Subir Kumar Banerjee

Subir Kumar Banerjee (19 February 1938, Jamshedpur–September 20, 2026) was an Indian-American geophysicist, known for research on rock magnetism, palaeomagnetism, and environmental magnetism.

Education and career

Banerjee studied at the University of Calcutta with a bachelor's degree in physics in 1956 and at the Indian Institute of Technology with a master's degree in 1959. He received in 1963 his Ph.D. in geophysics from the University of Cambridge, where his supervisors were John C. Belshé and Edward Bullard. As a postdoc at the Mullard Research Laboratories in Redhill, Surrey, Banerjee did research on ferrite. At the University of Newcastle, he held an appointment as lecturer from 1966 to 1969 and worked under the supervision of Kurt Hoselitz (1916–2010) and Kenneth Creer (1925–2020). For the academic year 1967–1968 Banerjee was at the Ampex Corporation and at Stanford University. At Stanford he was mentored by Allan V. Cox. For the academic year 1969–1970 Banerjee was a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania and worked in the laboratory of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. For the academic year 1970–1971 he was at the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. At the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis he was an associate professor from 1971 to 1974 and thereafter a full professor of geophysics. In 1974 he co-wrote the book The physical principles of rock magnetism with Frank D. Stacey. In 1970s Banerjee investigated samples of lunar rocks. In 1976 he was appointed an adjunct professor in the University of Minnesota's Program of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. In 1990 he founded the University of Minnesota's Institute for Rock Magnetism (IRM) and became its director.

Banerjee's research dealt with magnetism of rocks with applications to paleomagnetism and geomagnetism. His research pertained to the remanent magnetization of magnetic oxides in rocks. He and his colleagues collected paleomagnetic data from sediments in lakes and soils and applied this data to archaeological, paleoclimatic and environmental studies. He was involved in the development of rapid methods for the paleomagnetic study of soils and their use in stratigraphy and climate reconstruction dating as far back as the midpoint of the Middle Paleolithic.

In 1983 Subir Banerjee received a D.Sc. from the University of Cambridge. He was elected in 1984 a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and in 2006 a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS). From 1986 to 1988 he served as president of the Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Section of the AGU. The AGU honored him in 2003 with the William Gilbert Award and in 2006 with the John Adam Fleming Medal. Banerjeee was awarded the Louis Néel Medal from the European Geosciences Union in 2004.

Selected publications

References

  1. ↑ biographical information from American Men and Women of Science, Thomson Gale 2004
  2. ↑ Moskowitz, Bruce M.; Jackson, Michael J.; Bilardello, Dario. "In Memoriam: Subir Kumar Banerjee February 19, 1938–September 20, 2026". LinkedIn. Retrieved 24 October 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Subir K. Banerjee, 2006 John Adam Fleming Medal Winner". American Geophysical Union (AGU) Earth and Space Science.
  4. ↑ "Banerjee, Subir K.". Who's Who in Technology, Volume 4. Research Publications. 1986. p. 281. ISBN 9780892351107.
  5. 1 2 3 "Subir Banerjee". 2004 Louis Néel Medal, European Geosciences Union.
  6. ↑ Stacey, Frank D.; Banerjee, Subir K. (2 December 2012). The physical principles of rock magnetism. Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-444-41084-9; 2012 pbk reprint of 1974 1st edition;{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) book description from Elsevier
  7. ↑ Banerjee, S.K.; Mellema, J.P. (1974). "Lunar paleointensity from three Apollo 15 crystalline rocks using an A.R.M. Method". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 23 (2): 185–188. Bibcode:1974E&PSL..23..185B. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(74)90191-5.
  8. ↑ Hoffman, K.A.; Banerjee, S.K. (1975). "Magnetic "zig-zag" behavior in lunar rocks". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 25 (3): 331–337. Bibcode:1975E&PSL..25..331H. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(75)90250-2.
  9. ↑ Banerjee, S. K.; Swits, G. (1975). "Natural remanent magnetization studies of a layered Breccia Boulder from the lunar highland region". The Moon. 14 (3–4): 473–481. Bibcode:1975Moon...14..473B. doi:10.1007/BF00569677. S2CID 129303173.
  10. ↑ Banerjee, Subir K.; Mellema, James P. (1976). "Early lunar magnetism". Nature. 260 (5548): 230–231. Bibcode:1976Natur.260..230B. doi:10.1038/260230a0. S2CID 4203864.
  11. ↑ Hoffman, K.A.; Baker, J.R.; Banerjee, S.K. (1979). "Combining paleointensity methods: A dual-valued determination on lunar sample 10017,135". Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors. 20 (2–4): 317–323. Bibcode:1979PEPI...20..317H. doi:10.1016/0031-9201(79)90054-2.
  12. ↑ Banerjee, Subir K. (1976). "Islamic masterwork". Nature. 264 (5586): 594. Bibcode:1976Natur.264..594B. doi:10.1038/264594a0. S2CID 39299390.
  13. ↑ Banerjee, Subir K. (1991). "Institute for Rock Magnetism established". Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union. 72 (9): 98. Bibcode:1991EOSTr..72...98B. doi:10.1029/90EO00075.
  14. ↑ "Subir K. Banerjee, University of Minnesota". research.com.
  15. ↑ "William Gilbert Award (Recipients)". American Geophysical Union.