Renowned scientist Kamlesh Nilkanth Vyas has been appointed the secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy and chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, according to an official order issued Tuesday.
The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment till he attains the age of 64 years, i.e. on May 3, 2021, the order issued by the Personnel Ministry said.
Vyas, who is at present Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), has been appointed in place of Shekhar Basu.
Basu was appointed to the post in October 2015 and his tenure was to end in September 2016.
He was, however, given two extension of one year each -- one in 2016 and another last year.
His extended term is till September 19, 2018.
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Vyas is a Mechanical Engineering graduate from MS University, Vadodara.
After completion of training in BARC training school in 1979, he joined Fuel Design and Development Section of Reactor Engineering Division of BARC.
Vyas has worked for design and analysis of nuclear reactor fuels, according to his official bio-data.
He was also responsible for design and development of a novel fuel for strategic applications.
Vyas has worked extensively in thermal hydraulics and stress analysis of critical reactor core components.
He has been conferred several awards, which include Indian Nuclear Society Outstanding Service Award 2011, Homi Bhabha Science and Technology Award 2006, DAE Awards in the years 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013.
Vyas is also a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineers.