Great Scientists

Dr.C.V.Raman	Vikrama Sarabhai
The Genius who won the Nobel prize for Physics, with simple equipment barely worth Rs.300. He was the first Asian scientist to win the Nobel Prize. He won honour as a scientist and affection as a teacher and a man	One of the greatest scientists of India. As Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, he guided research of the greatest improtance to the country. A born scientist and a beloved teacher.
Homi Bhabha	Dr.J.C.Bose
The architect of Nuclear Science in Modern India. He was a painterand worshipped the beauty of Nature.Science and art both enriched his mind an life. He was the ideal personality India needs today	The great biologist who showed that plants, too can 'feel' in their own way. He saved money ;he bought a small laboratory and build his equipment; and scientists in Euorpe and America wondered at his discoveries.
Sathyendranath Bose	Dr.P.C.Ray
A renowned Indian scientist. He developed a new branch of physics. He worked with Albert Einstein, Madame Curie and other scientists of world renown.	An Indian Scientist who won fame in many countries. Eighty years ago he began the manufacture of medicines in India. A Great teacher, he gave his salary to students interested in science.
Birbal Sahani
A Great scientist who lived only for knowledge. He declined high posts. He was a genius who shone in several spheres. He was a great teacher and a great man.

Scientist Biographies

Some biographies of the world's great scientists and inventors.

David Attenborough and Environmental Issues.

In recent years David has become increasingly outspoken on issues such as environmental damage, global warming and extinction of particular species. He has stated that human overpopulation and global warming (caused by human activity) are the root cause of much of the world’s growing environmental problems. He has lent his voice to organisations such as WWF in their fight to protect certain species and campaign for wildlife. In the last episode of “State of the Planet” he summed up his feelings with this statement.

“The future of life on earth depends on our ability to take action. Many individuals are doing what they can, but real success can only come if there's a change in our societies and our economics and in our politics. I've been lucky in my lifetime to see some of the greatest spectacles that the natural world has to offer. Surely we have a responsibility to leave for future generations a planet that is healthy, inhabitable by all species.”

T.Pettinger 12/06/2009

Alexander Bell Biography

Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) Scottish inventor, most notably credited with inventing the modern telephone.

Alexander was brought up in Edinburgh Scotland. From an early age he had an inquisitive mind and became fascinated with acoustics and voice patterns. This interest in acoustics and communication was partly inspired by his mother's growing deafness.

In 1870 he went to live in Canada where he developed a method of teaching speech to the deaf and in 1873 he became a professor of vocal physiology at Boston University. In 1876 he developed a patent for the telephone, something he had developed during long evening sessions with the mechanic Thomas Watson.

The first telephone call was made on August 3rd 1876, where he successfully placed a call to another house 6km away on an improvised piece of telephone wire. This proved it was possible to communicate over long distances for the first time.

in 1879, the Bell Telephone company bought Edison's patent for carbon microphone and this enabled a big improvement to Bell's initial telephone design. The Bell telecommunications company proved very successful. By 1886, over 150,000 people in the US, owned a telephone. It went on to become one of the most successful modern inventions.

Bell died of anaemia on 2nd August 1922, in his Scottish estate of Beinn Bhreagh, Nova Scotia

He subsequently spent much time in legal action against infringement of his patent.

Later inventions of Bell included, the photophone, a device that transmitted sound on a beam of light and the gramophone, which recorded sound on a wax disc.

Towards the end of his life, he carried out research in the field of aerodynamics, looking at giant kites and hydrofoils.

Early Life Marie Curie

Marya Sklodovska was the youngest of 5 children, born in 1867, Warsaw Poland. She was brought up in a poor but well educated family. Marya excelled in her studies and won many prizes. At an early age she became committed to the ideal of Polish independence from Russia which was currently ruling Poland with an iron fist, and in particular making life difficult for intellectuals. She yearned to be able to teach fellow Polish woman who were mostly condemned to zero education.

Unusually for women at that time, Marya took an interest in Chemistry and Biology. Since opportunities in Poland for further study was limited, Marya went to Paris, where after working as a governess she was able to study at the Sorbonne, Paris. Struggling to learn in French, Marya threw herself into her studies, leading an ascetic life dedicated to studying. She went on to get a degree in Physics finish top in her school. She later got a degree in Maths, finishing second in her school year.

It was in Paris, that she met Pierre Curie, who was then chief of the laboratory at the school of Physics and Chemistry. He was a renowned Chemist, who had conducted many experiments on crystals and electronics. Pierre was smitten with the young Marya and asked her to marry him. The unromantic Marya initially refused, but, after persistence from Pierre she relented. The two would later become inseparable, until Pierre's untimely death.

Marie Curie work on Radioactivity

Marie pursued studies in radioactivity. In 1898, this led to the discovery of two new elements. One of which she named polonium after her home country.

There then followed 4 years of extensive study into the properties of radium. Using dumped uranium tailings from a nearby mine, they were very slowly, and painstakingly, able to extract a decigram of radium.

Radium was discovered to have remarkable impacts. Marie actually suffered burns from the rays. It was from this discovery of radium and its properties that the science of radiation was able to develop. Using the properties of radium to burn away diseased cells in the body. Initially radiotherapy was called 'currietherapy'

The Curries agreed to give away their secret freely; they did not wish to patent such a valuable element. The element was soon in high demand and it began industrial scale production.

For their discovery they were awarded the Davy Medal (britain) and the Nobel Prize for physics in 1903.

In 1905, Pierre was killed in a road accident, leaving Marie to look after the laboratory and her 2 children.

In 1911 she was awarded a second nobel prize in Chemistry for the discovery of actinium and further studies on radium and polonium.

The success of Marie Curie also brought considerable hostility, criticism and suspicion from a male dominated science world. She suffered from the malicious rumours and accusations that flew around.

The onset of World War I in 1914, led to Marie Curie dedicating her time to the installation of X ray machines in hospitals. Marie understood that x ray machines would easily be able to located shrapnel, enabling better treatment for soldiers. By, the end of the first world war, over a million soldiers had been examined by her X ray units.

At the end of the First world war she returned to the Institute of Radium in Paris, and also took great pride in serving the fledgling League of Nations. She also published a book - radioactivity which encompassed her great ideas on science.

Marie Curie died in 1934 from Cancer. It was an unfortunate side effect of her own groundbreaking studies into radiation which were to help so many people.

Marie Curie pushed back many frontiers in science; and at the same time set a new bar for female academic and scientific achievement.

By: Tejvan Pettinger, 28/11/2008, Oxford, UK

· Charles Darwin

· Biography Charles Darwin

· Charles Robert Darwin (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, who proposed and provided evidence for the scientific theory that all species have evolved over time from one or a few common ancestors, through the process of natural selection. This theory became widely accepted by the scientific community in the 1930s,and now forms the basis of modern evolutionary theory. In modified form, Darwin's theory remains a cornerstone of biology, as it provides a unifying explanation for the diversity of life.

· Darwin developed his interest in natural history at Edinburgh University while studying first medicine, then theology. His five-year voyage on the Beagle established him as a geologist whose observations and theories supported Charles Lyell's uniformitarian ideas, and publication of his journal of the voyage made him famous as a popular author. Puzzled by the geographical distribution of wildlife and fossils he collected on the voyage, Darwin investigated the transmutation of species and conceived his theory of natural selection in 1838. Having seen others attacked as heretics for such ideas, he confided only in his closest friends and continued his extensive research to meet anticipated objections. In 1858, Alfred Russell Wallace sent him an essay describing a similar theory, causing the two to publish their theories early in a joint publication.

· His 1859 book On the Origin of Species established evolution by common descent as the dominant scientific explanation of diversification in nature. He examined human evolution and sexual selection in The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, followed by The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. His research on plants was published in a series of books, and in his final book, he examined earthworms and their effect on soil.

Albert Einstein Biography

Born in 1879, Ulm Germany, Albert Einstein was to become the most celebrated scientist of the twentieth Century. His theories were to lay the framework for new branches of physics. He also become well known as a humanitarian, speaking out against nuclear weapons - weapons he had indirectly contributed towards creating.

Einstein is one of the undisputed genius' of the twentieth century, but, his early academic reports suggested anything but a glittering career in academia. His early teachers found him dim and slow to learn. Part of the problem was that Albert expressed no interest in learning languages and learning by rote that was popular at the time.

However, at the age of 12, he picked up a book on geometry and read it cover to cover. - He would later refer to it as his 'holy booklet'. He became fascinated by maths and taught himself maths and became acquainted with the great scientific discoveries of the age.

Around this time, his father's family business failed and so the family moved to Milan, Italy. Despite Albert's fascination with maths, he still languished at school. Eventually he was asked to leave by the school because his indifference was setting a bad example to other students.

On leaving school he decided to become a maths teacher to help support him in his studies of maths and physics.

He applied for admission to the Federal institute of Technology in Zurich. His first attempt was a failure because he failed exams in botany, zoology and languages. However, he passed the next year and in 1900 became a Swiss citizen. He married Mileva Marec, they had two sons before divorcing several years later.

Albert Einstein's Scientific Contributions

Quantum Theory.

Einstein suggested that light doesn't just travel as waves but as electric currents. This photoelectric effect could force metals to release tiny stream of particles known as 'quanta'. From this Quantum Theory, other inventors were able to develop devices such as television and movies. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921

Special Theory of Relativity

This theory was written in a simple style with no footnotes or academic references. The core of his theory of relativity is that

"Movement can only be detected and measured as relative movement; the change of position of one body in respect to another."

Thus there is no fixed absolute standard of comparison for judging the motion of the earth or plants. It was revolutionary because previously people had thought time and distance are absolutes. But, Einstein proved this not to be true.

He also said that if electrons travelled at close to the speed of light, their weight would increase

This lead to Einstein's famous equation

E= mc2

Where E = energy . m = mass and c = speed of light.

General Theory of Relativity 1916

Working from basis of special relativity. Einstein sought to express all physical laws using equations based on mathematical equations.

He devoted the last period of his life trying to formulate a final unified field theory which included a rational explanation for electromagnetism. However, he was to be frustrated in searching for this final break through theory.

As a German Jew, Einstein was threatened by the rise of the Nazi party. In 1933, when the Nazi's seized power, they confiscated Einstein's property and Einstein (then in England) took an offer to go to Princeton university in the US.

Once in the US, Einstein dedicated himself to a strict discipline of academic study. He would spend no time on maintaining his dress and image. He considered these things 'inessential' and meant less time for his study.

Einstein professed belief in a God "Who reveals himself in the harmony of all being". But, he followed no established religion.

Politics of Einstein.

Einstein described himself as a Zionist Socialist. He did support the state of Israel, but, became concerned about the narrow nationalism of the new state. In 1952, he was offered the position as President of Israel, but, he declined saying he had:

"neither the natural ability nor the experience to deal with human beings." ... "I am deeply moved by the offer from our State of Israel, and at once saddened and ashamed that I cannot accept it. "

Albert Einstein was involved in many civil rights movements such as the American campaign to end lynching

On the outbreak of war in 1939, Einstein wrote to President Roosevelt about the prospect of atomic bomb. He warned Roosevelt the Germans were working on it. Roosevelt headed his advice and started the Manhattan project. But, after the war ended, Einstein reverted to his pacifist views.

He was scrutinised closely in the McCarthyite era for potential Communist links. He wrote article in favour of Socialism, criticised Capitalism and criticised the arms race. Einstein remarked:

"I do not know how the third World War will be fought, but I can tell you what they will use in the Fourth—rocks!"

Einstein died in 1955, at his request his brain and vital organs were removed for scientific study.

By: Tejvan R.Pettinger 21/11/2008 Oxford, UK

Michael Faraday Biography

"Nothing is too wonderful to be true if it be consistent with the laws of nature, and in such things as these, experiment is the best test of such consistency."

- Michael Faraday

Short Bio Michael Faraday

Michael Faraday was an influential British scientist who, amongst other discoveries, helped turn electricity into a property that could be easily used.

He was born on 22 September 1791 in south London to relatively poor parents. At the age of 14, he left school and started an apprenticeship at a local book binder. In his spare time he was an avid reader, teaching himself many scientific concepts. Faraday was thus mostly self-taught and became one of the greatest scientists despite his rudimentary maths.

In 1812, at the age of 20 he receive some tickets for a series of lectures by the eminent scientist Humphry Davy. After the lecture Michael sent Davy a 300 page document offering notes on the lectures. Davy was impressed and he employed Faraday as an assistant. This later led to a Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, a position to which he was appointed for life.

His early work centred on chemistry. He made a special study of Chlorine and new chlorides of carbon. Faraday was a great practical inventor and one of the most useful pieces of chemistry equipment he developed was an early form of the Bunsen burner. By mixing air with gas before lighting, Faraday found an easily accessible form of higher temperature. His model of the Bunsen burner was developed, but is still used in laboratories around the world.

Faraday's’s greatest achievement was in the development of electro-magnetism and electricity. Though people already knew of electricity, it was Faraday who played a pivotal role in providing a continuous source of electricity, through his electro-magnetic rotation model of 1821. Later he was able to develop the first electric dynamo and his theories of electromagnetism proved influential in the new electricity industry of the nineteenth century.

As well as being a prominent scientist, Faraday also undertook other projects related to science. For example, after a large explosion in a coal mine in County Durham 1865, he along with Charles Lyell, produced a report on the dangers of coal dust. A recommendation which unfortunately was not acted upon until after another coal tragedy in 1913.

Faraday had strong religious convictions, belonging to a strict Christian sect called the Sandemanian Church - founded in the eighteenth century – an offshoot of the Church of Scotland. His religious beliefs influenced his work and he was keen to show the unity of God and nature through his scientific discoveries.

I shall be with Christ, and that is enough.”

Michael Faraday, on being asked about the afterlife

His religious beliefs may have been a reason he refused to help the British governments request that he might develop chemical weapons for the Crimean war.

In the early 1840s, Faraday's health began to deteriorate and he did less research. He died on 25 August 1867 at Hampton Court, where he had been given official lodgings in recognition of his contribution to science.

By: T. Pettinger, 28/11/2009, Oxford, UK

Alexander Fleming Biography

Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was born in East Ayrshire, Scotland in 1881. He was a biologist and pharmacologist most famous for his discovery of the antibiotic substance penicillin in 1928. He was awarded a Nobel Prize, jointly with Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain for medicine in 1945

After four years of working in a shipping company, an inheritance gave Fleming the chance to train as a physician at St Mary’s hospital London. From here he moved to the research department, specialising in the relative new science of bacteriology.

During the First World War, Fleming served in the medical corps and served in the hospitals of the Western Front, during his war service he was mentioned in dispatches.

Fleming’s greatest breakthrough occurred in 1928, when, quite by chance, he discovered an effective antibacterial agent

"When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionize all medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic, or bacteria killer," ... "But I guess that was exactly what I did".

- Alexander Fleming

Fleming had left a jar of mould unattended during his August vacation. On returning to work he noticed that a jar of Staphylococcus bacteria – a green yellow mould - had covered the dish except one area which was clear of the bacteria – rather like a halo effect.

This was Fleming’s great Eureka moment – the moment he correctly deducted that some antibacterial agent had crept in and successfully stopped the bacteria. He later identified this antibacterial agent as a rare form of Penicillium notatum which had drifted in from a mycology lab nearby.
In 1929, he published his work in British Journal of Experimental Pathology. However, for the next decade his discovery remained relatively unknown. He was not able to produce penicillin to inject rats in sufficient quantities. By 1932, he had effectively abandoned his research on penicillin.

However, in 1939, a team of scientists at Oxford University began work on trying to make a large quantity of antibacterial agents. The team under Howard Florey, Ernst Boris Chain started to work using Fleming’s penicillin culture. They were able to extract the penicillin in sufficient quantities to start producing it on a commercial scale. This enabled them to start producing the world’s first antibiotics. This revolutionised medical science and helped to eradicate many bacterial infections such as Pneumonia, syphilis, gonorrhoea, diphtheria, scarlet fever and many childbirth infections.

After the production of penicillin, the public wanted a key person to identify with the discovery. Florey and Chain were not too keen for public profile so the role of Alexander Fleming was highlighted as the person who first discovered the agent. Fleming was hailed as the hero of the antibiotic generation – a discovery which helped save many millions of lives during the Second World War and after.

For his work, he was jointly awarded a nobel prize in 1945.

He died from a heart attack in 1955, and was buried at Westminster Cathedral.

T.Pettinger, 21/02/2009, Oxford, UK

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Galileo Galilei Biography

Galileo Galilei - Astronomer and Scientist 1564-1642

Galileo was born in Florence, Italy in 1564 to a poor but noble family.

His parents recognised their child's innate intelligence and talents and so made sacrifices to have him educated. At his father's insistence, Galileo studied the profitable career of medicine. At the University of Pisa, Galileo became fascinated in a wide range of subjects. He was also critical of many of Aristotle's teaching which had dominated education for the past 2,000 years.

Galileo was appointed to be a mathematics professor at the university of Pisa, but, his strident criticisms of Aristotle, left him isolated amongst his contempories. After 3 years of persecution, he resigned and went to the university of Padua. Here he taught maths. His entertaining lectures attracted a large following and he was able to spend the next 18 years pursuing his interests in astronomy and mechanics.

During this time, Galileo made important discoveries about gravity, inertia and also developed the forerunner of the thermometer. Galileo also worked tirelessly on the science of gnomonics (telling time by shadows) and the laws of motion.

It was in astronomy that Galileo that became famous and also courted the opposition of the Holy Roman Catholic Church.

Galileo came to the same conclusions of Copernicus that the sun was the centre of the universe and not the earth. By inventing the world's first telescope, Galileo was able to make many explorations of the universe. He found that

Saturn had a beautiful ring of clouds.
The moon was not flat but had mountains and craters.
Jupiter had many moons which revolved around Jupiter rather than directly the sun.

Thus, Galileo not only had the mathematical proofs of Copernicus, but, also new proof from the science of astronomy. However, Galileo knew that publishing these studies would bring the disapproval of the church authorities.

The Church had already started to forbid the teachings of his teachings, especially anything that supported Copernicus.

However, in 1623, a new pope, Pope Urban VIII seemed to be more liberally minded and he allowed Galileo to publish his great works on astronomy and supporting the works of Copernicus.

However, after publication, elements within the Church sought to attack Galileo's position. Thus, Galileo was arrested and imprisoned for several months. He was convicted of heresy and was forced to recant his beliefs. He spent the remaining years of his life under house arrest at Arceti.

Galileo had three children. He was especially close to one of his daughters, Polissena; she took the name of Sister Maria Celeste and entered a convent near Arceti.

Despite being censured by the church, Galileo continued to make discoveries until death overtook him in 1642. He was blind by the time he passed away.

Galileo made many important contributions to the development of science

By: Tejvan Pettinger, 28/11/2008, Oxford UK

Otto Hahn Biography

Otto Han was born in 1879 in Germany. He graduated from Marburg university in 1904 before moving to University College, London. It was here that he discovered the isotope radiothorium (thorium 228).

He later moved to McGill University in Montreal, where he worked under Sir Ernest Rutherford. In 1906 he was made a professor at the University of Berlin, where he discovered an important element Ionium.

In the first world war, he was conscripted to work on developing poison gases for the Germans. Hahn wrote the book - Applied Radiochemistry, which became a very important document in the new branch of atomic science and was very influential in shaping the Manhattan project in the US (the project to develop the atom bomb)

Hahn's most important discovery was made after he enabled the splitting of a uranium nucleus into atomic nuclei. This was the first nuclear fission and was made by bombarding uranium with neutrons.

In 1934, he resigned from the Berlin university in protest at the treatment of his lifetime colleague Lise Meitner (and other Jewish professors). He helped his friend Meitner secure a passport and emigrated from Germany.

Otto Hahn was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1945. He was a committed activist to peace, frequently arguing against the atomic arms race and warning of the dangers of radioactive pollution.

Edmond Halley Biography

Short Biography Edmond Halley (1656-1742)

Edmond Halley was born in London in 1656. He studied at St Paul’s School, London before going to Queens College, Oxford University.

Whilst still an undergraduate he published three influential papers on the orbits of plants, a sunspot and Mars. After graduating from Oxford, he travelled to St Helena island in the South Pacific. Here, he catalogued the stars of the southern hemisphere.

Halley proved to be a brilliant mathematician and astronomer. He is most famous for correctly predicting the return date of a comet, (1758, 1835 and 1910) which was named Halley’s Comet in his honour. He also made important discoveries about the transit of Mercury and Venus, the planets nearest to the sun.

He also made many discoveries which aided navigation. In particular he investigated natural variations in magnetic compass; based on surveys from the Atlantic ocean he was able to develop a magnetic sea chart which aided navigation.

A friend and contemporary of Sir Isaac Newton, Edmond Halley visited Cambridge interested in trying to discover laws of planetary motion. When he found Newton had already done it (the orbit was based on the elipse), he encouraged Newton to publish his ‘Principia’ (1687); Halley published it out of his own money.

In 1720, Halley succeeded Flamsteed as astronomer royal at Greenwich, a position which he held until his death on 14 January 1742.

John Harrison Biography

John Harrison developed the first timepiece which could be used for measuring longitude at sea.

John Harrison was a stubborn Yorkshireman - a perfectionist and proud character.

He struggled for over 30 years to develop a timepiece for measuring longitude at sea. In the process he helped develop improvements to watches and other timepieces.

Although he is credited with discovering this important scientific invention he was marginalised by the scientific community. Even the King of England - George III was said to be angry at his treatment.

However, his stubborn Yorkshire nature probably did little to endear him to the London Scientific community. Nevertheless this important scientific discovery (which had eluded Galileo amongst others) helped improve safety at sea for thousands of sailors.

Stephen Hawking Biography

Stephen William Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford, England. His family had moved to Oxford to escape the threat of V2 rockets over London. As a child he showed prodigious talents, if unorthodox study methods. On leaving school he got a place at University College, Oxford University where he studied Physics. His physics tutor at Oxford, Robert Berman, later said that Stephen Hawkins was an extraordinary student. He used few books and made no notes, but could work out theorem’s and solutions in a way other students couldn’t.

On gaining a B.A.Hons in Physics he briefly stayed to study Astronomy but was not interested in observing sun spots so moved to Trinity College, Cambridge where he was able to pursue his passion for theoretical astronomy and cosmology.

It was in Cambridge that Stephen Hawking first started to develop symptoms of neuro muscular problems – a type of motor neuron disease. This quickly affected his physical ability. His speech became slurred and he become unable to even feed himself. At one stage, the doctors gave him a life span of three years. However, the progress of the disease slowed down and he has managed to overcome his severe disability to continue his research and active public engagements. At Cambridge a fellow scientist developed a synthetic speech device which enabled him to speak by using a touch pad. Nevertheless, it can still be a time consuming process for him to communicate.
Stephen Hawking’s principle fields of research have been involved in theoretical cosmology and quantum gravity.

Amongst many other achievements, he developed a mathematical model for Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. He has also undertook a lot of work on the nature of the Universe, The Big Bang and Black Holes.

Despite being one of the best physicists of his generation, he has also been able to translate difficult physics models into a general understanding for the general public. His books – A Brief History of Time andThe Universe in A Nutshell have both became runaway bestsellers – with aBrief History of Time being in the Bestsellers lists for over 230 weeks.

Stephen Hawking has become one of the most famous scientists of his generation. He makes frequent public engagements and his portrayed himself in popular media culture from programmes such as the Simpsons to Star Trek.

He married Jane Wilde, a language student in 1965. He said this was a real turning point for him at a time when he was fatalistic because of his illness. They later divorced but had three children.

T.Pettinger 21/10/2009 Oxford, UK

Edward Jenner Biography

Edward Jenner an English doctor who popularised a vaccination for smallpox and became the father of immunology.

Short Bio Edward Jenner

Edward Jenner was born in Berkeley, Gloucestershire on 18th May 1749. The son of a local vicar he was interested in natural history and medicine from an early age. Aged 14, he began his training to be a doctor in Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire before completing his training in London. He studied at St George's Hospital under surgeon John Hunter and was influenced by his philosophy of seeking new discoveries - "Don't Think, try"

In 1773, Jenner returned to his native Berkeley to become a general practitioner. In his spare time, he pursued his study of native wildlife and also new developments in medical science.

Jenner and Vaccine for Small Pox

At the time, one of the most feared diseases was smallpox. The disease was common and killed up to 33% of those who contacted it. At the time, there was little known treatments or vaccinations that could prevent it.

Jenner was interested in the observation that milkmaids who were in close contact with cows, very rarely contacted the disease. With this revelation, Jenner was interested in testing a theory that inoculating humans with a strain of the cowpox virus could protect them from smallpox through the immunity from the similar, but much less dangerous, cowpox strain.

This practise of using a cowpox virus had been tried on odd occasions before, for example farmers such as Benjamin Jesty had deliberately arranged cowpox infection for their family. However, these unofficial tests had not proved anything to a sceptical medical scientific community.

In 1796, Jenner tested his theory by inoculating James Phipps, a young boy of 8 with cowpox blisters from the hand of a milkmaid who had caught cowpox. The young, James, contacted a mild fever, but, to Jenner's relief, when he gave James Phipps variolous material, he proved resistant to this mild form of small pox.

To Jenner, this immunity to Variolation was proof that the cowpox inoculation gave immunity from smallpox. Thus, Jenner had provided a relatively safe way to immunise people from the deadly smallpox virus.

Jenner went on to test in theory on a further 23 subjects - all of which gave the same results. After some delay, his research was published by the Royal Society to a mixture of scepticism and interest. After this, Jenner gave up his medical practise and devoted himself full time to immunisation work. He was given a grant from Parliament to support him in his work. This involved setting up the Jennerian Institution a society concerned with promoting vaccination to eradicate smallpox.

This would eventually be successful, in 1840, 17 years after Jenner's death, the British government, in an act of Parliament, banned the use of variolation and provided the cowpox inoculation free of charge. By 1979, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared smallpox extinct - a remarkable achievement of which Jenner's groundbreaking work on immunisation played a key role.

His reputation led to his appointment as a physician extraordinary to King George IV and was made a Justice of the Peace.

He died in January 25 1823, after a stroke from which he never recovered.

It is said, through his work on vaccinations, Jenner saved the lives of more people than anyone else.

Tejvan R.Pettinger 25/01/2010

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James Clerk Maxwell Biography

James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish theoretical physicist and mathematician. His most important achievement was classical electromagnetic theory, synthesizing all previously unrelated observations, experiments and equations of electricity, magnetism and even optics into a consistent theory. His set of equations—Maxwell's equations—demonstrated that electricity, magnetism and even light are all manifestations of the same phenomenon: the electromagnetic field. From that moment on, all other classic laws or equations of these disciplines became simplified cases of Maxwell's equations. Maxwell's work in electromagnetism has been called the "second great unification in physics", after the first one carried out by Isaac Newton.

Maxwell demonstrated that electric and magnetic fields travel through space in the form of waves, and at the constant speed of light. Finally, in 1864 Maxwell wrote "A dynamical theory of the electromagnetic field", where he first proposed that light was in fact undulations in the same medium that is the cause of electric and magnetic phenomena. His work in producing a unified model of electromagnetism is considered to be one of the greatest advances in physics.

Maxwell also developed the Maxwell distribution, a statistical means of describing aspects of the kinetic theory of gases. These two discoveries helped usher in the era of modern physics, laying the foundation for future work in such fields as special relativity and quantum mechanics.
Maxwell is also known for creating the first true colour photograph in 1861 and for his foundational work on the rigidity of rod-and-joint frameworks like those in many bridges.

Maxwell is considered by many physicists to be the 19th-century scientist with the greatest influence on 20th-century physics. His contributions to the science are considered by many to be of the same magnitude as those of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. In the end of millennium poll, a survey of the 100 most prominent physicists saw Maxwell voted the third greatest physicist of all time, behind only Newton and Einstein. On the centennial of Maxwell's birthday, Einstein himself described Maxwell's work as the "most profound and the most fruitful that physics has experienced since the time of Newton." Einstein kept a photograph of Maxwell on his study wall, alongside pictures of Michael Faraday and Newton.

Biography Sir Isaac Newton

Early Life of Newton

Sir Isaac Newton was born on Christmas Day, in 1643, to a relatively poor farming family. His father died 3 months before he was born. His mother later remarried, but her second husband did not get on with Isaac; leading to friction between Isaac and his parents. The young Isaac attended school at King’s School, Grantham in Lincolnshire (where his signature is still inscribed in the walls.. Isaac was one of the top students, but before completing his studies his mother withdrew him from school, so Isaac could work as a farmer. It was only through the intervention of the headmaster that Isaac was able to return to finish his studies; he passed his final exams with very good results, and was able to go to Trinity College, Cambridge.

Newton at Cambridge

At Cambridge he was able to pursue his interests in mathematics, science and physics. At the time the prevailing education was based on Aristotle, but Isaac was more interested in modern mathematicians such as Descartes. Isaac Newton had a prodigious capacity to consider mathematical problems, and then focus on them until he had solved the mystery behind them. His one pointed nature led him to, at times, be detached from the world. For example, he had little time for women. An early teenage romance came to nothing, and he remained single throughout his life.

Sir Isaac Newton, has been referred to as one of the greatest genius’ of history. His mathematical and scientific achievements give credence to such a view. Amongst his many accomplishments in the field of science include:

Developing a theory of Calculus. Unfortunately, at the same time as Newton, calculus was being developed by Leibinz. When Leibinz published his results, there was a bitter feud between the two men, with Newton claiming plagiarism. This bitter feud lasted until Leibinz death in 1713, it also extended between British mathematicians and the continent.

Mathematical Achievements of Newton

generalized binomial theorem
Newton's identities,
Newton's method,
classified cubic plane curves (polynomials of degree three in two variables),
Substantial contributions to the theory of finite differences,
Use of fractional indices
Used geometry to derive solutions to Diophantine equations.
Used power series with confidence and to revert power series.
Discovered a new formula for pi.

Scientific Achievements of Newton

Optics – Newton made great advancements into the study of optics. In particular he developed the spectrum by splitting white light through a prism.
Telescope – Made significant improvements to the development of the telescope. However, when his ideas were criticised by Hooke, Newton withdrew from the public debate. He developed an antagonistic and hostile attitude to Hooke, throughout his life.
Mechanics and Gravitation. In his famous book Principa Mathematic. Newton explained the three laws of motion that laid the framework for modern physics. This involved explaining planetary movements.

Newton Hit on the Head with an Apple.

The most popular ante dote about Sir Isaac Newton is the story of how the theory of gravitation came to him, after being hit on the head with a falling apple. In reality, Newton and his friends may have exaggerated this story. Nevertheless, it is quite likely that seeing apples fall from trees may have influenced his theories of gravity.

Newton’s Religious Belief's

As well as being a scientist, Newton actually spent more time investigating religious issues. He read the Bible daily, believing it to be the word of God. Nevertheless, he was not satisfied with the Christian interpretations of the Bible. For example, he rejected the philosophy of the Holy Trinity, his beliefs were closer to the Christian beliefs in Arainism (basically there was a difference between Jesus Christ and God)

Newton - Bible Code

Newton was fascinated with the early Church and also the last chapter of the Bible Revelations. He spent many hours poring over the Bible, trying to find the secret Bible Code. He was rumoured to be a Rosicrucian. However, the religious belief’s that Newton held could have caused serious embarrassment at the time. Because of this he kept his views hidden, almost to the point of obsession. This desire for secrecy seemed to be part of his nature. It was only on his death that his papers were opened up. The bishop who first opened Newton’s box, actually found them too shocking for public release, therefore, they were kept closed for many more years.

Newton and Alchemy

Newton was also interested in alchemy. He experimented on many objects, using a lot of Mercury. Very high levels of mercury in his blood stream may have contributed to his early death and irregularities in later life.

Newton was made member of the Royal Society in 1703. He was also given the job of Master of Mint in 1717. He took this job seriously and unofficially was responsible for moving England from the silver standard to the gold standard.

Newton was an extraordinary polymath; the universe simply fascinated him. He sought to discover the hidden and outer mysteries of life. With his sharp intellect and powers of concentration, he was able to contribute to tremendous developments in many areas of science. He was a unique individual. John Maynard Keynes, a twentieth century genius, said of Newton:

“I do not think that any one who has pored over the contents of that box which he packed up when he finally left Cambridge in 1696 and which, though partly dispersed, have come down to us, can see him like that. Newton was not the first of the age of reason. He was the last of the magicians, the last of the Babylonians and Sumerians, the last great mind which looked out on the visible and intellectual world with the same eyes as those who began to build our intellectual inheritance rather less than 10,000 years ago. Isaac Newton, a posthumous child born with no father on Christmas Day, 1642, was the last wonderchild to whom the Magi could do sincere and appropriate homage.” [1]

By: R.Pettinger 10/05/07

Louis Pasteur Biography

Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895) Short Bio

Louis Pasteur worked tirelessly to develop antidotes and cures to many dangerous illnesses such as anthrax and rabies. He also successfully invented a way to pasteurise milk and make it safe from Tuberculoses.

Louis Pasteur was born in Dole, eastern France. He was a conscientious and hard working student, if not exceptional. One of his professors called him 'mediocre'. He received a doctorate in 1847 and after obtaining posts at Strasbourg, Lille and Paris he spent much time researching aspects of Chemistry. One key discovery related to research on tartrate acid showing the crystals contained a mirror image of right-handed and left handed isomers.

His most important discoveries were in the field of germ study. He showed that germs required certain microorganisms to develop; using this knowledge he found that the fermentation of yeast could be delayed. Louis Pasteur then turned to practical ways of killing bacteria in liquids such as milk. His process of pasteurisation successfully killed bacteria in milk without destroying milk protein. This was a radical discovery and made drinking milk safe. The process of pasteurisation was named after him and it saved many lives.

Louis Pasteur was a great believer in hard work, never content to rest on his laurels he continued to work very hard in his laboratory to develop more cures. He said in advice to other scientists

"An individual who gets used to hard work can thereafter never live without it. Work is the foundation of everything in this world."

Louis Pasteur next created a cure for anthrax - a disease that mainly affects cattle. He found that by giving cattle a weakened form of the illness they were able to develop immunity to the illness.

This success encouraged him to develop a cure for rabies - a very common disease at the time. Using similar principles he developed a weakened strain of the disease. Testing on animals affected with rabies was successful, however he was reluctant to test on humans for fear it might not work. At one point he considered testing on himself by subjecting himself to a rabies and then trying his cure. However, before he could implement his scheme a young boy was brought to him who had been bitten 14 times by a rabid dog. His parents agreed to try the uncertain new technique. His treatment was a success and news of the treatment soon spread. Over 350 people came to Louis Pasteur for treatment. Louis and his team of scientists worked around the clock to save the people who had contracted rabies.

There was only one failure a ten year old girl Louis Pelletier. Louis knew the dies ease was too advanced when she came, but, he tried nevertheless. The girl died in his arms, with tears in his eyes, the great scientist said to her parents.

"I did so wish I could have saved your little one."

It was testament to the big heart of the famous scientist he took so much interest in his patients.

in 1888, friends and supporters funded an institute for the treatment of rabies. Louis Pasteur successfully campaigned for better research facilities for scientists. His pleas of more funding were heard by Napoleon III. Louis Pasteur argued that

"Physicists and chemists without laboratories are like soldiers without arms on the battlefield.

Louis died in 1895 aged 73. On his last day he remarked

"I should like to be younger, so as to devote myself with new ardour to the study of new diseases"

Louis Pasteur had great faith in the good nature of humans. He worked tirelessly to deliver real benefits for the treatment of infectious diseases. More than any other person, Louis Pasteur helped to increase the life expectancy of man in the late nineteenth and early twentieth Century.

Achievements of Louis Pasteur

Process of Pasteurisation making milk safe to drink
Cure for rabies
Cure for anthrax
His principles were used by later scientists such as Frankland, Valley Radot, Emile Duclaux, Descours and Holmes in developing vaccines for dies eases such as typhus, diphtheria, cholera, yellow fever and different strains of plague

Author: T.Pettinger 01/02/2008

George Stephenson Biography

George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) - builder of first railway line

George Stephenson was a self made mechanical engineer, largely credited with building the first railway line and becoming the 'father of the railways'. His rail gauge of 8.5 inches became the global standard gauge. He also developed a miners safety lamp.

George was born in Wylam, Northumberland, 9.3 miles (15.0 km) west of Newcastle upon Tyne. He was the second child of a working class family Robert and Mabel. Both his parents were illiterate and they did not have enough money to send George to school. However, George was keen to get an education and so devoted his evenings to learning to read and write.

At the age of 17, he entered a coal mine, working as an engineer in Water Row pit, Newburn. He later got jobs as a brakesman in different North east pits around the area of Newcastle.

He gained a reputation as an excellent engineer and impressed with ability to fix a pumping engine at High Pit, Killingworth in 1811. In particular he became an expert in steam-driven engineering. His knowledge was essentially practical, learning through trial and error, rather than through theoretical science.

His common sense, and willingness to experiment led him to develop a miner's safety lamp in 1818. At the time, many explosions were caused by naked flames. And the Royal Society had offered a large reward for a successful lamp. George invented his version of the safety lamp around the same time as Sir Humphry Davy. Davy was convinced that Stephenson had copied his idea. Though this was never proved. It may have been the fact that Davy didn't trust a largely uneducated miner to develop a lamp without the science Davy had used.

A local enquiry exonerated Stephenson, and his lamp was used in the north east and Davy's in the rest of the country. In 1833, a House of Commons committed found Stephenson had equal share in the invention of the lamp.

Stephenson wasn't the first to design a realistic steam engine (that is credited to Richard Trevithick in 1804. However, Stephenson was able to improve on initial designs creating a locomotive that was capable of carrying substantial amounts of coal. In 1814, he developed his first engine - Blucher.

In 1820, Stephenson built the first railway from Hetton colliery to Sunderland which didn't used animal power but relied on Steam.

This was followed by the Stockton Darlington Railway of 1825. THe 25 mile railway was an important stage in steam only railways. It was opened to great fanfare, the engine, Locomotion reached a speed of 24 miles per hour on one stretch. It was also the first engine to have a passenger car.

Rocket and Liverpool and Manchester Railway

In 1829, the L & MR railway had a competition for best design of a train. George's entry - Rocket won. George also played a key role in designing bridges and embankments along the new railway.

It opened in 1930 to great fanfare including the presence of the Prime Minister - The Duke of Wellington.

This was really the start of the great railway age. It led to a period of rapid railway building which transformed transport within the UK and later the world. Journey which took days, could now be completed in a matter of hours. The railway was a key element in the new industrial age. George was one of the first to realise the individual railways would soon be joined together so he insisted on a common gauge, which would become the national and global standard.

Stephenson became inundated with request to help build railways. His reputation was very high, though he was often more cautious in building of railways and he became eclipsed by other engineers such as Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

George married three times and had two children Robert and Fanny who died in childbirth.

Citation : Pettinger, Tejvan. "Biography of Mary Wollstonecraft", Oxford, www.biographyonline.net 23 Feb. 2010

Related

Marie Stopes Biography

Marie Stopes (1880-1958)

Marie Carmichael Stopes D.Sc, Ph.D. was a Scottish author, palaeobotanist and campaigner for women's rights. She was an influential figure in the early family planning movement, helping to break down taboos on issues such as contraception.

Stopes attended University College London where she studied Botany and Geology and gained a first class degree in 1902. After her first degree, she made more studies in Palaeobotany, including a scientific mission to Japan in 1907. She was later made the first female academic at the University of Manchester.

However, it was her work in family planning which made her a national figure of some controversy. In 1921, she opened the UK's first family planning clinic in Holloway, London. The clinic which moved to Central London in 1925, is still in operation today. In 1930, she played a role in forming the National Birth Control Council and became a leading advocate for making contraception more freely available. She also published a sex manual - Married Love which was a rare kind of publication for that era. Her advocacy of a more liberal approach to sex and family planning, predated the 1960s sexual revolution and liberal attitudes which were later adopted. Her stance and willingness to protest at places of worship led her into conflict with the Church of England and the Catholic Church.

In the 1930s, she was also involved in the Eugenics movement arguing for the forcible sterilisation of those totally unfit for parenthood. This included attending a conference held in Nazi Germany in 1935.

Marie Stopes married Humphrey Verdon Roe in 1918. They had one son born in 1924. She died in 1958 from breast cancer in her home in Dorking, Surrey.

By: T.Pettinger 14/02/2010

James Watt Biography

James Watt was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer and chemist. He is famous for developing a separate condensing chamber for the steam engine. This invention greatly improved the efficiency of the steam engine and played a considerable role in advancing the role of steam engines in the Industrial revolution.

He was born in Greenock, Scotland on 18 January 1736. Initially Watt worked as a maker of mathematical instruments, but later found himself working with steam engines.

Around 1764, Watt was repairing a Newcomen steam engine to repair. He realised it was very inefficient because energy was repeatedly being used to heat the cyclinder. He caused the steam to condense in a separate chamber apart from the piston. He soon had a working model and by 1775 had a patent. Though Watt was not adept at business, he was able to form a successful partnership with Matthew Boulton. Boulton & Watt became a successful company leasing the design and later producing these new steam engines for a variety of purposes from mines to cloth and wool manufacturer. Over the next six years, he made a number of other improvements to the steam engine and the business thrived as orders flooded in.

Watt also made other important discoveries and inventions. These included a copying machine and an improved production method for cholorine - a bleaching agent.

After his fortune enabled him to retire, he pursued a wide variety of interests from improving oil lamps to measuring distances by telescopes.

He died in 25 August 1891, aged 83.

The development of an efficient steam engine transformed industry and society. It helped Great Britain become the world's first industrialised society leading to an unprecedented pace of economic growth.

See:

A measurement of power SI - the watt is named in his honour.

Citation : Pettinger, Tejvan. "Biography of James Watt ", Oxford, UK www.biographyonline.net, 22nd Jan. 2011

C.V. Raman Biography

Born: November 7, 1888
Died: November 21, 1970
Achievements: He was the first Indian scholar who studied wholly in India received the Nobel Prize.

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.

Chandrashekhara Venkata Raman was born on November 7, 1888 in Tiruchinapalli, Tamil Nadu. He was the second child of Chandrasekhar Iyer and Parvathi Amma. His father was a lecturer in mathematics and physics, so he had an academic atmosphere at home. He entered Presidency College, Madras, in 1902, and in 1904 passed his B.A. examination, winning the first place and the gold medal in physics. In 1907, C.V. Raman passed his M.A. obtaining the highest distinctions.

During those times there were not many opportunities for scientists in India. Therefore, Raman joined the Indian Finance Department in 1907. After his office hours, he carried out his experimental research in the laboratory of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science at Calcutta. He carried out research in acoustics and optics.

In 1917, Raman was offered the position of Sir Taraknath Palit Professorship of Physics at Calcutta University. He stayed there for the next fifteen years. During his tenure there, he received world wide recognition for his work in optics and scattering of light. He was elected to the Royal Society of London in 1924 and the British made him a knight of the British Empire in 1929. In 1930, Sir C.V. Raman was awarded with Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on scattering of light. The discovery was later christened as "Raman Effect".

In 1934, C.V. Raman became the director of the newly established Indian Institute of Sciences in Bangalore, where two years later he continued as a professor of physics. Other investigations carried out by Raman were: his experimental and theoretical studies on the diffraction of light by acoustic waves of ultrasonic and hypersonic frequencies (published 1934-1942), and those on the effects produced by X-rays on infrared vibrations in crystals exposed to ordinary light. In 1947, he was appointed as the first National Professor by the new government of Independent India. He retired from the Indian Institute in 1948 and a year later he established the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore, where he worked till his death.

Sir C.V. Raman died on November 21, 1970.

Homi Bhabha Biography

Born: October 30, 1909
Died: January 24, 1966
Achievements: Founded Tata Institute of Fundamental Research; was the first chairman of India's Atomic Energy Commission; was chairman of the first United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, held in Geneva in 1955.

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. Homi Bhabha was the first chairman of India's Atomic Energy Commission.

Homi Jehangir Bhabha was born on October 30, 1909, in Bombay in a rich Parsi family. After graduating from Elphinstone College and the Royal Institute of Science in Bombay, he went to Cambridge University. He received his doctorate in 1934. During this period he worked with Niels Bohr on the studies that led to quantum theory. Homi Jehnagir Bhabha also worked with Walter Heitler on the cascade theory of electron showers, which was of great importance for the understanding of cosmic radiation. He did significant work in identifying the meson.

Due to outbreak of Second World War, Homi Jehangir Bhabha, returned to India in 1939. He set up the Cosmic Ray Research Unit at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore under C. V. Raman in 1939. With the help of J.R.D. Tata, he established the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research at Mumbai. In 1945, he became director of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

Apart from being a great scientist, Homi Bhabha, was also a skilled administrator. After independence he received the blessings of Jawaharlal Nehru for peaceful development of atomic energy. He established the Atomic Energy Commission of India in 1948. Under his guidance Indian scientists worked on the development of atomic energy, and the first atomic reactor in Asia went into operation at Trombay, near Bombay, in 1956.

Homi Bhabha was chairman of the first United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, held in Geneva in 1955. He advocated international control of nuclear energy and the outlawing of atomic bombs by all countries. He wanted nuclear energy to be used for alleviating poverty and misery of people.

Homi Bhabha received many honorary degrees from Indian and foreign universities and was a member of numerous scientific societies, including the National Academy of Sciences in the United States. He also authored many articles on quantum theory and cosmic rays. Homi Bhabha died in an aeroplane crash in Switzerland on January 24, 1966.

Jagdish Chandra Bose Biography

Born: November 30, 1858
Died: November 23, 1937
Achievements: He was the first to prove that plants too have feelings. He invented wireless telegraphy a year before Marconi patented his invention.

Jagdish Chandra Bose was an eminent Indian scientist. He was the first to prove that plants and metals too have feelings.

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. In 1869, Jagadish Chandra Bose was sent to Calcutta to learn English and was educated at St.Xavier's School and College. He was a brilliant student. He passed the B.A. in physical sciences in 1879.

In 1880, Jagdishchandra Bose went to England. He studied medicine at London University, England, for a year but gave it up because of his own ill health. Within a year he moved to Cambridge to take up a scholarship to study Natural Science at Christ's College Cambridge. In 1885, he returned from abroad with a B.Sc. degree and Natural Science Tripos (a special course of study at Cambridge).

After his return Jagadish Chandra Bose, was offered lectureship at Presidency College, Calcutta on a salary half that of his English colleagues. He accepted the job but refused to draw his salary in protest. After three years the college ultimately conceded his demand and Jagdish Chandra Bose was paid full salary from the date he joined the college. As a teacher Jagdish Chandra Bose was very popular and engaged the interest of his students by making extensive use of scientific demonstrations. Many of his students at the Presidency College were destined to become famous in their own right. These included Satyendra Nath Bose and Meghnad Saha.

In 1894, Jagadish Chandra Bose decided to devote himself to pure research. He converted a small enclosure adjoining a bathroom in the Presidency College into a laboratory. He carried out experiments involving refraction, diffraction and polarization. It would not be wrong to call him as the inventor of wireless telegraphy. In 1895, a year before Guglielmo Marconi patented this invention, he had demonstrated its functioning in public.

Jagdish Chandra Bose later switched from physics to the study of metals and then plants. He fabricated a highly sensitive "coherer", the device that detects radio waves. He found that the sensitivity of the coherer decreased when it was used continuously for a long period and it regained its sensitivity when he gave the device some rest. He thus concluded that metals have feelings and memory.

Jagdish Chandra Bose showed experimentally plants too have life. He invented an instrument to record the pulse of plants and connected it to a plant. The plant, with its roots, was carefully picked up and dipped up to its stem in a vessel containing bromide, a poison. The plant's pulse beat, which the instrument recorded as a steady to-and-fro movement like the pendulum of a clock, began to grow unsteady. Soon, the spot vibrated violently and then came to a sudden stop. The plant had died because of poison.

Although Jagdish Chandra Bose did invaluable work in Science, his work was recognized in the country only when the Western world recognized its importance. He founded the Bose Institute at Calcutta, devoted mainly to the study of plants. Today, the Institute carries research on other fields too.

Jagdish Chandra Bose died on November 23, 1937.

Meghnad Saha Biography

Born: October 6, 1893
Died: February 16, 1956
Achievements: Made outstanding contribution to the field of Astrophysics. He put forward an "ionization formula" which explained the presence of the spectral lines.

Meghnad Saha was an outstanding Indian scientist. He made remarkable contribution to the field of Astrophysics.

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. As his family could hardly able to make both ends meet, Meghnad Saha managed to pursue his schooling only due to the generosity of a local medical practitioner, Ananta Kumar Das, who provided him with boarding and lodging in his house.

In 1905, British Government took the decision of partition of Bengal. There was great political unrest in Bengal as popular opinion was against the partition. Sir Bampfylde Fuller was governor of East Bengal at that time. One day he came to visit the Collegiate school. Meghnad Saha along with other students boycotted his visit. As a result he was suspended from the school and his scholarship was terminated. He took admission in the Kishorilal Jubili School and passed the Entrance Examination of the Calcutta University in 1909, standing first among the student from East Bengal obtaining the highest marks in languages (English, Bengali and Sanskrit combined) and in Mathematics. In 1911, he ranked third in the ISc exam while the first position went to another great scientist Satyendranath Bose.

Meghnad Saha took admission in Presidency College Calcutta. In 1913 he graduated from Presidency College with Mathematics major and got the second rank in the University of Calcutta while the first one was taken by S.N. Bose. In 1915, both S.N.Bose and Meghnad Saha ranked first in M.Sc. exam, Meghnad Saha in Applied Mathematics and S.N. Bose in Pure Mathematics.

While studying in Presidency College, Meghnad got involved with Anushilan Samiti to take part in freedom fighting movement. He also came in contact with nationalists like Subhash Chandra Bose and Rajendra Prasad.

In 1917, Meghnad Saha joined as lecturer at the newly opened University College of Science in Calcutta. He taught Quantum Physics. Along with S.N. Bose, he translated the papers published in German by Einstein and Minkowski on relativity into English versions. In 1919, American Astrophysical Journal published - "On Selective Radiation Pressure and it's application" - a research paper by Meghnad Saha. He put forward an "ionization formula" which explained the presence of the spectral lines. The formula proved to be a breakthrough in astrophysics. He went abroad and stayed for two years. He spent time in research at Imperial College, London and at a research laboratory in Germany. In 1927, Meghnad Saha was elected as a fellow of London's Royal Society.

Meghnad Saha moved to Allahabad and in 1932 Uttar Pradesh Academy of Science was established. He returned to Science College, Calcutta in 1938. During this time Saha got interested in Nuclear Physics. In 1947, he established Institute of Nuclear Physics which later was named after him as Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics. He took the first effort to include Nuclear Physics in the curriculum of higher studies of science. Having seen cyclotrons used for research in nuclear physics abroad, he ordered one to be installed in the institute. In 1950, India had its first cyclotron in operation.

In 1952 he stood as an independent candidate for Parliament and was elected by a wide margin. He died on February 16, 1956 due to a heart attack.

M. Visvesvaraya Biography

Born: September 15, 1860
Died: April 14, 1962
Achievements: Architect of Krishnarajasagar Dam; devised steel doors to stop the wasteful flow of water in dams; honored with Bharat Ratna.

Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was an eminent engineer and statesman and played a key role in building of modern India.

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.

Visvesvaraya completed his early education in Chikkaballapur and then went to Bangalore for higher education. He cleared his B.A. Examination in 1881. He got some assistance from the Government of Mysore and joined the Science College in Poona to study Engineering. In 1883 he ranked first in the L.C.E. and the F.C.E. Examinations (equivalent to B.E. Examination of today).

When Sir M. Visvesvaraya cleared his engineering, Government of Bombay offered him a job and appointed him Assistant Engineer at Nasik. As an engineer, he achieved some marvelous feats. He planned a way of supplying water from the river Sindhu to a town called Sukkur. He devised a new irrigation system called the Block System. He devised steel doors to stop the wasteful flow of water in dams. He was the architect of the Krishnaraja Sagara dam in Mysore. The list is endless.

Sir M. Visvesvaraya lead a very simple life. He was a strict vegetarian and a teetotaler. He was known for his honesty and integrity. In 1912, Maharaja of Mysore appointed Visvesvaraya as his Dewan. Before accepting the position of Dewan of Mysore, he invited all his relatives for dinner. He told them very clearly that he would accept the prestigious office on the condition that none of them would approach him for favours. As Dewan of Mysore, he worked tirelessly for educational and industrial development of the state. When he was the Dewan many new industries came up. The Sandal Oil Factory, the Soap Factory, the Metals Factory, the Chrome Tanning Factory , were some of them. Of the many factories he started the most important is the Bhadravati Iron and Steel Works.

Sir M. Visvesvaraya voluntarily retired as Dewan of Mysore in 1918. He worked actively even after his retirement. Sir M. Visvesvaraya was honored with Bharat Ratna in 1955 for his invaluable contribution to the nation. When he reached the age of 100, the Government of India brought out a stamp in his honor. Sir Visvesvaraya passed away on April 14, 1962 at the age of 101.

Some of the honours and laurels conferred on Sir M. Visvesvaraya

1904: Honorary Membership of London Institution of Civil Engineers for an unbroken period of 50 years
1906: "Kaisar-i-Hind" in recognition of his services
1911: C.I.E. (Companion of the Indian Empire) at the Delhi Darbar
1915: K.C.I.E. (Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire)
1921: D.Sc. - Calcutta University
1931: LLD - Bombay University
1937: D.Litt - Benaras Hindu University
1943: Elected as an Honorary Life Member of the Institution of Engineers (India)
1944: D.Sc. - Allahabad University
1948: Doctorate - LLD., Mysore University
1953: D.Litt - Andhra University
1953: Awarded the Honorary Fellowship of the Institute of Town Planners, India
1955: Conferred ' BHARATHA RATNA'
1958: 'Durga Prasad Khaitan Memorial Gold Medal' by the Royal Asiatic Society Council of Bengal
1959: Fellowship of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Satyendra Nath Bose Biography

Born: January 1, 1894
Died: February 4, 1974
Achievements: Famous for "Bose-Einstein Theory". A subatomic particle Boson has been named after him. Honored with "Padma Bhushan".

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.

Satyendranath Bose was born on January 1, 1894 in Calcutta. His father Surendranath Bose was employed in the Engineering Department of the East India Railway. Satyendranath was the eldest of his seven children.

Satyendra Nath Bose had his schooling from Hindu High School in Calcutta. He was a brilliant student. He passed the ISc in 1911 from the Presidency College, Calcutta securing the first position. Satyendra Nath Bose did his BSc in Mathematics from the Presidency College in 1913 and MSc in Mixed Mathematics in 1915 from the same college. He topped the university in BSc. and MSc. Exams.

In 1916, the Calcutta University started M.Sc. classes in Modern Mathematics and Modern Physics. S.N. Bose started his career in 1916 as a Lecturer in Physics in Calcutta University. He served here from 1916 to 1921. He joined the newly established Dhaka University in 1921 as a Reader in the Department of Physics. In 1924, Satyendra Nath Bose published an article titled Max Planck's Law and Light Quantum Hypothesis. This article was sent to Albert Einstein. Einstein appreciated it so much that he himself translated it into German and sent it for publication to a famous periodical in Germany - 'Zeitschrift fur Physik'. The hypothesis received a great attention and was highly appreciated by the scientists. It became famous to the scientists as 'Bose-Einstein Theory'.

In 1926, Satyendra Nath Bose became a Professor of Physics in Dhaka University. Though he had not completed his doctorate till then, he was appointed as professor on Einstein's recommendation. In 1929 Satyendranath Bose was elected chairman of the Physics of the Indian Science Congress and in 1944 elected full chairman of the Congress. In 1945, he was appointed as Khaira Professor of Physics in Calcutta University. He retired from Calcutta University in 1956. The University honored him on his retirement by appointing him as Emeritus Professor. Later he became the Vice Chancellor of the Viswabharati University. In 1958, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society, London.

Satyendra Nath Bose was honored with 'Padmabhusan' by the Indian Government in recognition of his outstanding achievement. He died in Kolkata on February 4, 1974.

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Biography

Born: October 19, 1910
Died: August 21, 1995
Achievements: Discovery of Chandrasekhar Limit; awarded Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983.

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.

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was born on October 19, 1910 in Lahore. His father, Chandrasekhara Subrahmanya Ayyar was an officer in Government Service in the Indian Audits and Accounts Department. His mother Sita was a woman of high intellectual attainments. C.V. Raman, the first Indian to get Nobel Prize in science was the younger brother of Chandrasekhar's father. Till the age of 12, Subramanyan Chandrasekhar had his education at home under his parents and private tutors. In 1922, at the age of 12, he attended the Hindu High School. He joined the Madras Presidency College in 1925. Subrahmanyan Chandrashekhar passed his Bachelor's degree, B.Sc. (Hon.), in physics in June 1930. In July 1930, he was awarded a Government of India scholarship for graduate studies in Cambridge, England.

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar completed his Ph.D. degree at Cambridge in the summer of 1933. In October 1933, Chandrasekhar was elected to a Prize Fellowship at Trinity College for the period 1933-37. In 1936, while on a short visit to Harvard University, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, was offered a position as a Research Associate at the University of Chicago and remained there ever since. In September 1936, Subrahmanyan Chandra Shekhar married Lomita Doraiswamy. She was her junior at the Presidency College in Madras.

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar is best known for his discovery of Chandrasekhar Limit. He showed that there is a maximum mass which can be supported against gravity by pressure made up of electrons and atomic nuclei. The value of this limit is about 1.44 times a solar mass. The Chandrasekhar Limit plays a crucial role in understanding the stellar evolution. If the mass of a star exceeded this limit, the star would not become a white dwarf. It would continue to collapse under the extreme pressure of gravitational forces. The formulation of the Chandrasekhar Limit led to the discovery of neutron stars and black holes. Depending on the mass there are three possible final stages of a star - white dwarf, neutron star and black hole.

Apart from discovery of Chandrasekhar Limit, major work done by Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar includes: theory of Brownian motion (1938-1943); theory of the illumination and the polarization of the sunlit sky (1943-1950); theory of the illumination and the polarization of the sunlit sky (1943-1950); the equilibrium and the stability of ellipsoidal figures of equilibrium, partly in collaboration with Norman R. Lebovitz (1961-1968); the general theory of relativity and relativistic astrophysics (1962-1971); and the mathematical theory of black holes (1974- 1983).

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was awarded (jointly with the nuclear astrophysicist W.A. Fowler) the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983. He died on August 21, 1995.

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.

Anil Kakodkar

Born - 11 November 1943
Achievements - Dr Anil Kakodkar is a famous Indian nuclear scientist. Currently, he's the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India (AECI) and the Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Atomic Energy. He was also the director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre at Trombay.

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. He was the director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre at Trombay from the year 1996-2000 before being granted the opportunity of leading India's nuclear programme. Read on more about the biography of Anil Kakodkar.

Anil Kakodkar was born on 11 November 1943 in the Barawani village located in the present day Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. He's the son of Mrs Kamala Kakodkar & Mr. P. Kakodkar, both of whom happen to be Gandhian freedom fighters. His early education happened here and at Khargoan. After this, Anil Kakodkar went away to Bombay to pursue his post-matriculation studies. He graduated from the Ruparel College there.

Kakodkar then joined VJTI in Bombay University in 1963 to obtain a degree in Mechanical Engineering. In the year 1964, Anil Kakodkar joined the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). He also notched a masters degree in experimental stress analysis from the University of Nottingham in the year 1969. The life history of Anil Kakodkar's career as nuclear scientist further saw him join the Reactor Engineering Division of the BARC.

Anil Kakodkar also has the credit of being a member of the core team of architects of India's Peaceful Nuclear Tests that were conducted during the years 1974 and 1998. He also led the indigenous development of the country's Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor Technology. Anil Kakodkar's efforts in the rehabilitation of the two reactors at Kalpakkam and the first unit at Rawatbhatta is noteworthy as it were about to close down.

In the year 1996, Anil Kakodkar became the youngest Director of the BARC after Homi Bhabha himself. From the year 2000 onwards, he has been leading the Atomic Energy Commission of India and playing secretary to the Department of Atomic Energy. Dr Anil Kakodkar has been playing a crucial part in demanding sovereignty for India's nuclear tests. Infact, he is known for being a strong advocate of India's self-reliance by employing Thorium as a fuel for nuclear energy.

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.

Birbal Sahni

Born - 14 November 1891
Died - 10 April 1949
Achievements - Birbal Sahni was a renowned paleobotanist and geologist of India. He is Sahni is credited for setting up the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany at Lucknow in the state of Uttar Pradesh. In the year 1929, he received the degree of Sc. D. from the University of Cambridge. He was also appointed the Fellow of the Royal Society of London (FRS) in the year 1936, which is the biggest British scientific honor.

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. Ruchi Ram Sahni. Some famous personalities who were regular guests of his parents were Motilal Nehru, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Sarojini Naidu and others.

Read on further about the biography of Birbal Sahni, who received his education at the Government College University of Lahore and later from Punjab University. He attended the Emmanuel College at Cambridge in the year 1914. And after this, he pursued further studies under Professor A.C. Seward and was given the D.Sc. degree from London University in the year 1919. Birbal Sahni then came back to his native country India to work as the professor of Botany at the highly esteemed Banaras Hindu University at the holy city of Varanasi.

Sahni also taught at the Punjab University for about a year. Birbal Sahni's academic background was so strong that he was elected the head of the botany department in Lucknow University in the year 1921. There were numerous such landmarks in the life history of Birbal Sahni, whose fabulous research work was honored by the University of Cambridge that decided to present him with the degree of Sc. D. in the year 1929. In the coming time, Sahni not only continued his own study, but also appointed and guided a number of bright students under him.

He holds the credit of establishing the Paleobotanical Society that went on to set up the Institute of Palaeobotany on 10 September 1946. Professor Sahni was respected by all academicians and scholars of his time both in India and abroad. He was appointed the Fellow of the Royal Society of London (FRS) in the year 1936, which is the biggest British scientific honor. And for the first time since its inception, this award was given out to an Indian botanist.

Srinivasa Ramanujan Biography

Born: December 22, 1887
Died: April 26, 1920
Achievements: Ramanujan independently discovered results of Gauss, Kummer and others on hypergeometric series. Ramanujan's own work on partial sums and products of hypergeometric series have led to major development in the topic. His most famous work was on the number p(n) of partitions of an integer n into summands.

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.

Srinivasa Aiyangar Ramanujan was born on December 22, 1887 in Erode, Tamil Nadu. His father worked in Kumbakonam as a clerk in a cloth merchant's shop. At the of five Ramanujan went to primary school in Kumbakonam. In 1898 at age 10, he entered the Town High School in Kumbakonam. At the age of eleven he was lent books on advanced trigonometry written by S. L. Loney by two lodgers at his home who studied at the Government college. He mastered them by the age of thirteen. Ramanujan was a bright student, winning academic prizes in high school.

At age of 16 his life took a decisive turn after he obtained a book titled" A Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics". The book was simply a compilation of thousands of mathematical results, most set down with little or no indication of proof. The book generated Ramanujan's interest in mathematics and he worked through the book's results and beyond. By 1904 Ramanujan had begun to undertake deep research. He investigated the series (1/n) and calculated Euler's constant to 15 decimal places. He began to study the Bernoulli numbers, although this was entirely his own independent discovery. He was given a scholarship to the Government College in Kumbakonam which he entered in 1904. But he neglected his other subjects at the cost of mathematics and failed in college examination. He dropped out of the college.

Ramanujan lived off the charity of friends, filling notebooks with mathematical discoveries and seeking patrons to support his work. In 1906 Ramanujan went to Madras where he entered Pachaiyappa's College. His aim was to pass the First Arts examination which would allow him to be admitted to the University of Madras. Continuing his mathematical work Ramanujan studied continued fractions and divergent series in 1908. At this stage he became seriously ill again and underwent an operation in April 1909 after which he took him some considerable time to recover.

On 14 July 1909 Ramanujan marry a ten year old girl S Janaki Ammal. During this period Ramanujan had his first paper published, a 17-page work on Bernoulli numbers that appeared in 1911 in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society. In 191,1 Ramanujan approached the founder of the Indian Mathematical Society for advice on a job. He got the job of clerk at the Madras Port Trust with the help of Indian mathematician Ramachandra Rao.

The professor of civil engineering at the Madras Engineering College C L T Griffith was interested in Ramanujan's abilities and, having been educated at University College London, knew the professor of mathematics there, namely M J M Hill. He wrote to Hill on 12 November 1912 sending some of Ramanujan's work and a copy of his 1911 paper on Bernoulli numbers. Hill replied in a fairly encouraging way but showed that he had failed to understand Ramanujan's results on divergent series. In January 1913 Ramanujan wrote to G H Hardy having seen a copy of his 1910 book Orders of infinity. Hardy, together with Littlewood, studied the long list of unproved theorems which Ramanujan enclosed with his letter. Hardy wrote back to Ramanujan and evinced interest in his work.

University of Madras gave Ramanujan a scholarship in May 1913 for two years and, in 1914, Hardy brought Ramanujan to Trinity College, Cambridge, to begin an extraordinary collaboration. Right from the start Ramanujan's collaboration with Hardy led to important results. In a joint paper with Hardy, Ramanujan gave an asymptotic formula for p(n). It had the remarkable property that it appeared to give the correct value of p(n), and this was later proved by Rademacher.

Ramanujan had problems settling in London. He was an orthodox Brahmin and right from the beginning he had problems with his diet. The outbreak of World War I made obtaining special items of food harder and it was not long before Ramanujan had health problems.

On 16 March 1916 Ramanujan graduated from Cambridge with a Bachelor of Science by Research. He had been allowed to enrol in June 1914 despite not having the proper qualifications. Ramanujan's dissertation was on Highly composite numbers and consisted of seven of his papers published in England.

Ramanujan fell seriously ill in 1917 and his doctors feared that he would die. He did improve a little by September but spent most of his time in various nursing homes. On February 18, 1918 Ramanujan was elected a fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society and later he was also elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of London. By the end of November 1918 Ramanujan's health had greatly improved.

Ramanujan sailed to India on 27 February 1919 arriving on 13 March. However his health was very poor and, despite medical treatment, he died on April 6, 1920.

Dr. Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar

Born - 21 February 1894
Died - 1 January 1955
Achievements - A noted scientist of India, Dr Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar was appointed the first director-general of the prestigious Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. He also hold the credit of building 12 national laboratories like Central Food Processing Technological Institute at Mysore, National Chemical Laboratory at Pune and so on.

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. Read on this biography to know more about the life and professional history of Dr Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar.

As a child, Bhatnagar loved to construct mechanical toys. In the home of his maternal family, he also developed an interest in writing poetry and his one act play in Urdu 'Karamati' won the first prize in a competition. After completing his master's in India, Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar headed to England for a research fellowship. Here he got his D. Sc degree from the London University in the year 1921. When he came back to his native country, Bhatnagar was presented with a proposal of professorship at the renowned Benaras Hindu University.

Dr Bhatnagar was knighted by the British Government in the year 1941 as an award for his research in science, whereas, on 18 March 1943 he was selected as fellow of the Royal Society. Though his area of interest included emulsions, colloids, and industrial chemistry, but his primary contributions were in the spheres of magneto-chemistry. He also made a melodious kulgeet i.e. University song, which is still sung with great pride before any function in his university.

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru himself was an advocate of scientific development. After India gained freedom from British rule in 1947, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research was established under the chairmanship of Dr. Bhatnagar, who was appointed its first director-general. In the coming years, he set up 12 national laboratories like Central Food Processing Technological Institute at Mysore, National Chemical Laboratory at Pune, the National Metallurgical Laboratory at Jamshedpur and many others.

Har Gobind Khorana

Born - 9 January 1922
Achievements - Har Gobind Khorana is an American molecular biologist, who was born 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.

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. This award was, however, also shared by Robert W. Holley and Marshall Warren Nirenberg. The very same year, he received another award 'Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize' along with Nirenberg that was presented to them by the Columbia University.

Read this biography to learn more about Har Gobind Khorana, who became a citizen of the United States of America in the year 1966. In present times, he's residing at Cambridge in Massachusetts, United States as a part of the MIT Chemistry faculty. Har Gobind Khorana was also the first to produce oligonucleotides, which is chains of nucleotides. He was also the first person to segregate DNA ligase, an enzyme that connects sections of DNA together.

These custom-designed portions of artificial genes are extensively used in biology labs for sequencing, cloning and engineering new plants and animals. This invention by Dr. Khorana has become automated and commercialized so that anyone now can order a synthetic gene from any of a number of companies. Thus, this is the history of the life of Dr Har Gobind Khorana as a biologist.

Raja Ramanna Biography

Born On: January 28, 1925
Born In: Tumkur, Karnataka
Died On: September 24, 2004
Career: Nuclear Scientist, Nuclear Physicist
Nationality: Indian

Handpicked by the founder of India’s nuclear program, Dr. Homi Bhabha, Dr. Raja Ramanna was a celebrated physicist and nuclear scientist that India had ever produced. A multifaceted personality, Dr. Raja Ramanna played the roles of a technologist, nuclear physicist, administrator, leader, musician, Sanskrit literature scholar, and philosophy researcher. To complete the endless list of honors that this nobleman was gifted with, he was a complete human being. Following the steps of his ideals Dr. Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai, Ramanna managed to grab a major position in shaping India’s energy and security programs. He is regarded as one of the most successful creators of science and technology in India with the tremendous success of India’s peaceful explosion experiment.

Early Life
Raja Ramanna was born to B. Ramanna and Rukminiamma in the busy industrial town of Tumkur in Karnataka. His father was highly reputed and served as a judge in the judicial service of Mysore state. His mother was highly intelligent and loved to read. She often read Shakespeare and Charles Dickens, though her favorite was Sir Walter Scot. Apart from gaining immense influence and inspiration from his parents, Ramanna was greatly touched by his mother’s sister Rajamma, who was widowed at an early age but with his grandfather’s support, she managed to move ahead and became the headmistress of a Government Middle School earning fifty rupees a month. Ramanna had his early education in Mysore, but when the family shifted to Bangalore, he was admitted to Bishop Cotton Boys’ School. On completion of matriculation, he went to St. Joseph’s School for his intermediate studies. He joined the Madras Christian College in Tambaram for B. Sc (Hons) degree in physics and graduated in 1945. He later traveled to England to attain his doctoral degree in nuclear physics from King’s College, London. In 1948, Ramanna successfully obtained his PhD degree.

TIFR Career
Ramanna was extremely fond and highly influenced by Homi Jehangir Bhabha and was fortunate to meet him in 1944. He was introduced by an examiner at Trinity College of Music, Dr. Alfred Mistowski, who stayed back in India at the outbreak of World War II. Though Ramanna was still a science student, he was sure that this was not his first and only meeting with Homi Bhabha. On his tour to London, Homi Bhabha offered Ramanna a job at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), the cradle of India’s atomic energy program. Thus, on his completion of his PhD degree, Ramanna joined TIFR on December 1, 1949. Due to the relocation and renovation of the institute from Cumbala Hills in Mumbai to Yacht Club, Ramanna was offered two adjacent rooms on the fourth floor in Yacht Club by Homi Bhabha, seeing his interest in music. While the first room was for Ramanna, the second one was for his piano. Further, the ground floor became the nuclear laboratory of physics from where he started his project on nuclear fission and scattering. Here, he made several contributions in different areas of neutron, nuclear, and reactor physics.

BARC Career
Ramanna organized physics and rector physics programs at Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC), Trombay. In 1956, when India’s first nuclear reactor, Apsara, was commissioned by Homi Bhabha, Ramanna was one of the youngest reactor physicists in the team. However, the major advancement came when BARC Training School was established in 1957 to develop the skilled manpower required for facing the challenging problems in nuclear science and technology under the leadership of Ramanna. It was under his directorship that India carried out the first nuclear test in Pokhran in 1974, nicknamed as Operation Smiling Buddha. He held the position of the Director of BARC from 1972-78 and 1981-83.

Later Life
Raja Ramanna was associated with a number of science academies and learning bodies across India. He helped in setting up the Centre for Advanced Technology at Indore in the early 1980s, which was dedicated towards the development of advanced accelerators, lasers, and other related technologies. Further, he even lent his support in the establishment of Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VEC) in Kolkata. He later ended up becoming the founder-Director of National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), an institution set up by JRD Tata in Bangalore. Ramanna served his later years in supporting science institutions throughout the nation as President of Indian National Science Academy, Scientific Advisor Committee to Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency, President of 30th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vice President of Indian Academy of Sciences, President of Indian National Science Academy, and President of General Conference of Atomic Energy Agency at Vienna. He was honored with numerous accolades during his entire career tenure.

Death
Raja Ramanna passed away on September 24, 2004 in Mumbai after a cardiac arrest. Till date, he is highly honored and respected in India and Pakistan, and often known as the “Father of the Indian Nuclear Program”.

Honors
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, 1963
Padma Shri Award, 1968
Padma Bhushan Award, 1973
Padma Vibhushan Award, 1975
Meghnad Saha Medal of the Indian National Science Academy, 1984
Om Prakash Bhasin Award, 1985
R.D. Birla Memorial Award, 1986
Asutosh Mookerji Gold Medal, 1996
D.Sc. (Honoris Causa) by several universities

Posts Held

Chairman, Governing Council, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
Council of Management, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore
Chairman, Board of Governors, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, 1972-78
President, Indian National Science Academy, 1977-78
Vice-President, Indian Academy of Sciences, 1977-79
Scientific Adviser to the Minister of Defence, 1978-81
Director-General of Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) , 1978-81
Secretary for Defence Research, Government of India
Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, 1983-87
President, General Conference of Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1986
Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy
Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, 1972-78 and 1981-83
Director, National Institute of Advanced Studies, IISC campus, Bangalore, 1987-89 and 1990-97

Timeline
1925: Raja Ramanna was born in Tumkur, Karnataka
1944: Met Homi Bhabha
1945: Obtained B. Sc (Hons) degree in physics from Madras Christian College, Tambaram
1948: Received Ph. D from King’s College, London
1949: Joined TIFR on December 1st
1956: India’s first nuclear reactor, Apsara, was commissioned, which Ramanna was a part of
1968: Honored with Padma Shri Award
1972-78: Served as Director of BARC
1973: Bestowed with Padma Bhushan Award
1974: Carried out India’s first nuclear test at Pokhran
1975: Conferred upon with Padma Vibhushan Award
1981-83: Director of BARC
1996: Presented with Asutosh Mookerji Gold Medal
2004: Died on 24th September aged 79.

PHANIBUGUDUR

Friday 8 July 2011

GREAT SCIENTISTS

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Albert Einstein's Scientific Contributions

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Michael Faraday Biography

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M. Visvesvaraya Biography

Satyendra Nath Bose Biography

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Vikram Sarabhai Biography

Anil Kakodkar

APJ Abdul Kalam

Birbal Sahni

Srinivasa Ramanujan Biography

Dr. Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar

Har Gobind Khorana

Raja Ramanna Biography

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