New Delhi: A month ago, on 16 October, scientists mourned the loss of one of the country’s most formidable researchers, Sukh Dev. An exceptional chemist and a devoted nationalist, his students remember him not just for his research but for his unwavering commitment to India, even when the world’s top minds came calling — including Nobel laureate and organic chemist Elias James Corey.
“Whenever he travelled abroad, he would never initiate contact with foreigners. As a proud Indian, he firmly believed that they should approach him, not the other way around,” said Vinod K Singh, Institute Chair Professor, Department of Chemistry, IIT Kanpur, and a former PhD student of Sukh Dev.
Singh recalled the time Sukh Dev did not inform Corey—who had been their research advisor—that he would be visiting Boston where Corey was based. This, according to Singh, was an example of Sukh Dev staying true to his principles of national pride. When Corey learned about it, he invited him for lunch with his lab members, a group of 35 people, including 6-7 Indians.
Born in Punjab province’s Chakwal district in undivided India, Sukh Dev started his journey with a bachelor’s and master’s degree at DAV College in Lahore, where his passion for natural products blossomed. This led him to the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore in 1945 for his doctoral studies with renowned organic chemist Praphulla Chandra Guha. It marked the beginning of an illustrious scientific career.
Sukh Dev went abroad twice—first immediately after completing his doctorate, to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to work with American chemist John D. Roberts, and later in 1957-58 while serving as a lecturer at IISc, his alma mater, to stay updated on advancements in the field. However, he never wanted to settle abroad and believed that no Indian should remain overseas for more than three to four years.
“Like the Japanese, he firmly believed in the philosophy that the nation comes before everything else, even family—a principle he saw as key to a country’s greatness,” Singh told ThePrint.
Patriotism and punctuality—two core virtues of his character—were passed down to his students, many of whom followed in his footsteps and now hold leading positions at top national institutions.
Singh, for instance, spent six years in Canada and the US working with EJ Corey, and took up a job in a pharmaceutical company. “But within eight months, when I got an offer from IIT Kanpur, I came back to India,” said Singh.
Learning from Ayurveda
When Sukh Dev shifted his focus from isolating new compounds and solving their structures to exploring nature’s pharmacy, he knew exactly where to turn—folklore and the rich wisdom of Ayurveda.
He often advised his students and fellow researchers that “while investigating crude ayurvedic drugs or other medicinal plants, one must specifically look for the biological activity for which the drug is renowned in Ayurveda or folklore.”
With this vision, Sukh Dev and his team delivered powerful solutions to treat lipid disorders and minimise the risk of early pregnancy loss, and also found cures for parasites plaguing livestock—all by harnessing the healing potential of traditional medicine and uniting ancient wisdom with scientific discovery.
Much of his groundbreaking work on medicinal compounds came to life in the later years of his career at the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) in Pune. Joining in 1960 as head and assistant director of the Organic Chemistry Division, he focused on isolating and deciphering the structures of novel natural products.
These discoveries laid the foundation for the cutting edge industrial research he would go on to lead—a legacy that began in the lab and pushed boundaries beyond it.
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Curiosity-driven to market-oriented
Sukh Dev’s passion for science didn’t stop at just natural products—it spanned across multiple areas of organic chemistry. With his flexible mindset and knack for diving into new challenges, he constantly adapted to explore fresh avenues.
“As he moved from one institution to another, the thrust of his research effort underwent shifts in consonance with spirit of the institution, ranging from curiosity-oriented investigations to market driven industry/technology oriented research,” wrote one of his students in an article for Arkivoc journal.
After dedicating 30 years of his 60-year-long career to academia, he made a bold shift from research institutions to industry. Already promoted to deputy director at NCL in 1968, he could have comfortably stayed on, but the researcher in him sought bigger, more daunting challenges.
Noticing the scientific world’s changing focus, where structure determination was no longer the frontier and applied science was gaining momentum, he seized the opportunity to step into industry.
In 1974, he joined the newly established Malti-Chem Research Centre in Nandesari, Gujarat, as its director, bringing with him a wealth of expertise and a relentless drive to push the boundaries of applied science. In this role, he redirected his focus to turning his research into practical technology, providing fresh tools and methods that made it easier to develop medicines and other valuable products.
One of the most remarkable achievements by his team at Malti-Chem was developing a process to turn glucose into sorbitol, a naturally mild sweetener. Thanks to their work, the world gained access to low-sugar versions of gum, candies, and even toothpaste.
By restructuring abundantly available products in nature, his research group succeeded in producing a whole gamut of high-value products. For this, he explored several swadeshi raw materials like lac and turpentine oil, and extracts from some medicinal plants.
Chemical tweaks to ingredients derived from turpentine have led to a variety of minty-flavoured products. These include flavouring agents for gum, candies, and cough syrups, as well as calming essential oils. Some of these products even help ease nausea in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
His journey from academia to industry wasn’t just a career shift—it was a testament to his unyielding curiosity and drive to make a lasting impact.
As an original thinker, he believed in the power of even the smallest idea, which could appear suddenly and disappear just as quickly. He encouraged his students to seize these moments as soon as they came, knowing this was the key to turning an idea into reality.
“An idea is a neat little thing. Ideas can easily show up, uninvited, and disappear without warning. That quantum moment matters. If one can connect, correlate or expand that momentary flashed idea, that could be the triggering point to bring an idea to reality,” Sukh Dev had said responding to one of his students’ queries about what triggered great ideas.
Last year, on his 100th birthday, he was honoured with the prestigious ‘60 Years of Service Excellence’ award by the American Chemical Society—a fitting tribute. He died at the age of 101, leaving behind a legacy of innovation, curiosity, and patriotism.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)
This post was originally published on here
