A True Science Leader and Metrologists, an Obituary of Dr. Kamal Hossain

Dr. Kamal Hossain (1948–2022) was a friend and well-wisher for Indian metrology and the Metrology Society of India (MSI) and a frequent visitor to CSIR-NPL. A proven world metrologist and science leader, he was born in a remote village and reached to the top position. He came from a small farming village ‘Kulut’, located in West Bengal, India and always carried his Bengali culture and heritage with him. He gained his primary education in Kulut and schooling at Burdwan, West Bengal. Later on he shifted to the prestigious Presidency College in Kolkata. In the year, 1967, he moved to University of York to pursue his higher studies. Dr. Kamal joined NPL, UK after completing his PhD in physics at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge. His research work focused on the use of high-resolution electron microscopy to understand how the microstructure of materials affects their performance in harsh environments. He was a fellow of the Institute of Physics and Institute of Nanotechnology and served as visiting Professor at University of Surrey. In year 2000, Dr. Kamal became NPL’s Research Director and was responsible for the strategic development of NPL's scientific research, developing partnerships with academia, business and government.

He was honored with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for “Services to Industry” by the Queen in June, 2009 for his extensive experience performing advisory work for the Government, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and his contributions to the various high level national and international committees. Dr. Kamal Hossain served as the Chair of EURAMET, the European Association of National Metrology Institutes from 2012 to 2015. He contributed immensely toward enhancing the cooperation between National Metrology Institutes of Europe and worked tirelessly for securing funding for establishing European Metrology program for Innovation and Research with 28 participating states. His dynamic leadership inculcated strategic research agenda and strengthened the European metrology infrastructure and cooperation among all the stakeholders including industry, academia and regulatory bodies. His significant contributions include the development of Horizon 2020, one of the Europe’s largest research program which gave him the recognition of being a thought leader in scientific research policy that accentuated the real economic and social impact of research. He was one of the initiators of ISO TC 229 committee for setting standards for nano-metrology. Under his Chairmanship, the Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS) which was originally limited to G7 members, was opened to others including India.

Kamal never forgot his roots in his remote village and regularly visited his village and contributed toward its social and economic development and inspired young minds at primary and secondary schools. He had very special love for CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL), New Delhi, and frequently visited. He attended various national and international events organized on metrology by CSIR-NPL Metrology Society of India (MSI). Dr. Kamal was conferred with an Honorary Fellow (HF013) of the MSI. He was a member of the editorial board of it’s the flagship journal MAPAN—Journal of Metrology Society of India (MSI). His active support for MAPAN was crucial for attaining SCI status and the subsequent support from Springer. Some of the recent events attended by him were 4th National Conference on Advances in Metrology (AdMet 2015) during February 25–27, 2015 at CSIR-CMERI, Durgapur and 10th International Conference on Advances in Metrology (AdMet 2019) during February 20–22, 2019 at CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi.

Dr. Kamal passed away on January 20th, 2022. We are among the few scientists who had met him and interacted on several occasions. The most recent interaction we had about CSIR-NPL Length Metrology Program only a year back. He will always be remembered and missed by the metrology fraternity in India and across the globe for his outstanding contributions to metrology and his untiring efforts toward increasing the scientific cooperation and collaborations among the NMIs.