Madurai-born Perumal Chellapandi (58), a distinguished scientist, has been appointed as the chairman-cum-managing director of the Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam limited (BHAVINI) at Kalpakkam, a public sector unit under the Department of Atomic Energy, entrusted with design and commissioning of high-tech Fast Breeder Reactors for generating electricity.
Chellapandi, a PhD in mechanical engineering from IIT-Madras, took charge on Sunday. BHAVINI is the public sector unit engaged in the construction and commissioning of the 500 MW Fast Breeder Reactor, the first of its kind in the country, at Kalpakkam.
The reactor, which was launched in 2005, is expected to generate power by 2015-end. He has been associated with the design and development of the indigenous fast breeder reactor from the beginning of the Indira Gandhi Centre for atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam. Chellapandi is credited with developing a technology to make nuclear reactors resistant to earthquakes. The 500 MW fast breeder reactor coming up at Kalpakkam is capable of withstanding earthquakes of magnitude 8 in the Richter scale.