OBITUARY

Hari Narayan Singa died on 07/07/2023.

Dr Hari Narayan Sinha was elected to the Academy in 1986 for his achievements in the field of innovative metallurgy. Hari graduated from Banaras Hindu University in 1950 and was a lecturer there from 1950-1953.

Hari Sinha was a metallurgical engineer who led the CSIRO team that developed the production process of high-grade zirconia for engineering ceramics in the late 1970s. This led to the construction of the world’s largest zirconia plant in Rockingham, Western Australia (with a 700 tonnes per annum output).

From 1968-1977, Hari was a consultant to Mitsubishi Chemical Industries, which built a pilot plant in Japan to test the Murso Process — a process of producing synthetic rutile from ilmenite that Hari pioneered.

Hari was a Member of the Council of ATSE from 1997-1999, member of our International Relations Committee from 1993-1999, as well as Chairman of the Victorian Division.

He was appointed a Professorial Associate (Honorary) in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Melbourne after his retirement.

Hari received both a Federation Centenary Medal, and a Member of the Order of Australia in 1990. He is dearly missed by all who knew him. 

Dr Sinha has major achievements in the field of innovative metallurgy which has led to new process development. He initiated and directed the development of a process for the production of high purity zirconia from zircon sand. The process is currently being tested in a pilot plant and ICI, the joint venture partner with CSIRO, has already commenced planning and design work for the construction of a $12.5 million commercial plant to be built in Kwinana. This has been the first time CSIRO has been involved in a joint venture of this type.
He is co-inventor of the Murso Process for upgrading ilmenite which was licensed to Mitsubishi Chemical Industries who successfully tested the process in a pilot plant in Japan. He acted as a consultant to Mitsubishi during the operation of the pilot plant.
He has developed processes which have been tested at the technical level and shown to be economically feasible for the treatment of high silica bauxites and the production of slow release high analysis fertilizer from high silica phosphate rock.
Dr Sinha 's developments are the result of a unique combination of ingenuity in metallurgical processing with a good understanding of the basic science and economic factors involved.