Arun Kumar Sharma (1924–2017)

Professor Arun Kumar Sharma, former Sir Rash Behari Ghosh Professor and Head of the Department of Botany, founder Programme Coordinator of the Centre of Advanced Studies in Cell and Chromosome Research at the University of Calcutta, and Jawaharlal Nehru Fellow and National Professor of the University Grants Commission, INSA Golden Jubilee Professor, President of the Indian National Science Academy, National Academy of Sciences India, and General President of the Indian Science Congress Association, a distinguished alumni and recipient of the best teacher award of the University of Calcutta, and the founder and editor-in-chief of the international journal Nucleus (Springer Nature), breathed his last on 6 July 2017 in Kolkata. Whereas the Sharmas (A. K. Sharma and Archana Sharma (AS)) did not have any biological progeny, they are survived by a large number of students (who consider themselves as their surrogate sons and daughters), admirers and academic beneficiaries spread across the globe.