An Audio Interview with Professor Mahendrajit Singh, Associate Project Director, ITER-India, Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
I met with Dr. Mahendrajit Singh, Associate Project Director of ITER-India https://www.iterindia.in whilst at the International Conference on Ion Sources (ICIS) in Oxford, England, during the week of September 8 – 12, 2025 https://indico.stfc.ac.uk/event/1192/. It was a delight to have this interview with Mahendrajit. I learned a lot about injecting beams into large-scale nuclear fusion reactors (among many other things)!
Mahendrajit’s audio interview link follows. Below the link are time stamps of my specific questions, and the first few words of Mahendrajit’s answers for reference.
Question 1 (00:00): I am interested in your role right now, and where you work?
Thanks for this interview. I work with the Institute for Plasma Research, specifically for ITER-India …..
Question 2 (02:10): Where is your lab located in India?
So, our lab is located in a state called Gujarat …
Question 3 (02:25): And the acronym is IPR?
Yes, the Institute for Plasma Research …
Question 4 (02:50): And, do you have an official title with regards to ITER-India?
Associate Project Director …
Question 5 (03:18): Where is IPR located?
It is about an hour and ten minutes flight west of Delhi …
Question 6 (03:52): Did you grow up in that region?
No, I was born in a state called …
Question 7 (06:03): … and your Masters, what did you do there before your PhD?
Master’s in Physics, specializing in electronics …. PhD in Atomic Physics …
Question 8 (07:43): What do you think of the International Conference on Ion Sources? What are aspects that are interesting for you?
This conference is inter-disciplinary, because it has two major topic areas, the physics and technology related to accelerators, and the physics and technology related to fusion …
Question 9 (13:15): In your area of India is there a particular dish that is popular?
India, because it is culturally diverse, each state of India …
Question 10 (14:39): Please describe it. Does it have rice in it?
Khakhra is something that is made out of …
Question 11 (15:08): Is it crunchy?
Yes, it is crunchy …
Question 12 (16:45): Is there some aspect of your childhood character that you still see in yourself in your job now?
Right, there is a word called “curiosity”, which remains in me from my childhood until now …
It was a real pleasure to chat with Mahendrajit, and to learn about a variety of topics from accelerators to fusion reactors and neutral beams and then on to crunchy snacks in Gujarat. In closing it was interesting to learn about Mahendrajit’s philosophy of living and working. His Grand-father, and Father are scientists, and his daughter intends to pursue a PhD degree in science in 2026. Four generations of scientists is rather rare!
