Biography of Nobel Laureate Venkatraman Radhakrishnan

-

Biography of Nobel Laureate Venkatraman Radhakrishnan

Venkatraman Radhakrishnan
Venkatraman Radhakrishnan was a space scientist, physicist and molecular biologist. He was awarded the Nobel prize in 2009 for Chemistry. He was an Indian by birth. But he was a citizen of both the USA and Great Britain. He was one of them who discovered many aspects of modern space science. 

Early Life and Education

Venkatraman Radhakrishnan was born on 19 May 1929 at Tondiarpet in Madras Presidency, British India. He has a great family background. His father was Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (CV Raman), a Nobel laureate and a pioneer of modern science. His mother was Lokasundari Ammal. In fact, Radhakrishnan was a worthy child of quotable parents.

Radhakrishnan was a lucky gem to be born into such a type of family. He had his primary and basic bits of knowledge of education from his parents at home. His father C.V Raman was very serious about his son's studies. Radhakrishnan's earlier schooling was in Australia. Because at that time his father was there with the whole family for his work before returning to India.

He earned a bachelor's degree in 1971 from Baroda University of Gujrat. Then he joined the Department of Physics at the Indian Institute of Science (IIS), Bangalore. He received a doctoral degree in Physics from Ohio, USA. He conducted his post-doctoral research from 1978 to 1982 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. 

Radhakrishnan was married to Mrs Francoise Dominique Barnard. They have a son Vivek Radhakrishnan.

Research Works

Radhakrishnan's fields of research are Astronomy, Astrophysics and Molecular Biology. But Radhakrishnan's initial academic background prepared him for a career in Theoretical Physics. Later on, his interests shifted towards Molecular Biology.

In the 1950s, Radhakrishnan started to research Radio Astronomy. Starting with the electronics of receivers, he moved on to technically innovative and astronomically far-reaching studies of the polarization of radio waves. These include the detection of radio waves from the VanAllen like belts surrounding Jupiter and the first determination of the true rotation core of Jupiter.

Radhakrishnan was the first man who implemented systematic application of interferometry to polarized brightness distributions and an early study of the Zeeman Effect in the 21 cm line emitted by an atom of Hydrogen. He also carried out a systematic interferometric study of 21 cm absorption towards a large number of galactic and extragalactic sources.

Radhakrishnan also played an important contribution in designing and fabricating many devices like hand glynders, microlight aircraft, sailboats, etc.

He wrote and published more than 80 papers on various topics in different research journals. He also co-edited a book of conference proceedings, "Supernovae: their Progenitors and Remnants" in the year 1985. 

While working in the Raman Research Institute, he was instrumental and closely involved with the construction of the 10.4-millimetre-wave radio antenna in the institutes.

Radhakrishnan also contributed to Deuterium abundance in the galaxy, Astrophysical Raman Masers, OH emission from clouds and later on the building of the low-frequency telescopes.

At Yale, he worked in the laboratory of American molecular biophysicist and biochemist Peter Moore and learned to use a technique known as Neutron Scattering to investigate the structure of the small subunit of ribosomes in the bacterium Escherichia Coli.


Radhakrishnan was a biophysicist at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. There he continued to utilize neutron scattering, as well as another technique called X-ray Crystallography, to elucidate the structure of ribosomes and other molecules, including chromatin and proteins known as histones. 

In 2000, he published a series of groundbreaking scientific papers in which he represented data on the RNA structure and organization of the small ribosomal subunit of Thermus thermophilus and revealed the structures of antibiotics bound to small subunits of ribosomes at a resolution of just 3 angstroms.

He built up an international reputation for work in the areas of Pulsar Astronomy, liquid crystals and the other areas of frontline research in Astronomy.

Versatile Career

Radhakrishnan has a huge experience of working in various sectors regarding science and technology. This legendary man was one of the most praised scientists during his era. He was:
  • Research Assistant in the Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
  • Senior Research Fellow of the California Institute of Technology, USA
  • Senior Research Assistant and Principal Research Assistant of the Radiophysics Division of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Sydney, Australia
  • Director of Raman Research Institute
  • Chairman of Commission J (Radio Astronomy) of the International Union of Radio Sciences
  • Vice President of the International Astronomical Union during 1988-1994
  • Member of Foreign Advisory Committee for the Netherlands Foundation for Radio Astronomy
  • Member of Advisory Committee for the Green Bank Radio Telescope
  • Member of the steering committee of the Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO
  • Member of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, USA
  • Member of the scientific advisory committee of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics.
  • Member of the Governing  Council of the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad
  • Member of the Indian National Committee for Astronomy
  • Foreign fellow of Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
  • Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore
  • Associate of the Royal Astronomical Society
Along with these, Radhakrishnan served many other committees including Division four commission 34 on Interstellar Matter, Division ten commission 40 on Radio Astronomy, Division eleven commission 44 on Space and High Energy Astrophysics, Division nine on Space and High Energy Astrophysics.

Awards and Recognition

Any award or recognition can not evaluate the significance of the works that Radhakrishnan did throughout his life. He and his works are recognized all over the world.
  • The University of Amsterdam conferred him the Doctor Honoris Causa degree in 1996
  • He was awarded the 2009 Nobel prize for Chemistry, along with American biophysicist and biochemist Thomas Steitz and Israeli protein crystallographer Ada Yonath.
  • Radhakrishnan received the Louis-Jeantet Prize for medicine in 2007.
  • Heatley Medal, awarded by the British Biochemical Society in 2008.
  • He was included in the United Kingdom's New Year Honours List in 2012.

Death

Venkataraman Radhakrishnan died on 3 March 2011 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Then he was 81 years old. 
Radhakrishnan was more international than a proud Indian.


sources:



Popular posts from this blog

Biography of Salim Ali, The Birdman of India

-
Image
Biography of Salim Ali, The Birdman of India Salim Moizuddin Ali, popularly known as Salim Ali was an Indian naturalist and ornithologist. He is the first man in India who conducted a methodological study to survey bird characteristics all over the country and even abroad. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan from the Government of India in 1958 and 1976 respectively. Ali is considered the 'Birdman of India'. His autobiography 'The Fall of a Sparrow' is one of the most read autobiographies in India. Family and Education Salim Ali was born on 12 November 1896 at Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India (now in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India). His father was Moizuddin. He lost his parents at an early age and grew up with his maternal uncle Amiruddin Tyabji. His family was a Sulaimani Bohra Family, a branch of Tayibi Islamism. Salim's schooling was started at Zenana Bible and Medical Mission Girls High School at Girgaum. Then he was moved to St. Xavier...
Read more

APJ Abdul Kalam, The Missile man of India

-
Image
APJ Abdul Kalam, The Missile man of India Avul Pakir Janulabdeen Abdul Kalam was an Indian aerospace scientist. He was the 11 th president of India. He is known as the “Missile Man of India” for his work on the development of ballistic missiles and launch vehicle technology. He was the awardee of India’s highest civilization award ‘Bharat Ratna’. Family and Education  APJ Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 in the pilgrimage centre of Rameshwaram on Pamban Island, Madras Presidency, British India (now in Tamil Nadu, India). His father Jainulabdeen Marakayar was a boat owner and imam of a local mosque. His mother was Ashiamma. Kalam’s family belongs to “Marakkar”, a Muslim community of south-east Asia. Though Kalam’s family was poverty-stricken, their ancestors were wealthy traders and landowners. He was the youngest of his five siblings. Young Kalam was bound to come down to the street to earn money due to poverty. He had to sell newspapers to add to the family income. But...
Read more

Biography of M. Visvesvaraya, Pioneer of Indian Civil Engineering

-
Image
Biography of M. Visvesvaraya, Pioneer of Indian Civil Engineering Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was an Indian civil engineer. He is considered the father of engineering. He was also a great statesman. His birthday is celebrated as Engineers' Day throughout the countries India, Sri Lanka and Tanzania. Visvesvaraya was the first man who initiated plans to solve flood and water management problems in India. Early Life and Education Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was born on 15 September 1860. He was born in a Telegu Family. His father was Mokshagundan Srinivasa Shastri and his mother was Venkata Lakshamma. At the time of his birth, his birthplace was Muddenahally (presently Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka state).  His father was a Sanskrit scholar and Ayurvedic practitioner. His father died when he was only 15 years old. After completing his school in Chikkaballapur, Visvesvaraya went to his first college in Bangalore. It was the Central College of Bangalore. He completed his B.A degr...
Read more