Shyam Sundar Rai

[7][note 1] S. S. Rai, born on 16 March 1954 in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, graduated in science (BSc hons) from Banaras Hindu University in 1973 and obtained a master's degree in engineering (MTech) from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (then known as the University of Roorkee) in 1977.

[10] Rai's researches have been focusing on the seismic structure of Indian continental lithosphere and his work has assisted in widening the understanding of its geotectonic evolution.

[3] These studies are known to have helped in developing methodologies to target mineralized zones, ground water aquifers and kimberlite pipes.

[10] Rai, who held the Senior Associateship of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics during 1994–2008 and the J. C. Bose National fellowship in 2010,[10] received the Young Scientist Award of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in 1988 and the Krishnan Medal of the Indian Geophysical Union in 1991.

[15] The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research honored him again in 1996 with the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, one of the highest Indian science awards.