R.P. SINGHAL, Ph.D. (Washington State University, Pullman, U.S.A), is former Professor, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (BHU). He has been a visiting Professor at the University of Florida, U.S.A. and National Research Council Resident Research Associate at NASA-Ames Research Centre, California, U.S.A. With about four decades of teaching experience, Professor Singhal has published more than fifty research papers in various national and international journals. His research interests include planetary physics, X-rays, atomic collision physics and nuclear physics.