Gautam Sen, Geologist (1951-)
Gautam Sen is an India-born American professor, author, and a Higher Education leader. He is the Dean of the School of Natural & Social Sciences at Lehman College (City University of New York) in the Bronx. Gautam came to New York after spending four years as Vice Provost for Research & Graduate Studies at American University of Sharjah and nearly three decades at Florida International University in Miami. At Florida International University he chaired the Department of Earth Sciences, founded Florida Center for Electron Microscopy, and retired as Associate Dean of Research in the College of Arts & Sciences. Gautam was a Program Officer at the National Science Foundation in the early nineties. He is a recipient of several research and service awards, including the “Glory of Bengal” award in Dubai for his service to the Society.
Gautam was born in Purnia in Bihar state of India. He grew up in a loving family in the bustling city of Kolkata at a time when gas lamps lined the grassy sidewalks of his neighborhood and dawn was welcomed by cacophony of Tagore songs and loud radio news oozing out of villas and homes. This was also the time when India fought three wars with two of its northern neighbors – with China in 1962, and with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971. During those times music was replaced by war news, and darkness was welcomed by shuttered windows, dimmed lights, sirens, and half-blackened headlights of automobiles. Gautam’s oldest brother, Subir (father of the former Miss Universe and actress Sushmita Sen) joined the Indian Air Force and was active in the 1971 war.
Gautam graduated from Jagadbandhu Institution in 1968 and joined Asutosh College during a period of extreme turmoil and hopelessness that gripped the youth and the city. Corruption, lack of opportunities, and the general dark mood gave birth to the Naxalite movement during that period, which added violence and terrorism to the already unbearable atmosphere of the once great city. Gautam was fortunate to survive those years and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with Honors in Geology from Asutosh College. He later received a Master of Science degree at Calcutta University’s Science College campus on Ballygunge Circular Road, where Gautam studied under the tutelage of Professor Aniruddha De. His thesis work involved a field study of the Deccan Traps of India, which is one of the giant volcanic eruptions to have occurred on earth some 65 million years ago. His fieldwork took him to the forests and mountains of central India, where he carried out mapping and sampling for two months. The Traps became his lifelong passion.
Gautam’s studies were disrupted by the three wars and the frequent closings of the University and Colleges in Calcutta during the tumultuous Naxalite period. As a result, Gautam received his M.Sc. degree in 1976 although he was part of a cohort who should have graduated in 1973. In 1976, Gautam traveled to Dallas (TX) to start on a Ph.D. in Geosciences at the University of Texas at Dallas. Here he started a project on the Hawaiian mantle and volcanism, which became a cornerstone of his academic career. Following his Ph.D., Gautam went to UCLA as a post-doctoral fellow with Prof. W. Gary Ernst. Gautam’s Hawaii project involved many of his doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows and researchers from other parts of the U.S. Gautam’s students and post-doctoral fellows have gone on to build successful careers.
Gautam is married to Sanjukta, who is an attorney and an ex-DJ at All India Radio. They have two children – Gaurav and Smita. They live in New York City.