Ajit Kumar Mohanty (born 1959) is an Indian nuclear physicist currently serving as Secretary (Atomic Energy) to the Government of India and Chairperson of the Atomic Energy Commission of India.^[1] Previously, he served as the 13th director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) from March 2019 till 15 September 2023.^[2]

He served as the General Secretary and later as the President of the Indian Physics Association (IPA). He was also the Spokesperson for the India-CMS collaboration and held the position of Director at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics before becoming the Director of BARC.^[3]

He completed his undergraduate studies in 1979, earning a degree with Honours in Physics from MPC College, Baripada. He pursued his postgraduate studies at Ravenshaw College, Cuttack in 1981. He joined the Nuclear Physics Division at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in 1983. He later obtained his doctorate from Mumbai University.^[2] As of September 2024, he has h-index of 227 and have more than 243,000 citations.^[4][5]

He received the Young Physicist Award from the Indian Physical Society in 1988, the Indian National Science Academy Young Scientist Award in 1991, and the Homi Bhabha Science and Technology Award from the Department of Atomic Energy in 2001. In 2021, he was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt.) Honoris Causa by Utkal University.^[3][6][7]