Draft:Arvind (physicist)

Arvind is an Indian theoretical physicist working in the areas of Quantum Optics, Quantum Information and Foundations of Quantum Mechanics. He is a Professor of Physics at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali (IISER Mohali). He is currently Vice Chancellor of Punjabi University, Patiala.

Biography
Arvind was born in Jalandhar, Punjab and completed his schooling with a Matriculation with Merit from Punjab School Education Board in 1983. He obtained a BSc (Honours) in Physics from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar with a Gold Medal for meritorious performance in 1988. He obtained his MSc in Physics from IIT Kanpur in 1990. He was awarded a certificate of academic proficiency for Physics from IIT Kanpur in 1989. He joined the Department of Physics and Center for Theoretical Studies, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, and obtained his PhD in Theoretical Physics in 1997.

Arvind moved to IISER Mohali in August 2007, soon after it was established, and has contributed to building this institution. He is a PI of a project on Quantum Contextuality and is also the National Coordinator for the Theme I (Quantum information technologies with photons) of the QuST programme of the Department Of Science & Technology (DST). Arvind was a member of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) drafting committee for the National Mission on Quantum Technologies and Applications (NMQTA) launched by the Government of India in April 2023. He is on the Editorial Board of "Dialog: Science, Scientists and Society" (Indian Academy of Sciences) and of "Physics Education" (Indian Association of Physics Teachers). As Vice Chancellor of Punjabi University Patiala, he started novel academic initiatives there which include Five Year Integrated Masters programmes (FYIP) (http://punjabiuniversity.ac.in/Pages/Page.aspx?dsenc=fyic), a Center for Innovation and Rural Entrepreneurship and a Center for Reviving the Ecology of Punjab.

Awards and Honors

 * Fellowship of the National Academy of Sciences, India 2023.
 * Indian National Science Academy Gold Medal for Young Scientists 2000
 * Certificate of merit in UGC-CSIR examination 1989
 * Certificate of Academic Proficiency in M.Sc. IIT Kanpur 1989
 * Gold medal in B.Sc.(Honours) GNDU Amritsar 1988