Dr. C. V. Raman: Discovery, Awards, Achievements

Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was an Indian physicist who made groundbreaking works in the field of light scattering. With his student K. S. Krishnan, he discovered that when light traverses a transparent material, some of the deflected light change wavelength and amplitude. This phenomenon was a new type of scattering of light and was subsequently known as the Raman effect (Raman scattering).

His works earned him the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics and was the first non-white, Indian or Asian person to receive a Nobel Prize in any branch of science.[

Born to Hindu Tamil Brahmin parents, Raman was a precocious child, completing his secondary and higher secondary education from St Aloysius' Anglo-Indian High School at the ages of 11 and 13, respectively.

He topped at the University of Madras in physics from Presidency College at age 16. He published his first research paper on diffraction of light in 1906 while still a graduate student. The next year he completed an M.A. degree. He was only 19 years of age when he qualified for the Indian Finance Service. Working in Calcutta (Kolkata), he became acquainted with the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), the first research institute in India. There he started independent research and made his major contributions in acoustics and optics.

In 1917, he was appointed as the first Palit Professor of Physics by Ashutosh Mukherjee at the Rajabazar Science College, University of Calcutta.

On his first trip to Europe, seeing the Mediterranean Sea motivated him to correctly describe the reason of the blue colour of sea as a phenomenon of diffraction.

He founded the Indian Journal of Physics in 1926. He and Krishnan discovered on 28 February 1928 a novel phenomenon of light scattering, which they called "modified scattering," but more famously known as the Raman effect. The day is celebrated by the Government of India as the National Science Day every year in commemoration of the discovery.

Raman moved to the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore in 1933 to become its first Indian Director. There he founded the Indian Academy of Sciences the same year. He established the Raman Research Institute in 1948 where he worked to his last days.

In 1954, the Government of India honoured him with the first Bharat Ratna (along with politician C. Rajagopalachari and philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan), its highest civilian award. He later smashed the medallion in protest against Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's policies on scientific research.

 

Key Description:


Born: 7 November 1888, Thiruvanaikoil, Madras Presidency, British India, (Tamil Nadu, India)

Died: 21 November 1970 (aged 82), Bangalore, Mysore State, India

Full Name: Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman

Awards:

  • Fellow of the Royal Society (1924)
  • Matteucci Medal (1928)
  • Knight Bachelor (1930)
  • Hughes Medal (1930)
  • Nobel Prize in Physics (1930)
  • Bharat Ratna (1954)
  • Lenin Peace Prize (1957)

Education: Presidency college(autonomous),

Parents: R. Chandrasekhar Iyer, Parvathi Ammal

Nationality: British subject, Republic of India

Alma Mater: University of Madras (M.A.)

Known For: Raman effect

Spouse(s): Lokasundari Ammal (1908–1970)

Children: Chandrasekhar Raman and Venkatraman Radhakrishnan

Institutions:

  • Indian Finance Department
  • Rajabazar Science College
    (University of Calcutta)
  • Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science
  • Indian Institute of Science
  • Raman Research Institute

Doctoral Students: G. N. Ramachandran, Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai, Shivaramakrishnan Pancharatnam

Other Notable Students: Kariamanickam Srinivasa Krishnan, K. R. Ramanathan

 

 

Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha: Biography, Quotes, Awards

Homi Jehangir Bhabha was an Indian nuclear physicist, founding director, and professor of physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR).

Colloquially known as "father of the Indian nuclear programme", Bhabha was also the founding director of the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) which is now named the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in his honour. TIFR and AEET were the cornerstone of Indian development of nuclear weapons which Bhabha also supervised as director.

Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha

Bhabha was awarded the Adams Prize (1942) and Padma Bhushan (1954). He was also nominated for the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1951 and 1953–1956.

 

Key Description:


Born: 30 October 1909, Mumbai

Died: 24 January 1966, Mont Blanc

Cause of death: Air India Flight 101 crash

Nationality: Indian

Known for: Indian Nuclear Programme, Cascade process of Cosmic radiations, point particles, Bhabha Scattering, Theoretical prediction of Muon

Awards: Adams Prize (1942), Padma Bhushan (1954)
Fellow of the Royal Society

Fields: Nuclear Physics

Institutions: Atomic Energy Commission of India, Tata, Institute of Fundamental Research, Cavendish Laboratory, Indian Institute of Science, Trombay Atomic Energy Establishment

Doctoral Advisor: Ralph H. Fowler
Other academic advisors

Full name: Homi Jehangir Bhabha

Awards: Padma Bhushan

Education: The Institute of Science (1927), Alma mater University of Cambridge (BS, PhD)

Books: Homi Bhabha as Artist: A Selection of His Paintings, Drawings, and Sketches

 

Early Life And Educations:


Homi Jehangir Bhabha was born into a prominent wealthy Parsi family, through which he was related to businessmen Dinshaw Maneckji Petit, and Dorabji Tata. He was born on 30 October 1909. His father was Jehangir Hormusji Bhabha, a well known Parsi lawyer and his mother was Meheren.

He received his early studies at Bombay's Cathedral and John Connon School and entered Elphinstone College at age 15 after passing his Senior Cambridge Examination with Honours.

He then attended the Royal Institute of Science in 1927 before joining Caius College of Cambridge University. This was due to the insistence of his father and his uncle Dorabji, who planned for Bhabha to obtain a degree in mechanical engineering from Cambridge and then return to India, where he would join the Tata Steel or Tata Steel Mills in Jamshedpur as a metallurgist.

Homi Jehangir Bhabha

 

 

Career:


Starting his nuclear physics career in Britain, Bhabha had returned to India for his annual vacation before the start of World War II in September 1939.

War prompted him to remain in India and he accepted a post of reader in physics at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, headed by Nobel laureate C.V. Raman. During this time, Bhabha played a key role in convincing the Congress Party's senior leaders, most notably Jawaharlal Nehru who later served as India's first Prime Minister, to start the ambitious nuclear programme.

As part of this vision, Bhabha established the Cosmic Ray Research Unit at the Institute, began to work on the theory of point particles movement, while independently conducting research on nuclear weapons in 1944.

In 1945, he established the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bombay, and the Atomic Energy Commission in 1948, serving as its first chairman.

In 1948, Nehru led the appointment of Bhabha as the director of the nuclear program and tasked Bhabha to develop the nuclear weapons soon after.

In the 1950s, Bhabha represented India in IAEA conferences, and served as President of the United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Geneva, Switzerland in 1955. During this time, he intensified his lobbying for the development of nuclear weapons. Soon after the Sino-Indo war, Bhabha aggressively and publicly began to call for the nuclear weapons.

Bhabha gained international prominence after deriving a correct expression for the probability of scattering positrons by electrons, a process now known as Bhabha scattering.

His major contribution included his work on Compton scattering, R-process, and furthermore the advancement of nuclear physics.

He was awarded Padma Bhushan by Government of India in 1954.

He later served as the member of the Indian Cabinet's Scientific Advisory Committee and provided the pivotal role to Vikram Sarabhai to set up the Indian National Committee for Space Research.

In January 1966, Bhabha died in a plane crash near Mont Blanc, while heading to Vienna, Austria to attend a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Scientific Advisory Committee.

 

Nuclear Power Program:


Bhabha is generally acknowledged as the father of Indian nuclear power. Moreover, he is credited with formulating a strategy of focusing on extracting power from the country's vast thorium reserves rather than its meager uranium reserves.

This thorium focused strategy was in marked contrast to all other countries in the world. The approach proposed by Bhabha to achieve this strategic objective became India's three stage nuclear power programme.

Bhabha paraphrased the three-stage approach as follows:

The total reserves of thorium in India amount to over 500,000 tons in the readily extractable form, while the known reserves of uranium are less than a tenth of this. The aim of long range atomic power programme in India must therefore be to base the nuclear power generation as soon as possible on thorium rather than uranium... The first generation of atomic power stations based on natural uranium can only be used to start off an atomic power programme... The plutonium produced by the first generation power stations can be used in a second generation of power stations designed to produce electric power and convert thorium into U-233, or depleted uranium into more plutonium with breeding gain... The second generation of power stations may be regarded as an intermediate step for the breeder power stations of the third generation all of which would produce more U-238 than they burn in the course of producing power

 

 

Cause of Death:


Homi J. Bhabha was killed when Air India Flight 101 crashed near Mont Blanc on 24 January 1966. Misunderstanding between Geneva Airport and the pilot about the aircraft position near the mountain is the official reason of the crash.

 

 

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Kailasavadivoo Sivan: Biography, Quotes, Achievements

Kailasavadivoo Sivan (born 14 April 1957) is an Indian space scientist and the chairperson of the Indian Space Research Organization.

He has previously served as the Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center and the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.

Kailasavadivoo Sivan
Kailasavadivoo Sivan

 

Key Description of Kailasavadivoo Sivan:


Chairman: Indian Space Research Organisation (From 15 January 2018)

Preceded By A. S. Kiran Kumar

Born: Kailasavadivoo Sivan (14 April 1957 (age 63)), Mela Sarakkalvilai, Kanyakumari District (present-day Tamil Nadu), India

Awards: IEEE Simon Ramo Medal

Books: Integrated Design for Space Transportation System

Children: Siddharth, Sushanth

Spouse: Malathi Sivan

Nationality: Indian

Education: Madurai University (B.Sc.), Madras Institute of Technology (B.Tech), IISc, Bangalore (M.E.), IIT, Bombay (Ph.D)

Social Network: Facebook

 

Early life:


Sivan was born in Mela Sarakkalvilai, near Nagercoil in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu state of India. His parents are Kailasa Vadivu and mother Chellam.

 

Education of Kailasavadivoo Sivan:


Sivan is son of a farmer and studied in a Tamil medium Government school in Mela Sarakkalvilai Village and later in Vallankumaranvilai in Kanyakumari district.

He is the first graduate from his family. Later Sivan graduated with a bachelor's degree in engineering from Madras Institute of Technology in 1980.

He then got a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1982, and started working in ISRO.

He earned a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 2006. He is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, the Aeronautical Society of India and the Systems Society of India.

 

Career of Kailasavadivoo Sivan:


Sivan worked on the design and development of launch vehicles for Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Sivan joined ISRO in 1982 to participate on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) Project.

He was appointed as the director of ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre on 2 July 2014. He was conferred Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) from Sathyabama University, Chennai in April 2014. On 1 June 2015, he became the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.

Sivan was appointed the chief of ISRO in January 2018 and he assumed office on 15 January.

Under his chairmanship, ISRO launched Chandrayaan 2, the second mission to the moon on July 22, 2019.

 

Awards:


  • Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Award, 2019.
  • IEEE Simon Ramo Medal, shared with Byrana N. Suresh, 2020.

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam: Biography, Quotes, History

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam full name is Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was an Indian aerospace scientist and politician who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied physics and aerospace engineering. He spent the next four decades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and was intimately involved in India's civilian space programme and military missile development efforts.

He thus came to be known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology.

He also played a pivotal organisational, technical, and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.

Kalam was elected as the 11th President of India in 2002 with the support of both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the then-opposition Indian National Congress.

Widely referred to as the "People's President", he returned to his civilian life of education, writing and public service after a single term. He was a recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor.

While delivering a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong, Kalam collapsed and died from an apparent cardiac arrest on 27 July 2015, aged 83.

Thousands, including national-level dignitaries, attended the funeral ceremony held in his hometown of Rameshwaram, where he was buried with full state honors.

 

Key Description of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam:


11th President of India (25 July 2002 – 25 July 2007)

Full Name: Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam

D.O.B: 15 October 1931, Rameswaram, Madras Presidency, British India, (present-day Tamil Nadu, India)

Died: 27 July 2015 (aged 83), Shillong, Meghalaya, India

Resting Place Pei Karumbu Ground, Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, India

Education: Madras Institute Of Technology (M.Eng.), Anna University (1955–1960), St.joseph's college (1954), Tiruchirappalli (B.Eng.), University of Madras

Profession: Aerospace scientist Author

Awards:

  • Padma Bhushan (1981)
  • Padma Vibhushan (1990)
  • Bharat Ratna (1997)
  • Hoover Medal (2009)
  • NSS Von Braun Award (2013)

Notable work(s): Wings of Fire, India 2020, Ignited Minds, Indomitable Spirit, Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji

Website: www.abdulkalam.com

Scientific career:

Fields: Aerospace Engineering

Institutions: Defence Research and Development Organisation
Indian Space Research Organisation

 

Early Life And Education of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam:


Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 to a Tamil Muslim family in the pilgrimage centre of Rameswaram on Pamban Island, then in the Madras Presidency and now in the State of Tamil Nadu.

His father Jainulabdeen was a boat owner and imam of a local mosque; his mother Ashiamma was a housewife.

His father owned a ferry that took Hindu pilgrims back and forth between Rameswaram and the now uninhabited Dhanushkodi. Kalam was the youngest of four brothers and one sister in his family.

His ancestors had been wealthy traders and landowners, with numerous properties and large tracts of land.

Their business had involved trading groceries between the mainland and the island and to and from Sri Lanka, as well as ferrying pilgrims between the mainland and Pamban. As a result, the family acquired the title of "Mara Kalam Iyakkivar" (wooden boat steerers), which over the years became shortened to "Marakier." With the opening of the Pamban Bridge to the mainland in 1914, however, the businesses failed and the family fortune and properties were lost over time, apart from the ancestral home.

By his early childhood, Kalam's family had become poor; at an early age, he sold newspapers to supplement his family's income.

In his school years, Kalam had average grades but was described as a bright and hardworking student who had a strong desire to learn. He spent hours on his studies, especially mathematics.

After completing his education at the Schwartz Higher Secondary School, Ramanathapuram, Kalam went on to attend Saint Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli, then affiliated with the University of Madras, from where he graduated in physics in 1954.

He moved to Madras in 1955 to study aerospace engineering in Madras Institute of Technology.

While Kalam was working on a senior class project, the Dean was dissatisfied with his lack of progress and threatened to revoke his scholarship unless the project was finished within the next three days. Kalam met the deadline, impressing the Dean, who later said to him, "I was putting you under stress and asking you to meet a difficult deadline".

He narrowly missed achieving his dream of becoming a fighter pilot, as he placed ninth in qualifiers, and only eight positions were available in the IAF.

 

Career As a Scientist of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam:


After graduating from the Madras Institute of Technology in 1960, Kalam joined the Aeronautical Development Establishment of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (by Press Information Bureau, Government of India) as a scientist after becoming a member of the Defence Research & Development Service (DRDS).

He started his career by designing a small hovercraft, but remained unconvinced by his choice of a job at DRDO.

Kalam was also part of the INCOSPAR committee working under Vikram Sarabhai, the renowned space scientist.

In 1969, Kalam was transferred to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) where he was the project director of India's first Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully deployed the Rohini satellite in near-earth orbit in July 1980; Kalam had first started work on an expandable rocket project independently at DRDO in 1965.

In 1969, Kalam received the government's approval and expanded the programme to include more engineers.

In 1963 to 1964, he visited NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia; Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; and Wallops Flight Facility.

Between the 1970s and 1990s, Kalam made an effort to develop the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and SLV-III projects, both of which proved to be successful.

Kalam was invited by Raja Ramanna to witness the country's first nuclear test Smiling Buddha as the representative of TBRL, even though he had not participated in its development. In the 1970s, Kalam also directed two projects, Project Devil and Project Valiant, which sought to develop ballistic missiles from the technology of the successful SLV programme.

Despite the disapproval of the Union Cabinet, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi allotted secret funds for these aerospace projects through her discretionary powers under Kalam's directorship.

Kalam played an integral role convincing the Union Cabinet to conceal the true nature of these classified aerospace projects.

His research and educational leadership brought him great laurels and prestige in the 1980s, which prompted the government to initiate an advanced missile programme under his directorship.

Kalam and Dr V S Arunachalam, metallurgist and scientific adviser to the Defence Minister, worked on the suggestion by the then Defence Minister, R. Venkataraman on a proposal for simultaneous development of a quiver of missiles instead of taking planned missiles one after another.

R Venkatraman was instrumental in getting the cabinet approval for allocating ₹ 3.88 billion for the mission, named Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) and appointed Kalam as the chief executive.

Kalam played a major part in developing many missiles under the mission including Agni, an intermediate range ballistic missile and Prithvi, the tactical surface-to-surface missile, although the projects have been criticised for mismanagement and cost and time overruns.

Kalam served as the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and Secretary of the Defence Research and Development Organisation from July 1992 to December 1999.

The Pokhran-II nuclear tests were conducted during this period in which he played an intensive political and technological role. Kalam served as the Chief Project Coordinator, along with Rajagopala Chidambaram, during the testing phase.

Media coverage of Kalam during this period made him the country's best known nuclear scientist.

However, the director of the site test, K Santhanam, said that the thermonuclear bomb had been a "fizzle" and criticized Kalam for issuing an incorrect report. Both Kalam and Chidambaram dismissed the claims.

In 1998, along with cardiologist Soma Raju, Kalam developed a low cost coronary stent, named the "Kalam-Raju Stent".

In 2012, the duo designed a rugged tablet computer for health care in rural areas, which was named the "Kalam-Raju Tablet".

 

Personal Life of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam:


Kalam was the youngest of five siblings, the eldest of whom was a sister, Asim Zohra (d. 1997), followed by three elder brothers: Mohammed Muthu Meera Lebbai Maraikayar (born 4 November 1916), Mustafa Kalam (d. 1999) and Kasim Mohammed (d. 1995).

He was extremely close to his elder siblings and their extended families throughout his life, and would regularly send small sums of money to his older relations, himself remaining a lifelong bachelor.

Kalam was noted for his integrity and his simple lifestyle. He never owned a television, and was in the habit of rising at 6:30 or 7 a.m and sleeping by 2 a.m.

His few personal possessions included his books, his veena, some articles of clothing, a CD player and a laptop; at his death, he left no will, and his possessions went to his eldest brother, who survived him.

 

 

Awards And Honors:


Kalam received 7 honorary doctorates from 40 universities. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1981 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1990 for his work with ISRO and DRDO and his role as a scientific advisor to the Government.

In 1997, Kalam received India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, for his contribution to the scientific research and modernization of defense technology in India.

In 2013, he was the recipient of the Von Braun Award from the National Space Society "to recognize excellence in the management and leadership of a space-related project".

In 2012, Kalam was ranked number 2 in Outlook India's poll of the Greatest Indian.

Following his death, Kalam received numerous tributes. The Tamil Nadu state government announced that his birthday, 15 October, would be observed across the state as "Youth Renaissance Day;" the state government further instituted the "Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Award," constituting an 8-gram gold medal, a certificate and ₹500,000 (US$7,000).

The award will be awarded annually on Independence Day, beginning in 2015, to residents of the state with achievements in promoting scientific growth, the humanities or the welfare of students.

On the anniversary of Kalam's birth in 2015 the CBSE set topics on his name in the CBSE expression series.

The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, ceremonially released postage stamps commemorating Kalam at DRDO Bhawan in New Delhi on 15 October 2015, the 84th anniversary of Kalam's birth.

Researchers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), had discovered a new bacterium on the filters of the International Space Station (ISS) and named it Solibacillus kalamii to honor the late president Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Several educational and scientific institutions and other locations were renamed or named in honour of Kalam following his death.

An agricultural college at Kishanganj, Bihar, was renamed the "Dr. Kalam Agricultural College, Kishanganj" by the Bihar state government on the day of Kalam's funeral.

The state government also announced it would name a proposed science city after Kalam.

India's First Medical Tech Institute named as Kalam Institute of Health Technology located at Visakhapatnam.

Uttar Pradesh Technical University (UPTU) was renamed "A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University" by the Uttar Pradesh state government.

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Memorial Travancore Institute of Digestive Diseases, a new research institute in Kollam city, Kerala attached to the Travancore Medical College Hospital.

A new academic complex at Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala.

Construction of Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam Science City started in Patna in February 2019.

A new science centre and planetarium in Lawspet, Puducherry.

India and the US have launched the Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowship in September 2014. The first call for applicants was announced on Friday 12 March 2016, for the fellowship which will enable up to 6 Indian PhD students and post-doctoral researchers to work with US host institutions for a period of 6–12 months. The fellowship will be operated by the binational US-India Educational Foundation (USIEF) under the Fulbright programme.

Kerala Technological University, headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram where Kalam lived for years, was renamed to A P J Abdul Kalam Technological University after his death.

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Planetarium in Burla, Sambalpur, Odisha was named after him.

 

Other Awards And Honors:

Year of award or honour Name of award or honour Awarding organisation
2014 Honorary professor Beijing University, China
2014 Doctor of Science Edinburgh University, UK
2013 Von Braun Award National Space Society
2012 Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) Simon Fraser University
2011 IEEE Honorary Membership IEEE
2010 Doctor of Engineering University of Waterloo
2009 Honorary Doctorate Oakland University
2009 Hoover Medal ASME Foundation, USA
2009 International von Kármán Wings Award California Institute of Technology, USA
2008 Doctor of Engineering (Honoris Causa) Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
2008 Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
2007 Honorary Doctorate of Science and Technology Carnegie Mellon University
2007 King Charles II Medal Royal Society, UK
2007 Honorary Doctorate of Science University of Wolverhampton, UK
2000 Ramanujan Award Alwars Research Centre, Chennai
1998 Veer Savarkar Award Government of India
1997 Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration Indian National Congress
1997 Bharat Ratna Government of India
1995 Honorary Fellow National Academy of Medical Sciences,
1994 Distinguished Fellow Institute of Directors (India)
1990 Padma Vibhushan Government of India
1981 Padma Bhushan Government of India

 

 

Books, Documentaries And Popular culture:


Kalam's writings:

  • Developments in Fluid Mechanics and Space Technology by A P J Abdul Kalam and Roddam Narasimha; Indian Academy of Sciences, 1988
  • India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium by A P J Abdul Kalam, Y. S. Rajan; New York, 1998.
  • Wings of Fire: An Autobiography by A P J Abdul Kalam, Arun Tiwari; Universities Press, 1999.
  • Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India by A P J Abdul Kalam; Viking, 2002.
  • The Luminous Sparks by A P J Abdul Kalam, by; Punya Publishing Pvt Ltd., 2004.
  • Mission India by A P J Abdul Kalam, Paintings by Manav Gupta; Penguin Books, 2005.
  • Inspiring Thoughts by A P J Abdul Kalam; Rajpal & Sons, 2007.
  • Indomitable Spirit by A P J Abdul Kalam; Rajpal and Sons Publishing.
  • Envisioning an Empowered Nation by A P J Abdul Kalam with A Sivathanu Pillai; Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi
  • You Are Born To Blossom: Take My Journey Beyond by A P J Abdul Kalam and Arun Tiwari; Ocean Books, 2011.
  • Turning Points: A journey through challenges by A P J Abdul Kalam; Harper Collins India, 2012.
  • Target 3 Billion by A P J Abdul Kalam and Srijan Pal Singh; December 2011 | Publisher Penguin Books.
  • My Journey: (titled எனது பயணம் – Tamil) Transforming
  • Dreams into Actions by A P J Abdul Kalam; August 2013 by the Rupa Publication.
  • A Manifesto for Change: A Sequel to India 2020 by A P J Abdul Kalam and V Ponraj; July 2014 by Harper Collins.
  • Forge your Future: Candid, Forthright, Inspiring by A P J Abdul Kalam; by Rajpal and Sons, 29 October 2014.
  • Reignited: Scientific Pathways to a Brighter Future by A P J Abdul Kalam and Srijan Pal Singh; by Penguin India, 14 May 2015.
  • Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji by A P J Abdul Kalam with Arun Tiwari; HarperCollins Publishers, June 2015.
  • Advantage India: From Challenge to Opportunity by A P J Abdul Kalam and Srijan Pal Singh; HarperCollins Publishers,15 Oct 2015.

Dr. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai: Biography, Education, Quotes

Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (12 August 1919 – 30 December 1971) was an Indian physicist and astronomer who initiated space research and helped develop nuclear power in India.

He was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 1966 and the Padma Vibhushan (posthumously) in 1972. He is internationally regarded as the Father of the Indian Space Program.

Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai

 

Key Description of Vikram Sarabhai:


Born: 12 August 1919, Ahmedabad, Bombay Presidency, British India

Died: 30 December 1971, Halcyon Castle Trivandrum, Thiruvananthapuram

Full name: Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai

Organizations founded: Indian Space Research Organisation,

Education: Gujarat Arts and Science College, Sheth C N Vidyalaya, St John's College, University of Cambridge

Awards: Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan

Alma Mater: University of Cambridge (BA, PhD)

Known For: Indian space program, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

Spouse(s): Mrinalini Sarabhai

Children:

  • Mallika Sarabhai (daughter)
  • Kartikeya Sarabhai (son)

Awards:

  • Padma Bhushan (1966)
  • Padma Vibhushan (posthumously) (1972)

Scientific Career

Doctoral Advisor: C. V. Raman

Doctoral Students: Udupi Ramachandra Rao, K Narayanan Nair
Vikram Sarabhai

Chairman: Indian National Committee for Space Research and Indian Space Research Organisation (1963–1971)

Preceded By: Position established

Succeeded By: M. G. K. Menon

 

Personal Life of Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai:


Son of Ambalal Sarabhai, he came from the famous Sarabhai family of India who were major industrialists committed to the Indian independence movement.

Vikram Sarabhai married the classical dancer Mrinalini in 1942. The couple had two children. His daughter Mallika gained prominence as an actress and activist, and his son Kartikeya too became an active person in science. During his lifetime, he practiced Jainism.

He attended Gujarat College, Ahmedabad, but later shifted to the University of Cambridge, England, where he took his tripos in natural sciences in 1940.

In 1945 he returned to Cambridge to pursue a doctorate and wrote a thesis, “Cosmic Ray Investigations in Tropical Latitudes,” in 1947.

Known as the cradle of space sciences in India, the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) was founded in 1947 by Vikram Sarabhai. PRL had a modest beginning at his residence, the "RETREAT", with research on cosmic rays.

The institute was formally established at the M.G. Science Institute, Ahmedabad, on 11 November 1947 with support from the Karmkshetra Educational Foundation and the Ahmedabad Education Society.

Prof. Kalpathi Ramakrishna Ramanathan was the first Director of the institute. The initial focus was research on cosmic rays and the properties of the upper atmosphere. Research areas were expanded to include theoretical physics and radio physics later with grants from the Atomic Energy Commission.

He led the Sarabhai family-owned business conglomerate. His interests varied from science to sports to statistics. He set up the Operations Research Group (ORG), the first market research organization in the country.

Most notable among the many institutes he helped set up are the Nehru Foundation for Development in Ahmedabad, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), the Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association (ATIRA) and the (CEPT).

Along with his wife Mrinalini Sarabhai, he founded the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts. Other projects and institutions initiated or established by him include the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) in Kalpakkam, Variable Energy Cyclotron Project in Calcutta, Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) in Hyderabad and Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) in Jaduguda, Jharkhand.

Sarabhai started a project for the fabrication and launch of an Indian satellite. As a result, the first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, was put in orbit in 1975 from a Russian cosmodrome.

He was the founder of Indian Space Research Organisation.

 

Distinguished Positions of Vikram Sarabhai:


  • President of the Physics section, Indian Science Congress (1962)
  • President of the General Conference of the I.A.E.A., Vienna (1970)
  • Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India (1966–1971)
  • Vice-President, Fourth UN Conference on 'Peaceful uses of Atomic Energy' (1971)
  • Founder and Chairman (1963–1971), Space Applications Centre

 

Legacy:


The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, (VSSC), which is the Indian Space Research Organization's lead facility for launch vehicle development located in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), capital of Kerala state, is named in his memory.

Along with other Ahmedabad-based industrialists, he played a major role in setting up of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Indian Postal Department released a commemorative Postal Stamp On his first death anniversary (30 December 1972)

In 1973, the International Astronomical Union decided that a lunar crater, Bessel A, in the Sea of Serenity will be known as the Sarabhai crater.

The lander on India's moon mission Chandrayaan-2 which was to land near the South Pole of the moon on Sep 20, 2019 was named Vikram in his honour.

Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VASCSC) located in

Ahmedabad, Gujarat is named after him. Vikram Sarabhai established this institute around the 1960s.

Former World Quiz Champion Vikram Joshi was named after him.
On 12 August 2019, Google's Doodle for India commemorated Sarabhai's 100th birth anniversary.

 

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