Darashaw Nosherwan Wadia FRS (October 25, 1883 – June 15, 1969) was a geologist for the Geological Survey of India

Geological Survey of India

Geological Survey of India , established in 1851 is a government organization in India which is an attached office to the Ministry of Mines of Union Government of India for conducting geological surveys and studies. It is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and the second oldest...

. He was born at Surat

Surat

Surat , also known as Suryapur, is the commercial capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat. Surat is India's Eighth most populous city and Ninth-most populous urban agglomeration. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper...

 in Gujarat. He helped establish geological studies and investigations in India , specifically including the Institute of Himalayan Geology, which was renamed the Wadia Instituate of Himalayan Geology after him in 1976.

He was awarde Padma Bhushan

Padma Bhushan

The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...

by Indian Government in 1958.

Dr.V.C.Thakur, former director of the WIHG, in his Resonance article of Feb 2003, 65-75 , writes

D N Wadia was one among the great geologists in the Geological Survey of India who laid the foundation of the geological investigations in India by their pioneering work. Not only was his a pioneering work in a little known territory but also a signal contribution to the understanding of the geological evolution of a spectacular but unique feature in the mountain arcs of the world. The elucidation and explanation he offered won him universal approbation. Most of his observations and interpretations in those early days of Indian geology still hold good. The remoteness and arduous nature of the terrain did not deter him from carrying out extensive and prolonged field work in Kashmir, Hazara, Nanga Parbat and Gilgit regions of northwestern Himalaya. He explained the abnormal sequence of rock formations of varied ages in northwestern Kashmir, analysed the structure of the unique knee-bend of the mountain chains around the knot called Nanga Parbat and gave an in-depth geological account of the terra-incognito that Chilas, Astor-Deosai and Hazara districts then were. His book, "The Geology of India", written in 1919 and published by MacMillan, became the source book for students for a long period of time. It made six editions – the last one in 1966.