Ashwini Kumar Lal (born 1951), currently posted as Deputy Adviser in the Union Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, New Delhi, is a civil engineer by profession. He has authored more than 70 technical papers on the diverse topics related to civil engineering such as concrete technology, low cost housing, innovative construction technologies, cost – effective building materials, disaster housing, rural housing, building maintenance, environmental issues including global warming, and project management, that have been published in several international/national journals of repute and symposia proceedings. He attended an advanced level training course on “Sustainable Urban Development and Pollution Control” at the University of New South Wales , Sydney ( Australia ) in l997.

•  He had long association with the National Buildings Organisation (NBO) under the Union Ministry of Urban Development. Based on his vast experience in the field of low cost housing, Mr Lal authored a book titled “Handbook of Low Cost Housing” in l995 which was published by the New Age International Publishers Ltd., New Delhi (the erstwhile Wiley Eastern Ltd.). The book has been widely popular in many of the developing countries in Asia and Africa . It now serves as an important reference book for the Ph.D course offered by the various universities in the field of housing.

•  Beside, Mr. Lal is also an amateur cosmologist. He has contributed many articles on different aspects of cosmology in the leading national dailies. His recent article on “Origin of Life”, which is synthesis of the latest research in the fields of astrophysics, astrobiology, and molecular biology, published in the peer-reviewed European journal, Astrophysics and Space Science, is currently one of the most sought after review articles in the world.

•  In 1994, Mr. Lal chanced to sight an UFO which was extensively reported in the national dailies like the Times of India and Telegraph (Kolkata).

Mr. Lal has been voicing his concerns over the problems of his locality and those of Delhi by and large in the media from time to time.


Highly recommended Invited Reviews

Examining the various prevailing hypotheses on how life arose on earth:

Ashwini Kumar Lal

Origin of Life

Searching for Life on Habitable Planets and Moons

About Invited Reviews at Astronomy, Astrophysics & Space Science

As part of our efEforts to make Astrophysics & Space Science an essential research and reference utility for the astronomical community we have recently inaugurated a new category of “Invited Reviews”. These are particularly aimed at covering emerging research topics in considerable depth, so as to provide a one-stop reference for both those wishing to know more or those interested in moving into these research fields. These reviews will concentrate on outstanding issues and unsolved problems at the leading edge of research, and therefore may contain material of a more speculative nature than typical review articles. Ultimately, we hope to publish such articles at a cadence of one per volume of the journal.
The authors of these invited reviews will be either established luminaries in their fields or else young researchers who have already made a significant impact. The Editor welcomes any suggestions for both topics and authors from the general readership of Astrophysics & Space Science.

At Dwarka Parichay - Still clueless about origin of life