Professor Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao who has been
conferred the highest civilian award of India, the Bharat Ratna, is an
internationally renowned chemist and third scientist to join the pantheon club
of Indian scientists to have received this prestigious award. This elite group
of scientists include Nobel Laureate and Physicist Sir. C.V.Raman who was
awarded Bharat Ratna in the year 1954, and the renowned aeronautical engineer
and former President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 1997. The other
prominent personalities related to science & engineering and been awarded
Bharat Ratna includes the famous civil engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya
(1955) and physician, B.C.Roy (1961).
C.N.R Rao’s scientific career spanning more than 5 decades is
best known for his research in the field of solid-state and structural
chemistry. He has been awarded Bharat Ratna along with Sachin Tendulkar the
greatest Cricket legend.
C.N.R Rao born on June 30th 1934 obtained his
bachelor’s degree from Mysore University and Masters Degree from Banaras Hindu
University (BHU). His unquenchable thirst for scientific inquiry and
investigation has led him to pursue doctoral studies from Purdue University. He
completed his Ph.D in a short span of 2 years and 9 months and carried postdoctoral
research work at University of California. Being the only son to his parents,
he moved to India in 1959 and embarked on his unending scientific journey by
joining as a faculty at Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Four years later,
in 1963, he moved to Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur where he soon
became the head of the Chemistry department. From 1984-94, he was the director
of the IISc for ten long years.
His early research was on spectroscopy and molecular
structure and published two books titled Ultraviolet and Visible Spectroscopy
and Infrared Spectroscopy. He later started working on solid state and material
chemistry. In early 1960’s his initial research was beset with many
difficulties due to financial constraints and limited experimental facilities.
Realising the need for a well –equipped laboratory to compete with researchers
in the advanced with determined efforts, he slowly developed all the research
facilities at IIT Kanpur by 1970. By then he moved onto research on metal
oxides which constitute the largest family of materials with widest possible
properties and solid state chemistry.
In the last 20 years, he has made rapid strides in the field
of nano technology with a special focus on nanotubes, nanowires and graphene. Even
at the age of 79, he remains an active researcher with exemplary output. Rao
has been credited for publishing work extensively on the chemistry of various
materials including their novel methods of synthesis, discovery of new
materials, and tailor making of materials with new properties. He works on the
high temperature superconductivity, colossal magneto resistance, multi-ferroics
and open-frame materials has crucial applications in the field of
semiconductors.
Rao started publishing research articles as early as when he
was 19 and has nearly 1500 publications and 44 books so far to his credit. He
is reckoned as Tendulkar of science as he was the first Indian to reach the
h-index of 100 in April 2013 with research citation of 50,000. By cracking into
the h-index of 100 he has entered into the coveted league of world’s big-wig
scientists. In common parlance, h-index, the term coined by the physicist,
Jorge Hirsch, it is a tool to measure the productivity and impact of the
publication of a scientist or a scholar. This index is based on the number of
the most cited papers of the scientist and the number of the citations, the
individual receives in other scientific publications.
He has the unique distinction of being one of the few
scientists in the world, who is member of major scientific academies of the
world. Till now 47 universities have conferred him with prestigious doctorates.
He was awarded the Hughes Medal by Royal Society in 2000 and the first
recipient of the Indian Science Award instituted by Government of India. He has
received several international medals and honours which include Padma Sri,
Padma Vibhushan and other state honours. Unlike various career scientists who
are have made it to the h-index, Dr. Rao is associated with various projects other
than research.
Prof. Rao has been the most influential in formulating
country’s scientific policies over several years. He has worked with different
governments and has been a member of the scientific advisory council to Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi. He is currently the Head of the Scientific Advisory Council
of the Prime Minister. He has been urging the Government for not only
increasing the current budgetary allocation of 1% of GDP towards science and
technology to 2% but also emphasised the immediate need for extending greater
moral and intellectual support for the entire arena of Science, Technology and
Innovation (STI). He strongly advocates that national interests can be served
by integrating the STI into the economic and societal policies and believes
that science has the power to steer the nation ahead in the global spectrum. He
is well known to scientists of India for his undying scientific spirit and
childish curiosity.
C.N.R. Rao is an out-spoken critic of the rampant
bureaucratic red-tapism ailing the Indian science. An avid educationist, he
unleashed a wide range of reforms in the scientific education in India. He has
been the driving force for setting up of new high profile Indian Institutes of
Scientific Education and Research (IISER). This specific initiative of the
Government is established to identify and encourage scientific temper among the
youth. Prof. Rao is the founding president of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for
Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), established to commemorate the birth
centenary of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1989. JNCASR is the premier research institute
with international acclaim and earned high repute for its high quality of
research. He loves working with younger people, post-docs and produced over 150
Ph.D students. He still continues to
serve as the Linus Pauling Professor and Honorary President at JNCASR apart
from being on the editorial board of several scientific journals.
Prof. Rao is very fond of music and relaxes by running his
fingers deftly across strings of Veena and Sitar. He strongly believed the need
for inculcating scientific temper among children and with his wife Prof.Indumathi
he has authored several books for children to make chemistry learning friendly.
Rao stressed that-“Stamina, tenacity, doggedness and perseverance with a little
bit intelligence are needed for a success scientist”.
His commitment toward nation stems from his childhood
association and interest in the freedom movement during his early school days.
He grew up listening to the inspiring speeches of leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru
and Sarvepalli Radhakrishna. His spiritual roots can be attributed to his close
association with his mother who used to tell mythological stories. The
unstinted commitment shown by him towards fostering greater ties between
science and society accentuates the need for culminating the progress made by
science for progress and development of nation.
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