N L Char

Content Description

This accession is a small donation and consists of the papers of NL Char, an engineer who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear reactor engineering. Char was involved in the building and operating of nuclear reactors across the country, particularly in the Fast Breeder Test Reactor at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research at Kalpakkam. He was also Director of the Nuclear Power Division at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. The NL Char Collection is arranged into the following series: Personal, Administration, Correspondence, Writings, Media coverage, Ephemera and Artefacts. Personal contains records of Char’s school and college education, as well as some information about subsequent training. It also includes a brief biodata prepared by Char as well as a detailed personnel form for the IAEA which includes details of Char’s roles and specific projects that he worked on in the course of his career. Given the limited amount of material in this collection and about NL Char generally in the public domain, this personnel form provides an interesting snapshot of Char’s work life. This series also includes ephemera such as a business card, id card and pension booklet. Correspondence contains letters exchanged about promotion, retirement, and invitations to the anniversary of the reactor he helped build at Kalpakkam. Administration contains memoranda related to appointment, promotion, and retirement. Writings contains an essay authored by Char about his role in India’s nuclear programme; it offers a broad view of the early years of India’s nuclear programme, mentioning colleagues and key figures. Media coverage contains two newspaper clippings in which Char is mentioned. Ephemera contains published material created by the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research at Kalpakkam about the different aspects of the fast breeder test reactor (that Char played a pivotal role in building and operating), some of it commemorating anniversaries of the reactor’s commissioning. It also includes a 2006 paper about the functioning of the reactor authored by engineers at IGCAR. Artefacts contain two pewter medals commemorating 10 years of the Phénix reactor in the Rhone Valley, France. This series has no sub-series.

Condition Description

The collection is mostly in good condition. Some letters and certificates appear to be fragile and in need of conservation.

Accession Date

2023-01-30

Dispostion

This accession will form part of the collection - N L Char Papers.

Acquisition Type

Gift

Provenance

The collection was given to Deepika S at the Archives from NL Char’s family on January 30, 2023. It was received from Maya Iyengar, daughter of NL Char. The material was handed over at the home of their relative in Indiranagar, Bangalore, and the Deed of Gift was signed. Processing of the material began in February 2023 and at the time of appraisal, some papers pertaining to NL Char’s wife, Vasantha Char, were found to have been included erroneously and the family requested that those papers be returned. Processing was completed in July 2023.

Retention Rule

The NL Char Papers fall within the scope of the Archives at NCBS as a public collecting centre for the history of science in contemporary India. The material is accessible by the public. Specific terms of use are governed by the Deed of Gift signed by the donor.

Language of Description

English

Script of Description

Latin

Restrictions Apply

No

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for access unless mentioned in specific folders of the finding aid.

Use Restrictions

Copyright may not have been assigned to Archives, National Centre for Biological Sciences. Permission for reproduction or distribution must be obtained in writing from the Archives at NCBS (archives@ncbs.res.in). The Archives at NCBS makes no representation that it is the copyright owner in all of its collections. The user must obtain all necessary rights and clearances before use of material and material may only be reproduced for academic and non-commercial use.