Pune, Aug 1 (IANS) Renowned Indian scientist (Dr.) Atish Shripad Dabholkar will take over as the new Director of the prestigious Abdul Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), in Trieste, Italy, his cousin Hamid Dabholkar said here on Thursday.

The Kolhapur-born Dabholkar is the nephew of well-known rationalist, (Dr) Narendra Dabholkar, a recipient of Padma Shri, who was shot dead in Pune on Aug. 20, 2013.

"The ICTP is pleased to announce the appointment of Atish Dabholkar, a theoretical physicist from India, as its next Director! He will succeed Fernando Quevedo, who has led the centre since 2009," the ICTP said in an announcement in Italy two days ago.

Currently heading the ICTP's High Energy, Cosmology & Astroparticle Physics section, Dabholkar will take over his new assignment in November.

--IANS qn/prs