Rathindra Nath Bose
Rathindra Nath Bose (1952-July 10, 2015) was a chemist was Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry at Northern Illinois University.
Education
Bose was born in 1952 in the village of Kamalapur, in the Narail district of Bangladesh. He completed his secondary and higher secondary education in Narail and then gained admission to the Department Of Chemistry at the University of Rajshahi. In 1973, he graduated with a BSc (Honors) degree, securing first place with first-class honors; he went on to earn his MSc degree in 1975 in the same manner, topping the list with first-class honors. After 1975, he left for the United States and in 1982, obtained his PhD in Chemistry from Georgetown University. His doctoral research was in the fields of Quantum Chemistry and Bioinorganic Chemistry.
Academic career
Rathindra Bose's career kicked off in 1975 when he joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Dhaka as a Lecturer after completing his MSc. After finishing his PhD, he settled permanently in the United States. From 1982 to 2003 (for AbOUT 16 years), he worked at Kent State University, where he rose through the ranks from Assistant Professor, to Associate Professor, to Professor, and finally took the helm as the Chairman of the Chemistry Department. In 2003, he joined Northern Illinois University, where he worked as a Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry; as Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, he spearheaded new programs such as Molecular Medicine and Nanoscience. In 2008, he joined Ohio University as the Vice President for Research and Creative Activity and Dean of the Graduate College, where he drove a significant increase in research funding. Finally, in 2011, he joined the University of Houston as the Vice Chancellor/Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer and boosted research expenditure from $92 million to $140.6 million (2011-2014). He was a Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and held faculty positions in Biology, Chemistry, and Pharmacological Sciences.
Research contributions
Rathindra Bose's research is interdisciplinary, straddling the fields of medical chemistry and materials science. He has delved into the mechanism of action of platinum drugs for ovarian and testicular cancer, studied the DNA damage and mutation caused by chromium compounds in lung and bronchial cancer, and investigated the structure and dynamics of macromolecules. Furthermore, he has worked on micellar electrokinetic chromatography and nano-catalysts for fuel cells. A new anticancer [...] he discovered, called Phosphaplatins, is currently undergoing clinical trials.
Administrative roles
At Kent State, Bose steered the ship as Chairman, managing the department. At Northern Illinois, he pioneered new PhD programs, such as Molecular Medicine (in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic) and Nanoscience (in partnership with Argonne National Lab). At Ohio, he took the lead in organizing a research expo. In Houston, he was the driving force behind achieving research growth. He worked as the Chairman of the Science Advisory Board of Phosplatin Therapeutics and was a board member of BioHouston.
Awards and honors
- Four Distinguished Teaching Awards from two universities.
- Distinguished Scholar Award from Kent State.
- Nominated for Carnegie Professor of the Year.
- Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (2013).
- Expatriate Fellow of the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences.
- A great many invited talks: American Chemical Society, International Conference on Solution Chemistry, among others.
Personal life
Rathindra Bose's wife, Anima Bose, works as an Associate Professor of Engineering Technology at the UH College of Technology.
Legacy and death
Rathindra Bose died on July 10, 2015, after a brief illness. His discovered Phosphaplatins have the potential to save the lives of cancer patients. A memorial fund established at UH carries on his research. Renu Khator (UH President) said: "He was a gifted scholar and a devoted educator."