Prof. J. Mahanty Distinguished Lecture Series in Physics was instituted by Dr. Siddharth Mahanty in memory of his father, Prof. Jagadishwar Mahanty, who served as a faculty member in the Physics Department at IIT Kanpur from 1961 to 1972. A distinguished physicist, Prof. Mahanty made significant contributions to condensed matter physics, particularly in many-body physics, lattice dynamics, van der Waals interactions, and the electronic structure of solids. After completing his M.Sc. in Physics from Calcutta University, he worked at the National Physical Laboratory before pursuing his PhD at the University of Maryland, USA, in 1956. Following his doctorate in 1960, he taught at Punjab University, Chandigarh, and later joined IIT Kanpur in 1961. He played a key role in shaping the department in its early years and served as Head of the Physics Department from 1967 to 1972.