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Indian-origin academician knighted by Queen Elizabeth II

Professor Bhadeshia is among nearly 18 Indian-origin men and women honoured by the British monarch, who celebrated the occasion with the traditional Trooping the Colour parade through central London today.

London: A senior Cambridge University academic working with Tata Steel has been awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list along with 17 other Indian-origin people who received awards in various fields.

Harshad Kumar Dharamshi Bhadeshia, Tata Steel Professor of Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge, has been conferred one of the highest honours awarded by Queen Elizabeth II to mark her official birthday for services to science and technology.

“Prof Bhadeshia has not only performed brilliant basic research on steels but has brought a number of the new steels he has developed to manufacture. For example, his new carbide-free steel for railway lines is now in use in the Channel Tunnel, the Swiss rail network and the French tram system,” the official citation said.

“Other inventions include superbainite, now available as armour, a new welding alloy, and a steel tailor-made for pipes going down oil wells. Perhaps the world leader in metallurgy, he is also an inspirational teacher and researcher,” it added.

Professor Bhadeshia is among nearly 18 Indian-origin men and women honoured by the British monarch, who celebrated the occasion with the traditional Trooping the Colour parade through central London today.

More than 1,000 soldiers took part in the traditional display of army drill, music and horsemanship.

The Queen turned 89 on April 21 but as per royal tradition celebrates her official birthday on a Saturday in the summer month of June.

Among the other senior awards include the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) which has been conferred upon Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association (BMA), for services to primary care; Hamid Patel for services to education in Lancashire; and Dr Hari Prasad Mohan Lal Shukla for services to interfaith and the community.

While Indian-origin businessman Atul Pathak receives an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for services to entrepreneurship, the list of MBEs (Member of the Order of the British Empire) honour a range of professionals for their services to the community – Parkash Ahluwalia, Pratibha Dale, Rupinder Kaur Nandra, Naran Bhimji Patel, Pratima Sengupta, Yasvanti Govindji Lakhamshi Shah, Kiran Kumar Sharma and Harsha Yashwant Kumar Shukla.

Among the final category of Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) include Bibi Tej Kaur Grewal, Uttamjit Gujral, Narpinderjit Mann and Veena Soni also recognised for the services towards community cohesion.

From the overseas list, the Queen has honoured Satpal Dass, chair and managing director of Pacific Interiors, for services to British business in India.

The list is prepared annually by the UK Cabinet Office based on nominations for people who have undertaken outstanding work in their communities, either in a voluntary or paid capacity.