Pranawachandra Deshmukh

Pranawachandra Deshmukh (born 12 September 1950) is an Indian physicist and educator, known for his contributions to theoretical atomic physics, collisions and light-matter interactions, ultrafast atomic processes, applications of Lambert W Function in pure and applied physics. He has made many contributions to physics education, including publishing foundation textbooks in classical and quantum physics. He taught classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, and collision theory, and his lectures are freely available through NPTEL.

Biography
Pranawachandra Deshmukh was born in Amravati on 12 September 1950.

Deshmukh graduated from Nagpur University in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science in physics. He then finished his Master of Science from Nagpur University in 1973.

Deshmukh earned his Ph.D. from Nagpur University in 1979, under the joint supervision of Dr. Chintamani Mande and Dr. P. L. Khare.

Deshmukh's teaching has focused on classical and quantum physics which has helped the subject become essential for students of many science and engineering majors. He has mentored many young scientists, seventeen doctoral candidates and multiple undergraduate students. His video lectures are popular on YouTube and NPTEL

University Positions
Following his PhD studies, from 1978 to 1979, Deshmukh was a DANIDA fellow at University of Aarhus, Aarhus in the Physics department and worked with Professor Jan Linderberg.

From 1979 to 1980 he was a research associate at University of Notre Dame under Professor R. Hayes and Professor W. R. Johnson. From 1980 until 1983, Deshmukh was a research associate at Georgia State University and worked with Professor S. T. Manson.

Deshmukh returned to India in 1984 and joined Department of Physics at Indian Institute of Technology Madras as a professor of Physics and continued until 2016. During his tenure at Indian Institute of Technology Madras he was appointed on deputation as Professor of Physics, and Dean of Academics at Indian Institute of Technology Mandi for 2009–2010.

In 2016, Deshmukh joined Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati as Professor of Physics, and Dean of Sponsored Research and Consultancy. Since 2020, he has served as an adjunct professor of physics at multiple universities and as a mentor and convener for Center of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Sciences and Technologies (a joint initiative between Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati).

Services
Prof. Deshmukh has held numerous prestigious positions throughout his career. He has served as a Visiting Professor, Georgia State University, Atlanta since 1985. In 1988, he took the role of Visiting Scientist at the International Center of Theoretical Physics, Triste, Italy. From 2002 to 2009, he served as a Senior Research Associate at International Center of Theoretical Physics, Triste, Italy. He also worked as a Visiting Scientist at  Georgia State University, Atlanta during 1991–92. Deshmukh's expertise has also been recognized by University of Aarhus, Aarhus, where he held a Visiting Professorship, in 1991.

In addition to his teaching and research endeavors, Deshmukh has actively participated in various professional organizations. He served as Convenerfor the 11th National Conference of Atomic and Molecular Physics hosted by the Indian Society for Atomic and Molecular Physics in December 1996. He also held the position of Secretary for the Indian Society for Atomic and Molecular Physics from 2001 to 2003. Deshmukh held position of Vice President of the Indian Society for Atomic and Molecular Physicfrom 2003 to 2004.

He was also a Member of the International Advisory Committee for the Asian International Seminar on Atomic and Molecular Physics between 2004 and 2007, and again from 2011 to 2016. In 2005, Deshmukh was elected President of the Indian Society for Atomic and Molecular Physics. Deshmukh also served as Convener for the 7th Asian International Seminar of Atomic and Molecular Physics held from December 4 to 7, 2006.

Prof Deshmukh was the Head of the Department of Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras  from 2006 to 2009. Deshmukh's commitment to education extended beyond his role at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras when he served as Head of the School of Basic Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi from 2009 to 2010.

He also served as the Dean, Academics, at the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi from 2009 to 2010. He held the post of Visiting Professor, The Western University of London, Ontario, Canada in 2011. Later he was appointed as a Western Fellow, at The Western University of London, Ontario, Canada in 2013 and 2014.

Some other positions held by Prof. Deshmukh are:


 * Member, General Committee, International Conference on Photonic, Electronic, and Atomic Collisions (2015)
 * Visiting/Adjuct Professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati (2015-2018)
 * Dean, Sponsored Research and Consultancy, Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati (2016-2020)
 * Convener, 7th Topical Conference of the Indian Society for Atomic and Molecular Physics (6–8 January 2018)
 * Convener, AAMOS20 - Advances in Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Sciences 2020 (14–18 December 2020)
 * Member, Board of Editors, Institute of Physics Journal - Physica Scripta
 * Mentor and Convener, CAMOST, a joint initiative of Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati (since 2020)

Books and monographs

 * Foundations of Classical Mechanics, Cambridge University Press (2019), Foundation of Classical Mechanics
 * Quantum Mechanics – Formalism, Methodologies, and Applications, Cambridge University Press (2023) Quantum Mechanics – Formalism, Methodologies, and Applications