Showing posts with label INDIAN SCIENTISTS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label INDIAN SCIENTISTS. Show all posts

Dr. Homi Jehnagir Bhabha

Dr. Homi Jehnagir Bhabha

Dr. Homi Jehnagir Bhabha was a famous Indian atomic scientist and a nuclear physicist. Homi Jehnagir Bhabha is popularly considered as the father of nuclear programme of the country. He laid the foundation of a scientific establishment in India with the help of Jawaharlal Nehru. Dr. Homi Jehnagir Bhabha was also responsible for the creation of two leading institutions namely Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.

Early Life of Dr. Homi Jehnagir Bhabha
Dr. Homi Jehnagir Bhabha, an Indian nuclear physicist of Parsi-Zoroastrian heritage was born on 30th of October, 1909 in
Mumbai. His father Jahangir Bhabha was an ex-Oxford University student and a reputed advocate who served the Tata Enterprises. His mother`s name was Meheran and she belonged to the petit family. His grandfather served as an officer in the Education Department of Mysore State. Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha with his super active brain and rapid flow of thoughts at the age of 15 was capable of understanding Einstein`s book on `Relativity`. Bhabha was educated at the Cathedral and John Cannon High School. At the age of 15, Bhabha passed the Senior Cambridge Examination. Later he entered Elphinstone College and the Royal Institute of Science, Mumbai. He was very interested in studying Physics. But to respect his father`s wish he left India for Cambridge to study Engineering. Bhabha passed the Mechanical Engineering in the first class in 1930. He then pursued his studies in Theoretical Physics as a Research Scholar. Dr. Bhabha was an exceptionally bright student. Even as a student, he made some fundamental discoveries in electricity, magnetism, quantum theory and the cosmic rays.

Higher Education and Research of Dr. Homi Jehnagir Bhabha
He had secured many scholarships. In 1932, Dr. Bhabha was awarded the Rouse Ball Travelling Studentship for two years. He worked with W. Pouli in Zurich and Enrico Fermi in Rome. During this period he was awarded the Isaac Newton Fellowship in 1934 and the1851-Exhibition Studentship in 1936. Bhabha also came into close contact with famous scientists like Rutherford, Dirac, Niels Bohr and Heitler. Paul Dirac greatly influenced Bhabha during his study of Mechanical Engineering at Cambridge; to pursue an education in theoretical physics. This association greatly influenced his research and way of life.


Contributions of Dr. Homi Jehnagir Bhabha
Dr. Homi Jehnagir Bhabha enriched the world of Physics with his unique contribution `Bhabha-Heitler Cascade Theory`. With Heitler Bhabha presented the `Cascade Theory of Electron Showers`, in 1937. It explains the course of electron showers in cosmic rays. This research brought fame to Bhabha. Cosmic rays are primary rays, which are fast moving and sub-microscopic particles. They comprise protons, electrons and gamma rays. When some of them happen to approach the earth and enter its atmosphere, they collide with atoms in the air. They then raise new nuclear particles. Bhabha`s new theory explains clearly the processes and effects of the mutual reaction. It throws light on one of the most puzzling mysteries of cosmic rays. He recognised heavy electron particles in cosmic rays and called them `Meson`. Bhabha`s mastery of mathematics can be seen in the `Classical Theory of Spinning Particles`. The significance of his work received wide recognition. Bhabha`s original contributions to Physics lie in the fields of cosmic radiation, theory of elementary particles and quantum theory.

Dr. Homi Jehnagir Bhabha returned to India for a holiday in 1939 during the time of the Second World War. Bhabha did not return to England and this was indeed fortunate for India. Bhabha decided to devote his life to the service of his motherland. In 1940 Bhabha joined the Indian Institute of Science as Reader in Theoretical Physics. He ushered the responsibility of building a new department to undertake research on cosmic rays. In 1941 he was elected a member of the Royal Society when he was only 31. Bhabha became a professor in the Indian Institute of Science in 1942. The University of Cambridge also awarded the `Adams Prize` to him.

Bhabha was invited to join the staff of Oxford University. But he did not accept the invitation as his desire to build an excellent institution of research in India. He dreamt of building a modern India. Analyzing the socio- economic problems of the country he was quite convinced that science was the only means for the progress of India. However, equipments and facilities needed for research in Atomic Physics were not available in the country in those days. Bhabha wrote a letter to the Dorabji Tata Trust on March 13, 1944. Bhabha`s plan was a basic stage from which a school of physics was born. His letter clearly illustrates his far-sightedness and patriotism as it was written almost a year before the atom bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The Tata Trust founded the - `Tata Institute of Fundamental Research` in 1945. The
Government of India gave financial support to the Institute. Dr. Bhabha was appointed its first Director, and he took the responsibility of shaping the institute. India thus took the first step on the journey of nuclear science. J. R. D Tata and Jawaharlal Nehru gave support and encouragement to Dr. Bhabha in his work. Pandit Nehru appreciated his efficiency, farsightedness and patriotism. One of his greatest achievements was that he persuaded the government to take greater interest in technology. He established the Atomic Energy Commission of India in the year 1948. It was largely due to his efforts that the nation`s first Atomic research Centre, now known Bhabha Atomic Research Center, was established at Trombay, near Mumbai.

In Geneva in the year 1955, Dr. Homi Jehnagir Bhabha represented the country in International Atomic Energy Forums, and as President of United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy. The conference was another step in international cooperation. Bhabha was the first to advocate, from international forums, the peaceful uses of atomic energy. He realised that the consumption of energy was rapidly increasing. On the other hand, naturally available resources of energy were on the decrease. Added to this, there is shortage of hydel energy in certain places. Realizing this, Bhabha declared that atomic energy is the only foundation for the progress of industries in India. He suggested that producing electricity could affect economy by nuclear methods. The construction of India`s first atomic power plant began at Tarapur,
Maharashtra in 1963. Two years later a plutonium plant was installed. On May 18, 1974, India conducted its first nuclear explosion for peaceful purposes, at Pokran in, Rajasthan and joined the galaxy of nations with atomic energy. India`s explosion of a nuclear device is a great milestone in the path of technological progress. This achievement was based entirely on Indian effort.

In 1963 Dr. Bhabha was elected as the President of the National Institute of Sciences of India. Bhabha was a member of many scientific advisory committees of the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency. He also served as the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee to advise the Government of India.

Awards for Dr. Homi Jehnagir Bhabha
Laurels came to Dr. Homi Jehnagir Bhabha from all corners of the world throughout his lifetime. He was awarded honorary doctorates by several Indian and foreign universities. Among these universities are London, Cambridge, Padova, Perth, Banaras,
Agra, Patna, Lucknow, Allahabad, Andhra Pradesh and Aligarh. In 1948 he received the Hopkins Prize of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. He was elected the President of the Indian Science Congress in 1951. In 1954, he was conferred with the prestigious Padma Bhushan Award for his outstanding contribution to nuclear science. He was an honorary fellow of many earned institutions.

During his stay in England and Europe, painting became his hobby, which reflects his inborn taste and a creative urge for art. He visited many art galleries, museums, palaces and gardens. He never missed a good musical concert. Many of his paintings now grace the walls of art galleries in England. Bhabha`s love for classical music, dance and sculpture was also deep. Devotion to art and the study of science went hand in hand in his life. In the death of Dr. Bhabha India lost an eminent scientist. Bhabha was going to attend an international conference. The Air India flight in which Bhabha was travelling crashed on January 24, 1966 at Mount Blanc. Bhabha thus met with a tragic end.

As a practical person Dr. Homi Jehnagir Bhabha believed in planning and in executing the plans. His far sightedness, powers of organisation, and the encouragement and guidance young scientists received from him these built up an invaluable asset for scientific work in India. Science and art both enriched his mind and life. As a tribute to Dr. Bhabha, the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay, was renamed as the Bhabha Atomic Research Center, on 12th of January, 1967.

Vikram Sarabhai Biography

Vikram Sarabhai Biography

Born: August 12, 1919 Died: December 31,1971 Achievements: Considered the Father of the Indian space program; instrumental in establishing the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad in November 1947; was Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. He along with other Ahmedabad-based industrialists played a major role in the creation of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Vikram Sarabhai was one of the greatest scientists of India. He is considered as the Father of the Indian space program. Apart from being a scientist, he was a rare combination of an innovator, industrialist and visionary.
 

Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai was born on August 12, 1919 at Ahmedabad in an affluent family of progressive industrialists. He was one of eight children of Ambalal and Sarla Devi. He had his early education in a private school, “Retreat” run by his parents on Montessori lines. Some of the great men of India such as Gurudev Rabindranath, J. Krishna Murthi, Motilal Nehru, V. S. Shrinivasa Shastri, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, Maulana Azad, C. F. Andrews, C. V. Raman et al. used to stay with the Sarabhai family when they visited Ahmedabad. Mahatma Gandhi also once stayed at their house while recovering from an illness. Visits by such great men greatly influenced Vikram Sarabhai.
 

After his matriculation, Vikram Sarabhai proceeded to Cambridge for his college education and took the tripods degree from St. John's college in 1940. When World War II began, he returned home and joined as a research scholar under Sir C. V. Raman at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore His interest in solar physics and cosmic ray led him to set up many observation stations around the country. He built the necessary equipment with which he took measurements at Bangalore, Poona and the Himalayas. He returned to Cambridge in 1945 and completed his Ph.D in 1947.
 

Vikram Sarabhai was instrumental in establishing the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad in November 1947. The laboratory was established in a few rooms in M.G. Science Institute of the Ahmedabad Education Society, which was founded by his parents. Subsequently, it got support from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Department of Atomic Energy.

Vikram Sarabhai did research on the time variations of cosmic rays and concluded that meteorological effects could not entirely affect the observed daily variations of cosmic rays; further, the residual variations were wide and global and these were related to variations in solar activity. Vikram Sarabhai visualized a new field of research opening up in solar and interplanetary Physics.

The year 1957-1958 was designated as International Geo-physical year (IGY). The Indian program for the IGY had been one of the most significant ventures of Sarabhai. It exposed him to the new vistas of space science with the launching in 1957 of Sputnik-I. Subsequently, the Indian National Committee for Space Research was created, of which Vikram Sarabhai became Chairman.

With active support from Homi Bhabha, Vikram Sarabhai, set up the first Rocket Launching station (TERLS) in the country at Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram on the Arabian Coast, as Thumba is very close to the Equator. The first rocket with sodium vapour payload was launched on November 21, 1963. In 1965, the UN General Assembly gave recognition to TERLS as an international facility.
 

After the sudden death of Homi Bhabha in an air crash, Vikram Sarabhai was appointed Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission in May 1966. He wanted the practical application of science to reach the common man. He decided to acquire competence in advance technology for the solution of country’s problems based on technical and economic evaluation of its real resources. He initiated India’s space programme, which today is renowned all over the world.
 

Dr. Vikram Sarabhai was awarded with Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Medal in 1962 and Padma Bhushan in 1966. Vikram Sarabhai passed away in his sleep on December 31,1971.


APJ Abdul Kalam


APJ Abdul Kalam



Born - 15 October
1931 Achievements - This eminent scientist and engineer has also served as the 11th President of India from the period 2002 to 2007. APJ Abdul Kalam is a man of vision, who is always full of ideas aimed at the development of the country. He firmly believes that India needs to play a more assertive role in international relations. 

Apart from being a notable scientist and engineer, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam served as the 11th President of India from the period 2002 to 2007. He is a man of vision, who is always full of ideas aimed at the development of the country and is also often also referred to as the Missile Man of India. People loved and respected Dr APJ Abdul Kalam so much during his tenure as President that was popularly called the People's President. Read more about the biography of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam here.
 

APJ Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 at the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu and received honorary doctorates from about 30 universities globally. In the year 1981, the Government of India presented him the nation's highest civilian honor, the Padma Bhushan and then again, the Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and the Bharat Ratna in 1997. Before Kalam, there have been only two presidents - Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Zakir Hussain - to have received the Bharat Ratna before bring appointed to the highest office in India.
 

Read on about the life history of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, who's also the first scientist and bachelor to occupy the seat of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. His perspectives on important topics have been enunciated by him in the book 'India 2020'. It highlights the action plans that will help develop the country into a knowledge superpower by the time 2020. One thing for which he received ample kudos is his unambiguous statement that India needs to play a more assertive role in international relations.
 

And Dr APJ Abdul Kalam regards his work on India's nuclear weapons program as a way to assert India's place as a future superpower. Even during his tenure as President, APJ Kalam took avid interest in the spheres of India's science and technology. He has even put forward a project plan for establishing bio-implants. He is also an ardent advocate of open source software over proprietary solutions to churn out more profits in the field of information technology in India.

Jagdish Chandra Bose

Jagdish Chandra Bose


Beyond Contemporary Comprehension
Do plants have feelings? Do they suffer pain like us? Can their feelings be detected, or even ‘measured’? 


Jagdish Chandra Bose, a distinguished Indian scientist, announced his discovery to an astonished world in 1900. At an international conference of physicists in Paris, and later in England, Bose proved plants respond to pain and suffering much like humans, even when the plants are cut or transplanted. To prove his theory, Bose invented an instrument called the Resonate Recorder that was so sensitive it could record the subtlest of changes inside a plant. Using his theory and experiments as a basis, Bose moved to boldly challenge the blurred line between living things and non-living things. He demonstrated that even so-called non-living things like metals respond to different stimuli. The only things lacking were sensitive instruments to empirically record those responses, and an open-mind to think the seemingly impossible. The genius within Bose quickly created these instruments which are even today considered a marvel of technology. But even hundred years after his research and experiments, our minds perhaps fail to comprehend the insights and significance of his work.
 


History proves here was a man more than a century ahead of his time. Yet a few among his peers in the international community of scientists greatly admired his work. They acknowledged only an Indian mind could have come up with this kind of insight, and that this discovery could revolutionize scientific thinking itself.
 


Born on 30th November, 1858, in Mymensingh, Bengal, Jagdish Chandra Bose was fascinated by the world and its phenomena around him from a very early age. His father, a deputy collector in British-ruled India, deliberately sent him to a Bengali school to instill a love for Indian values and life in young Jagdish. He was later sent to a hostel in an English school in Calcutta. After his graduation from Sr. Xavier’s College in Calcutta, Bose left for England in 1880 for further studies. In 1884, Bose took his B.A degree in the natural sciences with Physics, Chemistry, and Botany, from Cambridge, and simultaneously a B.Sc degree from the University of London.
 


On his return, Bose became the officiating Professor of Physics at the prestigious Presidency College in Calcutta in 1885. Unfortunately, British India discriminated against non-white teachers, and offered him only two-thirds the salary. The unhappy Bose devised a noble way of protesting: he continued teaching with dedication for three years, but refused to collect his salary. Finally, his protest had its impact. A common payscale was introduced and he received his pending dues as well.
 


Setting up a lab with his own money, Bose kept experimenting, especially in electromagnetic waves. In 1895, in front of a packed audience he sent radio waves that traveled through a wall to ring an electric bell 75 feet away. In one stroke, he ushered in the world of wireless as we know it. Two years later, the Italian scientist Marconi based his wireless on the work of Bose, for which Marconi was later conferred with the Nobel Prize. Sure, Bose could have patented his work, won the Nobel prize instead, and made millions with his inventions. An educated man, Bose knew about patents and the commercial implications of his work. But beyond his knowledge, he carried a wisdom that few in today’s greed-driven and money-obsessed world can appreciate. In May 1901, Bose wrote to his friend, the famed Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore: “...the proprietor of a reputed telegraph company...came himself with a Patent form in hand...He proposed to take half of the profit and finance the business in the bargain. This multi-millionaire came to me abegging. My friend, I wish you could see that terrible attachment for gain in this country, that all engaging lucre, that lust for money and more money. Once caught in that trap there would have been no way out for me."
 


In fact, exasperated by his attitude, Bose’s other friends obtained a patent for him from the US in 1904, but Bose never encashed it. His surprising anti-patent policy is best understood through his humility: Bose firmly believed and proclaimed that his work was not new, that the ancient sages and saints of India knew these undiscovered secrets of nature thousands of years ago and he was merely re-discovering them for himself. Sharing his knowledge so freely was his greatest wealth, his greatest reward.
 


He set up the Bose Temple of Learning in Calcutta in 1917 which trains international scientists even today. Bose received numerous accolades and recognition through his lifetime. He died on 23 November 1937. But even today he makes news. According to the June 1997 edition of the journal published by the U.S.-based Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE), one of the most powerful radio telescopes in the world, installed at the National Astronomy Observatory in Tucson, Arizona, U.S., was built on a device originally developed by Bose.
 

Sir CV Raman

Sir CV Raman:







"Use a 10-Kilowatt Brain"
A research student of Physics was conducting an experiment using a one-kilowatt power X-ray tube. On hearing that a scientist in England was experimenting on the same problem with a five-kilowatt X-ray tube, he grew dejected. When his Professor got to know of this, he walked up to the student and with supreme confidence and a smile, said: "There is a very simple solution: use a 10-kilowatt brain on the problem.”


Professor Chandrashekhar Venkata Raman was speaking from experience. He had won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930, with simple equipment barely worth Rs 300. He was also the first scientist from Asia to win the Nobel Prize. Yet his intellectual odyssey to the Nobel Prize started on his return journey to India from England by sea. The year was 1921. The Universities of the British Empire met in London, and Professor C V Raman went on his first visit abroad as the representative of Calcutta University. On his return journey, as he enjoyed the magnificent beauty of the vast Mediterranean Sea around him, he wondered: Is the sea blue due to the reflection of the blue sky? Yet even when big waves rolled over the surface, the blue remained. Lost in his caravan of thoughts as the ship glided through the expanse of water, an idea flashed in him. Perhaps water molecules are scattering the sun’s light, causing the blue color. The idea seized him like a powerful emotion. Barely a month after his return he sent a research paper to the Royal Society of London. Within a year, he published a detailed article on the molecular scattering of light.


Newton had earlier showed in his famous prism experiment that light is made of an infinity of colors. Using a prism, Newton dispersed light into a spectrum of colors. But Raman’s research was focussed on what happens when one such light beam of ‘monochromatic’ or one color, passes through a transparent substance, like water for instance. Naturally, the beam scatters in random directions, but one tiny part of the scattered light changes its frequency from that of the initial color. On February 28, 1928, he finally observed two low-intensity spectral lines that confirmed his theory. The phenomenon he observed is called the Raman Effect.

Raman’s Effect on Alcohol

Within the first twelve years of its discovery, about 1,800 research papers were published and about 2,500 chemical compounds were studied by researchers and scientists around the world. These included, pure water, vapors, gases, crystals, quartz, ice, and even alcohol. Indeed, at a banquet in France in 1948 honouring Raman, Prof. Cabannes, a famous French physicist, proposed the toast and everyone present held a glass of sparkling wine in their hands. Raman, however picked up a sparkling glass of water and said, "Sir, I know what my effect on alcohol is, but I certainly don’t want to try the effect of alcohol on me". So saying, he drank the glass of water to the toast.


As Prof. Raman continued his passionate research into various branches of science, the accolades, awards, and recognition for his genius poured on him throughout his life. Raman’s research centered around sound and light. Born on 7th November, 1888 in a town on the banks of the river Cauvery, called Tiruchirapalli, C V Raman was born to a school teacher who was a scholar in Physics and Maths. The little boy grew up surrounded by music, science, and sanskrit. Little is known of his interest in sound. Raman collected many musical instruments. He published two papers on the amazing sound qualities of ancient Indian instruments like the mridang, tabla, tanpura, and the veena. Using fine grains of sand sprinkled on them he watched the sand patterns as he tapped the instruments. Raman made fascinating insights. The intuitive understanding of our forefathers into the nature of sound and acoustics stunned Raman. Later, Raman also studied the impact of ultrasonic sound waves on light in a liquid. This is known as the Raman-Nath theory. His fascination with the science of light and colors took him to extremes. Once he bought sarees of different colors. He collected a range of crystals, diamonds, rocks, sand that had melted due to lightning, rubies, sapphires, and also grew flowers at his home. He worked all his life till the age of 83, until his death on 21st November, 1970. Beyond his Nobel Prize, the sum total of his life is best expressed in his own words: "I regard as the greatest feature of the world Nature herself. She is the supreme artist; she creates forms of beauty, loveliness and color, unsurpassable and this has been so from the beginning of time. She is the inspiration of not only of artists, painters, sculptors and engineers, but also of men of science." 

The Famous INDIAN Scientists

Indian scientists have played a stellar role in the development of India. In the short span of its post-independence history India has achieved several great scientific achievements. Indian scientists have proved their mettle in the face of international sanctions and have made India one of the scientific powerhouses of the world. Here is a brief profile of famous Indian scientists.


C.V. Raman
C.V. Raman is one of the most renowned scientists produced by India. His full name was Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman. For his pioneering work on scattering of light, C.V. Raman won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930.



 Homi Bhabha
Homi Bhabha, whose full name was Homi Jehnagir Bhabha, was a famous Indian atomic scientist. In Independent India, Homi Jehnagir Bhabha, with the support of Jawaharlal Nehru, laid the foundation of a scientific establishment and was responsible for the creation of two premier institutions, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.



Jagdish Chandra Bose
Jagdish Chandra Bose was born on November 30, 1858 in Mymensingh (now in Bangladesh). His father Bhagabanchandra Bose was a Deputy Magistrate. Jagadish Chandra Bose had his early education in village school in Bengal medium.



Meghnad Saha
Meghnad Saha was born on October 6, 1893 in Sheoratali, a village in the District of Dacca, now in Bangladesh. He was the fifth child of his parents, Sri Jagannath Saha and Smt. Bhubaneshwari Devi. His father was a grocer in the village. Meghnad Saha had his early schooling in the primary school of the village.



M. Visvesvaraya
Sir M. Visvesvaraya was born on September 15, 1860 in Muddenahalli village in the Kolar district of the erstwhile princely state of Mysore (present day Karnataka). His father Srinivasa Sastry was a Sanskrit scholar and Ayurvedic practitioner. His mother Venkachamma was a religious lady. He lost his father when he was only 15 years old.



Satyendra Nath Bose
Satyendra Nath Bose was an outstanding Indian physicist. He is known for his work in Quantum Physics. He is famous for "Bose-Einstein Theory" and a kind of particle in atom has been named after his name as Boson.



Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century. He did commendable work in astrophysics, physics and applied mathematics. Chandrasekhar was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983.



Vikram Sarabhai
Vikram Sarabhai was one of the greatest scientists of India. He is considered as the Father of the Indian space program. Apart from being a scientist, he was a rare combination of an innovator, industrialist and visionary. 



Anil Kakodkar
Dr Anil Kakodkar is a very distinguished nuclear scientist of India. He is presently the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India (AECI) as well as the Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Atomic Energy.



APJ Abdul Kalam
Apart from being a notable scientist and engineer, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam served as the 11th President of India from the period 2002 to 2007. He is a man of vision, who is always full of ideas aimed at the development of the country and is also often also referred to as the Missile Man of India.



Birbal Sahni
Birbal Sahni was a renowned paleobotanist of India, who studied the fossils of the Indian subcontinent. Also a great geologist, Sahni is credited for establishing the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany at Lucknow in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Born on 14 November in the year 1891 at Behra in the Saharanpur District of West Punjab, Birbal was the third son of Ishwar Devi and Prof. 



Srinivasa Ramanujan
Srinivasa Ramanujan was a mathematician par excellence. He is widely believed to be the greatest mathematician of the 20th Century. Srinivasa Ramanujan made significant contribution to the analytical theory of numbers and worked on elliptic functions, continued fractions, and infinite series.



Dr. Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar
Dr Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar was a distinguished Indian scientist. He was born on 21 February 1894 at Shahpur, which is located in Pakistan in present times. His father passed away sometime after the birth of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar. As such, he spent his childhood days with his maternal grandfather who was an engineer and it was here that he developed an interest in science and engineering.


Har Gobind Khorana
Har Gobind Khorana is an American molecular biologist born on 9 January 1922 to an Indian Punjabi couple. For his work on the interpretation of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in the year 1968.