 March 2019 following a short illness.[48]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: List of Fellows . . 2 January 2018 . 8 June 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160608094405/http://www.raeng.org.uk/about-us/people-council-committees/the-fellowship/list-of-fellows . dead .
  2. Web site: Kumar Bhattacharyya . . 2 January 2018. 2014. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where:
  3. Web site: Lord Bhattacharyya . UK Parliament . 2 January 2018.
  4. Web site: Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya: Chairman of WMG . . 2 January 2018.
  5. Web site: Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya :: Chairman of WMG. Warwick.ac.uk. 9 November 2018.
  6. Web site: Engine for change: Industrialist and educator Lord Bhattacharyya. 2 August 2013. Financial Times. 9 November 2018.
  7. Web site: 2016-06-11 . Indian origin professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya felicitated with Regius Professorship by Queen Elizabeth II . 2024-06-18 . India Today . en.
  8. Aditya . S. . Sudhir Kumar Bhattacharyya 1909–1987 . Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy. 1 . 194–204 . 1987 .
  9. News: A Brahmin of business . Oliver . Morgan . 19 June 2005 . . 2 January 2018.
  10. Characteristics of wheel wear in precision surface grinding. Kumar. Bhattacharyya. 1970. PhD. . Bham.ac.uk. University of Birmingham.
  11. Kumar Bhattacharyya . 24 March 2000 . . 2 January 2018.
  12. Web site: Jaguar Land Rover "at start of great revival" . 11 December 2011 . BBC One, The Politics Show West Midlands . 2 January 2018.
  13. Web site: JLR at start of a 'great revival' . 11 December 2011 . BBC News . 2 January 2018.
  14. News: Jaguar Land Rover backs hi-tech campus with £45m . Graeme . Brown . 14 June 2013 . . 2 January 2018.
  15. Web site: Speech opening Warwick University Advanced Technology Centre Margaret Thatcher Foundation. Margaretthatcher.org. en. 2018-03-31.
  16. Web site: Tony Blair visits University of Warwick. Warwick.ac.uk. en-GB. 2018-03-31.
  17. Web site: WMG :: Gordon Brown unveils foundation stone of Warwick Digital Lab. Warwick.ac.uk. en-GB. 2018-03-31.
  18. News: Government wants Coventry & JLR at heart of global car industry. Gilbert. Simon. 2017-04-28. Coventrytelegraph.net. 2018-03-31.
  19. Web site: Professor Lord Bhattacharyya elected as a Fellow of The Royal Society . 1 May 2014 . University of Warwick . 2 January 2018.
  20. Web site: Hansard Written Answers: Advantage West Midlands . 7 November 2002 . . 2 January 2018.
  21. Web site: Kumar Bhattacharyya . . 2 January 2018 . 3 January 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180103072502/https://www.ippr.org/about/people/staff/kumar-bhattacharyya . dead .
  22. Web site: Hansard – Lords – Houses of Parliament – Archives (26 April 2013): Lord Bhattacharyya: Spoken material by date . UK Parliament . 2 January 2018.
  23. Web site: Lords Hansard text for 23 October 2014 (pt 0002) . UK Parliament . 2 January 2018.
  24. Book: Lorenz, Andrew.. Kumar Bhattacharyya : the unsung guru. 2002. Random House Business. 0-7126-7244-3. London. 50526920.
  25. Web site: IET Viscount Nuffield/Mensforth Lecture . . 20 February 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140227093156/http://conferences.theiet.org/nuffield/previous/1900/index.cfm . 27 February 2014 . dmy-all .
  26. Web site: The Sir Robert Lawrence Award . Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (UK) . 2 January 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140223124618/http://www.ciltuk.org.uk/Events/AnnualAwards/TheSirRobertLawrenceAward.aspx . 23 February 2014.
  27. Web site: Padma Bhushan Awardees . Government of India.
  28. Web site: Honorary Graduates of the University of Birmingham since 2000 . University of Birmingham . 2 January 2018.
  29. Web site: The Duncan Davies Medal . The Research & Development Society . 12 May 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121116085148/http://www.rdsoc.org/the-duncan-davies-medal . 16 November 2012 .
  30. Web site: Honorary Members . . 2 January 2018.
  31. Web site: Royal Society elects new Fellows . Royal Society . 2 January 2018.
  32. News: 'Saviours of Jaguar Land Rover' honoured as Freemen of the City . Duncan . Gibbons . 24 September 2015 . . 2 January 2018.
  33. Web site: Minister for the Constitution presents University of Warwick with Royal Warrant . UK Government . 18 July 2017.
  34. News: Major award for Lord Bhattacharyya . Machinery Market News . 18 July 2017.
  35. News: WMG chairman 'surprised but honoured' by double award presentation in China . Mancarini . Leigh . 3 October 2017 . Coventry Telegraph . 4 October 2017.
  36. News: Foreign experts receive "Great Wall Friendship Award" . 20 November 2008 . . 4 October 2017.
  37. News: 50 foreigners win Friendship Award . 30 September 2017 . . 4 October 2017 .
  38. Web site: January 2018 University of York to award Honorary Degrees – Electronic Engineering, The University of York. York.ac.uk. EN. 2018-01-22.
  39. Web site: USTB 2018 student graduation ceremony and degree awarding ceremony. News.ustb.edu.cn. 9 November 2018. 18 July 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180718234610/http://news.ustb.edu.cn/xinwendaodu/2018-06-29/68673.html. dead.
  40. News: Professor Lord Bhattacharyya receives an honorary degree from Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology. 2018-09-27. Shaping the future. 2018-11-09. en-GB.
  41. News: Professor Lord Bhattacharyya receives an honorary degree from the Indian Institute of Technology. 2018-09-18. Shaping the future. 2018-11-09. en-GB.
  42. Web site: WMG Chairman delivers memorial lecture. 30 November 2018 .
  43. Web site: Zienkiewicz Lecture. www.swansea.ac.uk. 2018-12-01.
  44. Web site: Vice-Chancellor announcement.
  45. News: The Kumars at Number 10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20040702052004/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040509/asp/look/story_3223137.asp . dead . 2 July 2004 . 9 May 2004 . The Telegraph - Calcutta . 23 March 2018.
  46. Web site: Kumar Bhattacharyya . Birmingham Post . 2 January 2018.
  47. Web site: Birmingham Post: Business news, local news, expert opinion. Birminghampost.net. 9 November 2018. 22 October 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101022024602/http://www.birminghampost.net/tags/kumar-bhattacharyya/. dead.
  48. News: Professor Lord Bhattacharyya dies aged 78. Mullen. Enda. 1 March 2019. Coventry Telegraph. 2 March 2019.

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