6.2.2016:
Dr. Pushkar Sharma: Scientist, National Institute of Immunology. Hails from a family of academicians from Bareily. Was and continues to be very interested in sports; still plays badminton regularly. Studied at Bareily College and it was during college days that his interest in science grew. Father a physics expert and mother a trained musician. Did research abroad. Research on molecular signalling pathways in malarial parasite. No successful vaccines as yet for malaria, only a variety of drugs to which the parasite has been developing resistance, which is why understanding signalling helps. Frankly says that his interest is in understanding signalling mechanisms, disease or no disease. Says he doesn't work on vaccines and is not interested in direct research on vaccine development, but is interested in study of other mechanisms which could help vaccine researchers. Identified on calcium signalling pathways used by the parasite. Funding needs to be increase and distribution of funds should be improved. Funding and accountability should go hand in hand. Good science always flourishes. Make science education more attractive - laments that many bright people study at top institutes like IITs but end up becoming bankers or non-science professionals. Always seek appreciation for good work, be it award or not award. Conferred SS Bhatnagar award in 2013. Thanks his team and students for the awards he has won; good team leads to excellent research.
Message: Follow your passion; don't shy away from science - it has tons of exciting problems to do research on.
IST: Conversation with Robi Damelin, member/posibly-founder of "Forgiveness project" in Israel.
13.2.2016:
Dr. Roop Malik: Associate professor, TIFR. Specialized in physics but now works largely on molecular biology. From Allahabad, growing up there broadened his mind. Mother was a school principal and father a engineer. Visting his father's mechanical engineering workplace inspired him later. Says he has fond memories of his first school; remembers falling asleep often in school! Initially didn't want to continue education in physics after masters and wanted to take up a job; attributes to the turbulent 1990s (Mandal comission effect etc.) his temporary loss of interest in taking up PhD. Eventually went on to do PhD (in TIFR?). After PhD in physics, which he enjoyed thoroughly, he slowly got interested in biology work going on in biology. His lack of knowledge in biology didn't discourage him - he spent a year learning basics of biology; lots of basic biology concepts had to be learnt post his PhD in physics. That he had done is PhD alone (no one else in his research lab for a long time) gave him confidence that he could switch to biology. Had a chance encounter with Steven Gross of UCI whom he says was a great mentor. Dr. Gross wanted to do research in biology and seemed to want someone who knew physics. Did research work on "motor" proteins. There are 3 classes of motor proteins. Dr. Malik focussed on the "dynein" class of motor proteins. Dynein motors have diverse functions. During his work with Dr.Gross he identified that these motor proteins work together in large numbers, function like a car and more importantly that they have a gear mechanism. Mentions that cholestrols have a role to play in clearing pathogens. Dynein motors are nanoscale machines. They use energy from ATP molecules. Dynein motors recognize tubules and take steps over tubulin protein polymers. Size of step varies depending on some factors. This movement can be viewed like cars moving over roadway.
Need more industry support for research to flourish. Message to younsters aspiring to become scientists: Expect from failures. Learn from failures and that will lead to success. If you want to do something difficult, especially in science, failures are very common but if one learns from those, success is achievable.
20.2.2016:
Dr. Shekhar C Mande: (Soft spoken, humble) Director, NCCS. Researcher on tuberculosis. Dr. Raza give a huge introductory talk on the impact of TB. Asia and Africa are most affected by TB; Europe and NA not impacted significantly. Dr. Mande says TB is a complex disease and places with higher population density are likely to have higher incidence. When asked why African countries that mostly do not have high population density are highly impacted, SCM says TB is correlated with other diseases, especially HIV and possibly diabetes, which are less prevalent in Europe, NA. BCG vaccine lilely to be more effective in Europeans than in people of other regions, as per "Madras (?) vaccine experiments/trials". SCM hails from a highly educated family, mother a French teacher, father a physicist. But there was no pressure from him parents to study. One of the top rankers in 12th standard; decided to take up physics, but had not decided on specialization within physics. Mentions something about solar eclipse of 1980 and some home experiment and cockroaches! Did research abroad but returned to India after that; again there was no pressure from parents to return. Says wanting to serve the country was the main reason for returning; cultural differences may have been another factor. Worked in DNA fingreprinting lab (which had actually diversified into other research areas by the time he joined) where he got interested in cell biology, biophysics and crystallography. Physics helped him to understand objectivity. Physicists (?) look into qualitative aspects. Says many leading biologists in India come from physics and chemistry backgrounds. This helped him in biology-related research. Schrodinger's book in fact inspired many people to take up biology. Interested in HSP 60 class of chaperones, a class of biomolecules/proteins that cause protein folding. Potential biological role of chaperone in TB. Eureka moment: Sommetime in 1991 when the team he was working for discovered the structure of some protein. Standard question: Should India increase expenditure on science research? Answer: Absolutely, since our problems should be solved on our own; other countries are not going to be interested in solving our country's problems. Funding needs to be increased almost ten-fold.
Message: Says he is not used to giving such messages! Follow pursuits that interest you. Nature poses lots of interesting questions; try to answer them.
IST: Conversation with Obiageli Ezekwesil, an African activist and co-founder of a movement tpo bring back school children kidnapped by Bokoharam in 2014. Talks very well! Formerly Minister of Education in Nigeria, and later member of some World Bank agency in Africa. That those children haven't been resuced yet is an open sore on the conscience of the world community, should not be forgotten. Talks about poor goverance tand how she had been spoken strongly about it even prior to the kidnapping incident. Former regime supported insurgents. Talks about complex psychoanalytics of politics. Leadership is all about sacrifice, but that was lacking in the earlier government. Terrorism is a "global public bad". Just like there is a "global public good", there is "global public bad".
27.2.2016:
Dr. C.V. Vishveshvara: (b. 1938) Theoretical physicist credited with what have become seminal papers on black holes following the discovery of gwaves by LIGO in 2016. Popularly called the "Black Hol(e)y" man for his work on black holes. Was among the 1st to derive mathematical models on black holes based on Einstein's theeory. Joined Raman research institute after Ph.D. in the United States. Born and brough up in Bangalore. His school teachers instilled in him Gandhian ideals during he independence movement though they did not encourage him to go on strike. Was interested in mathematics, especially geometry, and Einstein's relativity theory, which uses geometric models, fascinated him. Recalls how he was fascinated by physics in school during experiment on Archimedes principle (apparent loss of weight in water). Mentions that Einstein too was very keen in geometry, but says he doesn't intend to compare himeself with Einstein :)
His father was a great literary figure who was conferred Padma Shree. Recalls how happy he felt when seeing photos of Jawaharlal Nehru talking to his father about literature.
Interviewer (Dr. T.V.Venkateshwaran) says that Dr. CVV, a 77-year young (not old!) person, is not just an eminent physicist but also a cartoonist and science writer.
Took 3-year physics honors course after school and did M.Sc in nuclear physics in 1959. Ph.D from Univ of Maryland. Had initially wanted to do research in nuclear physics and joined Columbia Univ. His mentor introduced him to Charles Misner, a renowned physicist from Univ of Maryland, who specialized in relativity theory. Following this, Dr. C.V.Vishveshvara moved to Univ of Maryland to do research on black hole physics. His 1st major paper proved that anything pulled into black hole cannot come out. The 2nd paper did stability calculations on black holes and proved that black holes are stable in nature and therefore can exist in reality. Quasi-normal modes are signature of black holes, which is an important concept, since black holes are not visible. Pulses of gravitational . His wife is a professor emeritus in IISc (in dept of molecular biology??).
The announcement of gwaves discovery in 2016 was a euphoric moment for him as it.
Message to younger generation: Starts by saying that he is not a prophet to give messages. Goes on to give the following pieces of advice:
1. Never look for rewards in life.
2. Be happy with whatever you do.
3. Be innovative. Don't take the beaten track. Quotes some Spanish scientist's words: Travellers have no paths. Paths are made by walking.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Interviews telecasted in January 2016
2.1.2016:
Dr. Sathyamurthy: Founding Director, IISER. Grew up in villages of TN, and his family was financially weak. His parents, though not highly educated, wanted him to study well. Was once beaten by his mother when he told he had spent time with friends instead of going to school (says Dr. Raza). Didn't have great school education or school teachers. Mentions he was helped by a temple priest who gave him one free meal a day and an atheist landlord (Ramamoorthy Gound) who allowed him to study in the lamplight in his house; helped pay his admission fees. Considers Prof. T. Rangarajan, a professor of his during his B.Sc, and now 96, to be his godfather as the latter motivated and helped him financially to go for higher studies in USA. Was fascinated by physics and maths, but did PhD in chemistry as suggested by his professor. National Science Talent Scholarship was a game-changer for him; helped him do B.Sc in Annamalai Univ. Mentions a few other eminent professors who benefited from this scholarship. Moved from US for PhD on his professor's suggestion. On his PhD professor's suggestion, went to Canada for post doctorate studies where he got to work with future Nobel laureates. Got teaching position offers from Brooklyn Univ. and IIT Kanput almost simultaneously. Based on one professor's suggestion, returned to India. Learned philosophy of science from Prof. John Palani of Toronto. Used theoretical physics, chaos theory etc. to study factors affecting rate of reaction. Worked on symmetry and pattern formation in nature - why some flowers have 4 petals, some have 5, some have 6 petals. Worked on Boron-Nitrogen-Chlorine (BNC) fullerenes; had been asked by friends to patent it but has not done that yet. Cherishes Young Scientist award received in 1980 and Bhatnagar . Eureka moment: Discovery of 5-fold symmetry.
Message to younger generation: Feels he is not old enugh to give a message, but mentions hard work pays off.
9.1.2016:
Dr. Anil Kumar Gupta: Director, Wadia Institute. Dr. Raza talks about Wadia Geological Museum which has some fascinating exhibits, like dinosaur fossils. D.N.Wadia was the first head of GSI. Dr. Gupta has studied Indian monsoon in depth. Important to study earth and climate sciences due to abrupt climate changes in the past. Though it is a highly debated issue, Dr. Gupta believes that industrial activities have had a significant impact on climate. Monsoon is a fascinating subject. Identified how oceanic changes are related to growth in height of Himalayas, and how the height change is related to monsoon pattern over past 1000 years. Published an important paper in "Nature" that establishes how monsoon patterns can be related to solar and tectonic activities. Eureka activity: National Geographic documentary on his work. National Geographic came to know about his work and contacted him. Wadia (institute?) initiated 2 big programmes - on glaciers and earthquakes. In some areas, glaciers are melting but in some other areas they are advancing. Dr. Raza: Should a country like India spend a lot of money on research on glaciers and paleontology? Will a disaster occur if that research is stopped? Dr. Gupta: If India wants its major rivers to be perennial, this research is important. Adds that we are still far behind in earthquake research - still in early learning phase; not in a position to predict earthquakes well in advance to save people. Studied at BHU and at AMU (Aligarh Univ); says both institutions were important to him in their own way. Comes from an agrarian family that was not highly educated; his parents often sent him to sell vegetables in the market!. Dr. Raza surprised that Dr. Gupta studied a geological science at a time it was not mainstream. Dr. Gupta: Geo-science unfortunately is still not a mainstream field of study!! On India's expenditure toward research: still very less. Why he went to US and Japan: international exposure was needed then, more so at a time when India's economy was poorer. Says he came back because he wanted to serve his country. If he didn't come back, he couldn't have served India well.
Life mantra: Hard work pays off. Try to serve the nation.
16.1.2016:
Dr. Gurdev Khush: World-renowned geneticist (on visit to India). Born in a small village near Jalandhar. Studied in a school that had just 1 teacher. His father was is role model; though his father had studied only upto 10th std, was convinced about the need for best education and its ability to transform the society. His father was the most educated person in the village and the wise-man of that village whose advice was sought by many. Worked in a factory in England to earn money for higher education in the US as he had been told that the US was the best place for higher studies at that time. PhD and postdoct in California; had to study and Germany and French as required (by the factory in England??). Climate and accent were challenges initially after the move. Practical, analytical approach a must was his advisor's main advice - don't take everything said in books as being absolutely correct. Initial research work was on tomata but a chance meeting with some leading scientist made him switch to research in rice. That India was facing food shortage around 1961 when he shifted research to rice turned out to be a useful coincidence. Joined IRRI in 1967. Has published around 300 papers. Worked at IRRI for around 35 years and has done 53 years of research work. Considered a hero of Green Revolution. Says research at IRRI was world-class. Visited 69 countries for research. Thanks his support staff who had only BS or MS degrees. IRRI worked on rice germplast varieties. Dr. Raza says Dr.Gurdev Khush is Borlaugh of rice. Dr. Khush says it can be said he applied to rice many of Borlaugh's approaches to wheat. Average yield of rice has doubled from 2.1 tonnes to 4.4 tones as a result of better varieties. Has won World Food Prize (considered Nobel prize for agriculture). Dr. Swaminathan and Dr. CNR Rao are 2 Indians he considers as role model scientists - former in biological, latter in physical sciences.
Life mantra: Work hard to make country great; recognition comes on its own. Inspiring younger scientists is important for the future of India.
30.1.2016:
Prof. Sudhir Kumar SOPORY: [Very soft-spoken!!] Former vice-chancellor, JNU. Plant biologist; specialized in molecular plant physiology. Joined JNU in 1973. Honoured with Padma Shri and Bhatnagar awards besides others. It was only in college that he developed an interest in science. Prior to college, he didn't have any specific career goal and was interested in arts. Specialized in botany during masters degree. Motivated by a professor who was a geneticist; published a paper along with that professor during masters degree, even before PhD. After masters program, made several failed attempts to secure a job - LIC, bank etc. Dr. Raza jokingly says Sopory would be glad he failed to get a job, as otherwise Sopory may have not entered PhD. Developed interest in doing PhD; saw an advertisement and applied for PhD under Prof SC Maheshwari of Delhi Univ; this prof too motivated Sopory. Worked on tissue culture; studied the impact of light on plant development w.r.t. aspects other than photosynthesis & made fascinating discoveries. Many plants need light for flowering. On being asked, says he decided to take this research problem only out of scientific curiosity, not with any specific practical application in mind. But it turned out that his discoveries have many practical significance now. Eureka moment - identifiying that plants have memory. Worked in ICGB for 15 years, where hee worked on gene response to salinity and dehydration. Transgenic technology promising for agriculture. Become JNU's VC in 2011. As VC, though administrative work meant very little time for research, he got to interact with every faculty and academic matters with students, handled many scientific committees. Scientific ideas not broadly explored. On funding for science research - says funding needs to be increased, but funding goes only to a few institutes that have traditionally had high fund allocation. Need to make funds available to more institutes, though identifying which other institutes are highly competetive may be difficult.
Dr. Raza asks - JNU not well-known for science - what do you say as former VC? Reply: media should focus on academic activism in JNU which is better than most other universities - lots of symposiums, student discussions, hundreds of books and thousand publications - high academic output. Two-thirds of JNU is arts and allied streams; science faculty abd students less in number; yet JNU does very high-quality research in some domains of life sciences.
Dr. Sathyamurthy: Founding Director, IISER. Grew up in villages of TN, and his family was financially weak. His parents, though not highly educated, wanted him to study well. Was once beaten by his mother when he told he had spent time with friends instead of going to school (says Dr. Raza). Didn't have great school education or school teachers. Mentions he was helped by a temple priest who gave him one free meal a day and an atheist landlord (Ramamoorthy Gound) who allowed him to study in the lamplight in his house; helped pay his admission fees. Considers Prof. T. Rangarajan, a professor of his during his B.Sc, and now 96, to be his godfather as the latter motivated and helped him financially to go for higher studies in USA. Was fascinated by physics and maths, but did PhD in chemistry as suggested by his professor. National Science Talent Scholarship was a game-changer for him; helped him do B.Sc in Annamalai Univ. Mentions a few other eminent professors who benefited from this scholarship. Moved from US for PhD on his professor's suggestion. On his PhD professor's suggestion, went to Canada for post doctorate studies where he got to work with future Nobel laureates. Got teaching position offers from Brooklyn Univ. and IIT Kanput almost simultaneously. Based on one professor's suggestion, returned to India. Learned philosophy of science from Prof. John Palani of Toronto. Used theoretical physics, chaos theory etc. to study factors affecting rate of reaction. Worked on symmetry and pattern formation in nature - why some flowers have 4 petals, some have 5, some have 6 petals. Worked on Boron-Nitrogen-Chlorine (BNC) fullerenes; had been asked by friends to patent it but has not done that yet. Cherishes Young Scientist award received in 1980 and Bhatnagar . Eureka moment: Discovery of 5-fold symmetry.
Message to younger generation: Feels he is not old enugh to give a message, but mentions hard work pays off.
9.1.2016:
Dr. Anil Kumar Gupta: Director, Wadia Institute. Dr. Raza talks about Wadia Geological Museum which has some fascinating exhibits, like dinosaur fossils. D.N.Wadia was the first head of GSI. Dr. Gupta has studied Indian monsoon in depth. Important to study earth and climate sciences due to abrupt climate changes in the past. Though it is a highly debated issue, Dr. Gupta believes that industrial activities have had a significant impact on climate. Monsoon is a fascinating subject. Identified how oceanic changes are related to growth in height of Himalayas, and how the height change is related to monsoon pattern over past 1000 years. Published an important paper in "Nature" that establishes how monsoon patterns can be related to solar and tectonic activities. Eureka activity: National Geographic documentary on his work. National Geographic came to know about his work and contacted him. Wadia (institute?) initiated 2 big programmes - on glaciers and earthquakes. In some areas, glaciers are melting but in some other areas they are advancing. Dr. Raza: Should a country like India spend a lot of money on research on glaciers and paleontology? Will a disaster occur if that research is stopped? Dr. Gupta: If India wants its major rivers to be perennial, this research is important. Adds that we are still far behind in earthquake research - still in early learning phase; not in a position to predict earthquakes well in advance to save people. Studied at BHU and at AMU (Aligarh Univ); says both institutions were important to him in their own way. Comes from an agrarian family that was not highly educated; his parents often sent him to sell vegetables in the market!. Dr. Raza surprised that Dr. Gupta studied a geological science at a time it was not mainstream. Dr. Gupta: Geo-science unfortunately is still not a mainstream field of study!! On India's expenditure toward research: still very less. Why he went to US and Japan: international exposure was needed then, more so at a time when India's economy was poorer. Says he came back because he wanted to serve his country. If he didn't come back, he couldn't have served India well.
Life mantra: Hard work pays off. Try to serve the nation.
16.1.2016:
Dr. Gurdev Khush: World-renowned geneticist (on visit to India). Born in a small village near Jalandhar. Studied in a school that had just 1 teacher. His father was is role model; though his father had studied only upto 10th std, was convinced about the need for best education and its ability to transform the society. His father was the most educated person in the village and the wise-man of that village whose advice was sought by many. Worked in a factory in England to earn money for higher education in the US as he had been told that the US was the best place for higher studies at that time. PhD and postdoct in California; had to study and Germany and French as required (by the factory in England??). Climate and accent were challenges initially after the move. Practical, analytical approach a must was his advisor's main advice - don't take everything said in books as being absolutely correct. Initial research work was on tomata but a chance meeting with some leading scientist made him switch to research in rice. That India was facing food shortage around 1961 when he shifted research to rice turned out to be a useful coincidence. Joined IRRI in 1967. Has published around 300 papers. Worked at IRRI for around 35 years and has done 53 years of research work. Considered a hero of Green Revolution. Says research at IRRI was world-class. Visited 69 countries for research. Thanks his support staff who had only BS or MS degrees. IRRI worked on rice germplast varieties. Dr. Raza says Dr.Gurdev Khush is Borlaugh of rice. Dr. Khush says it can be said he applied to rice many of Borlaugh's approaches to wheat. Average yield of rice has doubled from 2.1 tonnes to 4.4 tones as a result of better varieties. Has won World Food Prize (considered Nobel prize for agriculture). Dr. Swaminathan and Dr. CNR Rao are 2 Indians he considers as role model scientists - former in biological, latter in physical sciences.
Life mantra: Work hard to make country great; recognition comes on its own. Inspiring younger scientists is important for the future of India.
30.1.2016:
Prof. Sudhir Kumar SOPORY: [Very soft-spoken!!] Former vice-chancellor, JNU. Plant biologist; specialized in molecular plant physiology. Joined JNU in 1973. Honoured with Padma Shri and Bhatnagar awards besides others. It was only in college that he developed an interest in science. Prior to college, he didn't have any specific career goal and was interested in arts. Specialized in botany during masters degree. Motivated by a professor who was a geneticist; published a paper along with that professor during masters degree, even before PhD. After masters program, made several failed attempts to secure a job - LIC, bank etc. Dr. Raza jokingly says Sopory would be glad he failed to get a job, as otherwise Sopory may have not entered PhD. Developed interest in doing PhD; saw an advertisement and applied for PhD under Prof SC Maheshwari of Delhi Univ; this prof too motivated Sopory. Worked on tissue culture; studied the impact of light on plant development w.r.t. aspects other than photosynthesis & made fascinating discoveries. Many plants need light for flowering. On being asked, says he decided to take this research problem only out of scientific curiosity, not with any specific practical application in mind. But it turned out that his discoveries have many practical significance now. Eureka moment - identifiying that plants have memory. Worked in ICGB for 15 years, where hee worked on gene response to salinity and dehydration. Transgenic technology promising for agriculture. Become JNU's VC in 2011. As VC, though administrative work meant very little time for research, he got to interact with every faculty and academic matters with students, handled many scientific committees. Scientific ideas not broadly explored. On funding for science research - says funding needs to be increased, but funding goes only to a few institutes that have traditionally had high fund allocation. Need to make funds available to more institutes, though identifying which other institutes are highly competetive may be difficult.
Dr. Raza asks - JNU not well-known for science - what do you say as former VC? Reply: media should focus on academic activism in JNU which is better than most other universities - lots of symposiums, student discussions, hundreds of books and thousand publications - high academic output. Two-thirds of JNU is arts and allied streams; science faculty abd students less in number; yet JNU does very high-quality research in some domains of life sciences.
Interviews of December 2015
12.12.2015:
Dr. Subhadeep De: Scientist at CSIR-NPL. Recipient of "Young scientist" award in 2015. Has developed a graph illustrating Indian to have optical frequency standard. Satellite placement requires acurate time. Need to synchronize with global clock system. India has developed clock to 10^-15 seconds accuracy (10^-15 clock); was developed by NPL and has been working for 2 years at present. Such precision needed for certain technological applications and also for many scientific experiments, and often the 2 are inter-dependent. Develping such high-precision clocks may take upto 7 years. Now working on developing a higher-precision clock. Standard question of why India shouldn't just import clock instead of developing on its own. Dr. Subhadeep says country needs to be self-dependent on this - otherwise if the exporting country refuses to supply more or repair it in future, India won't be able to launch its own satellites, create defence systems etc. India has one of the world's top 10 fountain clocks. Clocks are at the core of fundamental standards. Explains why mechanical clocks are not sufficient and thereby why atomic clocks are needed. Hence subatomic level understanding needed for atomic clocks. Currently synchronization between atomic clocks in different countries done using satellites. Better way is to use optical fibres for interlinking the clocks, but challenge is in need interlinking continents by fibres under sea; Canada and US clocks are linked using optical fibre and this will become the main mode across continents soon.
Coherence between administration and scientists missing in India's research labs which are largely government funded. Funding never sufficient for science research but better cooperation between administrators and scientists can help mitigate some of the problems - "a message for science policy makers" according to Dr.Raza. Towards the end of the talk, when asked, he says a teacher in B.Sc Physics and his cousin motivated him to go into research. Becoming a doctor was his goal during schools days; joined B.Sc Physics because of not getting admission to medical college. Message to young generations - "shortcuts (jugaad?) don't work"; students must understand the fundamentals even if it takes more time.
19.12.2015: (*)
Dr. B.K. Mishra: Director, CSIR-IMMT. Soft-spoken, humble. Specializes in water security. Dr.Gauhar Raza starts with mention of recent Chennai flood crisis. In response to why he went to help Chennai when he could have as well focused on his lab work, says his team's technology is meant to serve people. His team's technology helped flood victims. CSIR has many filtration units; Science Monitor episode on same day mentioned distribution of special water filters by CSIR-MMIT, Bhubaneshwar, to Chennai flood victims. Unplanned construction the cause of water logging in Chennai; Chennai has clay soil unlike Bhubaneshvar which has laterite rock surface that helps water drain out quickly. 50 lakh people affected by the floods. His team distributed RO-based TERAFIL fllters, of 30 litre capacity (other capacities also available), to the poorest victims who couldn't even ask for help. TERAFIL
does not need electicity or any other source of energy, which is its best part. It is highly economical. It uses sand, clay etc. for filtration and makes turbid water drinkable.
Team still working on addressing problem of purifying arsenic-contaminated water, a problem affecting 17 states. W.r.t. water security, he says availability of water is less of a problem; contamination the major problem; says only science & technology can solve this problem. CSIR has embarked on a major project to address water security.
His lab works on resource utilization, sustainability. When asked about air pollution, which too is in his charter, says stell production, iron ore extraction etc. are increasing in India and air pollution will only get worse unless technology is used to tackle it. Production of 1 ton of steel releases 1.6 tons of CO2 today. His team is developing a technology that allows hydrogen to be used instead of coal as reductant in steel production and will therefore reduce CO2 production significantly.
"Moment of eureka": Went to the US to learn things (higher studies?, for 10 years) that he couldn't learn when working in the industry. Returned to India and worked in IIT-Kanpur. His shift to CSIR excited him the most as it gave him more opportunities to work on what he liked the most.
"Why move back to India? There would have been lot of pressure to settle in the US. For parents, to serve the nation?": Always wanted to work in India. Felt work, the type of things he wanted to work on, was cut out for him in India than elsewhere.
"Message to youngsters": Don't depend on anybody to give you a job; create your own job. Mentions this is the age of start-up culture and says he advised the same to many of his students.
26.12.2015:
Dr. Dinakar M. Salunke: Director, ICGEB; and eminent immunologist. Recipient of SSB award for year 2000. Grew up in poor family but his uneducated parents knew the importance of education and worked hard to help him achieve the best in education. Had to work even while being a student to supplement his family income - did hard jobs like carrying stone for meagre wage of 1 rupee a day. Says government schools were excellent during his days and that his teachers shaped his career; but says he won't comment on current status of government schools as he is removed from ground reality of schools. Feels there are still good govt. schools as some of his bright research students had studied in govt. schools. Shifted from physics (in UG and PG) to biology for PhD since he developed an interest in applying physics (material sciences?) knowledge to understand animate objects and felt physics background would allow him to look at biology from a different angle (was motivated by hearing about physicists who had contributed to biology). One of the first scientists to look at protein structures, especially through protein crystallography. Joined National Institute of Immunology in 1988 on returning to India and says the institute provided him the best research facilities and bright students. Set out to prove that 2 different classes of molecules (some peptide and some carbohydrates) had similar topologies based on the observation that they invoked similar immun response; but turned out they did not have same topology and it was the plasticity(?) of receptors that resulted in similar response. Had topologies been similar, developing vaccine would have been easier. His research work provided new insights into immune system. Dr. Raza humorously asks .
"Why should India do its own research in biology?" - Dr. DMS says even to use ideas developed by others, one's mind to be prepared, and research helps prepare scientific mind. 60-year-old research investments are bearing fruits now and are not wasted efforts; India should continue to invest in research. Mentions that through science diplomacy meetings he has come to notice that some Afric. nations haven't realized the importance of research; even developing countries must spend some money on research.
Q: "Investment in science low in India compared to China. Cauing problems?": Agrees money given for research in many fields is small, but says it is important to maintain a positive stance. Must realize our strengths. Mangalyaan was a huge success despite not having been a relatively low-investment (by world standards) project. No need to compare India with China.
Message: Science is an exciting career. You are paid to do something you want to do and society too recognizes you. Science career helps nurture your own career and also helps serve the society.
Dr. Subhadeep De: Scientist at CSIR-NPL. Recipient of "Young scientist" award in 2015. Has developed a graph illustrating Indian to have optical frequency standard. Satellite placement requires acurate time. Need to synchronize with global clock system. India has developed clock to 10^-15 seconds accuracy (10^-15 clock); was developed by NPL and has been working for 2 years at present. Such precision needed for certain technological applications and also for many scientific experiments, and often the 2 are inter-dependent. Develping such high-precision clocks may take upto 7 years. Now working on developing a higher-precision clock. Standard question of why India shouldn't just import clock instead of developing on its own. Dr. Subhadeep says country needs to be self-dependent on this - otherwise if the exporting country refuses to supply more or repair it in future, India won't be able to launch its own satellites, create defence systems etc. India has one of the world's top 10 fountain clocks. Clocks are at the core of fundamental standards. Explains why mechanical clocks are not sufficient and thereby why atomic clocks are needed. Hence subatomic level understanding needed for atomic clocks. Currently synchronization between atomic clocks in different countries done using satellites. Better way is to use optical fibres for interlinking the clocks, but challenge is in need interlinking continents by fibres under sea; Canada and US clocks are linked using optical fibre and this will become the main mode across continents soon.
Coherence between administration and scientists missing in India's research labs which are largely government funded. Funding never sufficient for science research but better cooperation between administrators and scientists can help mitigate some of the problems - "a message for science policy makers" according to Dr.Raza. Towards the end of the talk, when asked, he says a teacher in B.Sc Physics and his cousin motivated him to go into research. Becoming a doctor was his goal during schools days; joined B.Sc Physics because of not getting admission to medical college. Message to young generations - "shortcuts (jugaad?) don't work"; students must understand the fundamentals even if it takes more time.
19.12.2015: (*)
Dr. B.K. Mishra: Director, CSIR-IMMT. Soft-spoken, humble. Specializes in water security. Dr.Gauhar Raza starts with mention of recent Chennai flood crisis. In response to why he went to help Chennai when he could have as well focused on his lab work, says his team's technology is meant to serve people. His team's technology helped flood victims. CSIR has many filtration units; Science Monitor episode on same day mentioned distribution of special water filters by CSIR-MMIT, Bhubaneshwar, to Chennai flood victims. Unplanned construction the cause of water logging in Chennai; Chennai has clay soil unlike Bhubaneshvar which has laterite rock surface that helps water drain out quickly. 50 lakh people affected by the floods. His team distributed RO-based TERAFIL fllters, of 30 litre capacity (other capacities also available), to the poorest victims who couldn't even ask for help. TERAFIL
does not need electicity or any other source of energy, which is its best part. It is highly economical. It uses sand, clay etc. for filtration and makes turbid water drinkable.
Team still working on addressing problem of purifying arsenic-contaminated water, a problem affecting 17 states. W.r.t. water security, he says availability of water is less of a problem; contamination the major problem; says only science & technology can solve this problem. CSIR has embarked on a major project to address water security.
His lab works on resource utilization, sustainability. When asked about air pollution, which too is in his charter, says stell production, iron ore extraction etc. are increasing in India and air pollution will only get worse unless technology is used to tackle it. Production of 1 ton of steel releases 1.6 tons of CO2 today. His team is developing a technology that allows hydrogen to be used instead of coal as reductant in steel production and will therefore reduce CO2 production significantly.
"Moment of eureka": Went to the US to learn things (higher studies?, for 10 years) that he couldn't learn when working in the industry. Returned to India and worked in IIT-Kanpur. His shift to CSIR excited him the most as it gave him more opportunities to work on what he liked the most.
"Why move back to India? There would have been lot of pressure to settle in the US. For parents, to serve the nation?": Always wanted to work in India. Felt work, the type of things he wanted to work on, was cut out for him in India than elsewhere.
"Message to youngsters": Don't depend on anybody to give you a job; create your own job. Mentions this is the age of start-up culture and says he advised the same to many of his students.
26.12.2015:
Dr. Dinakar M. Salunke: Director, ICGEB; and eminent immunologist. Recipient of SSB award for year 2000. Grew up in poor family but his uneducated parents knew the importance of education and worked hard to help him achieve the best in education. Had to work even while being a student to supplement his family income - did hard jobs like carrying stone for meagre wage of 1 rupee a day. Says government schools were excellent during his days and that his teachers shaped his career; but says he won't comment on current status of government schools as he is removed from ground reality of schools. Feels there are still good govt. schools as some of his bright research students had studied in govt. schools. Shifted from physics (in UG and PG) to biology for PhD since he developed an interest in applying physics (material sciences?) knowledge to understand animate objects and felt physics background would allow him to look at biology from a different angle (was motivated by hearing about physicists who had contributed to biology). One of the first scientists to look at protein structures, especially through protein crystallography. Joined National Institute of Immunology in 1988 on returning to India and says the institute provided him the best research facilities and bright students. Set out to prove that 2 different classes of molecules (some peptide and some carbohydrates) had similar topologies based on the observation that they invoked similar immun response; but turned out they did not have same topology and it was the plasticity(?) of receptors that resulted in similar response. Had topologies been similar, developing vaccine would have been easier. His research work provided new insights into immune system. Dr. Raza humorously asks .
"Why should India do its own research in biology?" - Dr. DMS says even to use ideas developed by others, one's mind to be prepared, and research helps prepare scientific mind. 60-year-old research investments are bearing fruits now and are not wasted efforts; India should continue to invest in research. Mentions that through science diplomacy meetings he has come to notice that some Afric. nations haven't realized the importance of research; even developing countries must spend some money on research.
Q: "Investment in science low in India compared to China. Cauing problems?": Agrees money given for research in many fields is small, but says it is important to maintain a positive stance. Must realize our strengths. Mangalyaan was a huge success despite not having been a relatively low-investment (by world standards) project. No need to compare India with China.
Message: Science is an exciting career. You are paid to do something you want to do and society too recognizes you. Science career helps nurture your own career and also helps serve the society.
Interviews telecasted in November 2015
7.11.2015:
Dr. Mohandas Goel: Civil engg researcher. Has won young scientist award.
21.11.2015:
Dr.K.V.Prabhu: Joint director of IARI, Delhi. From an agrarian background; his father had graduated in agriculture from Coimbatore and worked in Karnataka. Born and brought up in Puttur in Karnataka. His father, whose job involved assisting farmers, was his role model. Initially wanted to become a doctor per his mother's wishes. But couldn't get admission to medical college, as seats were limited and he missed the cutoff by a very small margin. When asked for the reason, says it may have been due to his not attending special coaching for medical exams. Higher education in BHU. Was inspired by Ann Rand's 'FountainHead' and a book of Swami Vivekananda - and decided he must contrinbute to nation. Got Ph.D in genetics from IARI in 1986. His meeting with Dr. M.S.Swaminathan was a turning point - Dr.MSS asked him how his work was helping Indian agriculture and farmers. Awoke him to the need to ensure that research must not be confined to lab research findings but must benefit farmers. Worked on plant breeding techniques to help fight plant diseases like wheat rust that cause loss to farmers. Has worked on developing basmati breeding techniques. Traditional basmati rice growing farmers did not benefit due to those varieties being very thermosensitive, photosensitive and tall. Due to trade restrictions (??), new variants could not be developed for export initially. Fought for genetics science research on basmati rice - had to convince ministries of commerce, trade etc. that it was very important for India to get the freedom to develop new varieties; took over 3 years, till around 2008. PUSA basmati 1211 developed by IARI is longer than older varieties of basmati and has become popular. His work also helped double basmati yield. Annual basmati exports stands at more than 35000 crore rupees now. Says political leadership should get Geographic Indicator for Indian basmati rice, just like Darjeeling tea. Else India stands the risk of losing its basmati.
Advice to youngstres: Consider agricultural research as a career option. Agricultural science has immense opportunities; things ranging from physics, space technioogy to management find application in agriculture. Agriculture continues to be essential for country's sustenance and development, and therefore agricultural research has immense scope.
28.11.2015:
Dr. Bhanu Pratap Singh: Scientist at NPL. When asked why he didn't chose electrical or electronic engg., says he chose chemical engg. only by chance, no guidance on which branch is best. Mother and maternal uncle (who was the most educated in his family) were his role models. Got to work on a project using simulator; simulation gave results without need for experiments. Worked on a project involving carbon nanotubes. Problem solved: technique to develop high quality material containing carbon nanotubes/nanosheets embedded in base material. Received national award (Young Scientist award) for this. Dr. Gauhar asks the usual question of need to do research within the country - guest says it is important to be able to develop technology indigenously. Nanotechnology needs collaborative work, sometimes with scinetists and technologists from other disciplines. Another research area is developing composite materials that act as shield from radiation - will be useful in many areas like aerospace, aviation (less heavy aircrafts leading to tremendous energy saving due to less aviation fuel). Are there sufficient naotechnology scientists in India? Says doesn't know how many work in India but thinks numbers in India is sufficient. When asked how he managed to publish manyu papers and get patents, attributes it to working with good students and scientists. Message: face challenges head-on and develop confidence.
Dr. Mohandas Goel: Civil engg researcher. Has won young scientist award.
21.11.2015:
Dr.K.V.Prabhu: Joint director of IARI, Delhi. From an agrarian background; his father had graduated in agriculture from Coimbatore and worked in Karnataka. Born and brought up in Puttur in Karnataka. His father, whose job involved assisting farmers, was his role model. Initially wanted to become a doctor per his mother's wishes. But couldn't get admission to medical college, as seats were limited and he missed the cutoff by a very small margin. When asked for the reason, says it may have been due to his not attending special coaching for medical exams. Higher education in BHU. Was inspired by Ann Rand's 'FountainHead' and a book of Swami Vivekananda - and decided he must contrinbute to nation. Got Ph.D in genetics from IARI in 1986. His meeting with Dr. M.S.Swaminathan was a turning point - Dr.MSS asked him how his work was helping Indian agriculture and farmers. Awoke him to the need to ensure that research must not be confined to lab research findings but must benefit farmers. Worked on plant breeding techniques to help fight plant diseases like wheat rust that cause loss to farmers. Has worked on developing basmati breeding techniques. Traditional basmati rice growing farmers did not benefit due to those varieties being very thermosensitive, photosensitive and tall. Due to trade restrictions (??), new variants could not be developed for export initially. Fought for genetics science research on basmati rice - had to convince ministries of commerce, trade etc. that it was very important for India to get the freedom to develop new varieties; took over 3 years, till around 2008. PUSA basmati 1211 developed by IARI is longer than older varieties of basmati and has become popular. His work also helped double basmati yield. Annual basmati exports stands at more than 35000 crore rupees now. Says political leadership should get Geographic Indicator for Indian basmati rice, just like Darjeeling tea. Else India stands the risk of losing its basmati.
Advice to youngstres: Consider agricultural research as a career option. Agricultural science has immense opportunities; things ranging from physics, space technioogy to management find application in agriculture. Agriculture continues to be essential for country's sustenance and development, and therefore agricultural research has immense scope.
28.11.2015:
Dr. Bhanu Pratap Singh: Scientist at NPL. When asked why he didn't chose electrical or electronic engg., says he chose chemical engg. only by chance, no guidance on which branch is best. Mother and maternal uncle (who was the most educated in his family) were his role models. Got to work on a project using simulator; simulation gave results without need for experiments. Worked on a project involving carbon nanotubes. Problem solved: technique to develop high quality material containing carbon nanotubes/nanosheets embedded in base material. Received national award (Young Scientist award) for this. Dr. Gauhar asks the usual question of need to do research within the country - guest says it is important to be able to develop technology indigenously. Nanotechnology needs collaborative work, sometimes with scinetists and technologists from other disciplines. Another research area is developing composite materials that act as shield from radiation - will be useful in many areas like aerospace, aviation (less heavy aircrafts leading to tremendous energy saving due to less aviation fuel). Are there sufficient naotechnology scientists in India? Says doesn't know how many work in India but thinks numbers in India is sufficient. When asked how he managed to publish manyu papers and get patents, attributes it to working with good students and scientists. Message: face challenges head-on and develop confidence.
Interviews telecasted in October 2015
10.10.2015:
Kishore M. Paknikar: Director, Agharkar Research Institute. Biologist who has also worked on nano-technology and metal-extraction technologies involving biological mechanisms. Metal extraction from low-quality ores using sulphur-consuming bacteria - started on this through a UNEP-sponsored project in the former Sovite Union. This is a bio-friendly technology and also more cost-efficient than traditional techniques for low-quality ores. This technique is now being used in multiple countries. Says India didn't make large-scale use of this technology early on as it then had high-quality ores and investing in this new technique seemed unnecessary. Now that India is running out of high-quality ores, it must start investing more in this technology. The process involves water tanks with ore-water mixture which specific bacteria are made to act on - bacteria consume sulphur and produce sulphuric acid and the metal gets separated. (When asked, says this technique can also be made to work on uranium ores??). Another project was to address the problem of arsenic contamination of water in Bangladesh. Was invited by a friend working in the medical field to help on this and was moved by the plight of some affected people who had got their limbs amputated due to arsenic poisoning. Some biological mechanism used to treat contaminated water? Got introduced to nano-technology when he got to interact with a Nobel laureate in chemistry who asked him if bio-organisms had anything to do with nano particles. Dr. Parnikar then realized that some bacteria do infact produce nano-particles (as a protetive shield??), something he and some other biologists too had observed earlier but hadn't known the term nano-particles or the special properties of nano-particles. More recently, he worked with some pharmaceutical lab in India to develop silver nano-particle based creams/ointments that have been found to be more efective than existing ointments for treatment of burns and diabetic skin afflictions. Shows one carton of the ointment to Dr. Raza. Silver nano-particles inhibit the growth of bacteria through physical mechanism, not chemical, and so he believes there is very unlikley for bacteria to develop resistance to this new medicine. Message to younger generation: be open-minded, and understand that it is important work on inter-disciplinary research projects (do not restrict yourself to work on just one domain).
17.10.2015:
Ajay K. Sood: Professor at IISc (nanotechnology) whose experiment lead to the discovery that water/gas flow over nano tubes generates electicity - calls it his Eureka moment. Experiment started off as an extension of high-school physics - 3 concepts used: Bernoulli's theorem, temperature difference due to pressure changes and Seibeck effect due to temperature difference generates electricity. People ask him why such a simple thinh went undicovered for 200 years and he says he too is surprised that it had gone undiscovered for long. Dr. Raza says Prof. Ajay Sood still has a child-like curiosity for science. First one in the family to study science for degree; his relatives were engineers or doctors. After B.Sc got an opportunity to study atomic science within India and he took to it with interest. Was not interested in studying abroad and felt enthused about physics research in India. Condensed-matter physics for Ph.D? Nano-science is an inter-disciplinary field and is a culmination of many different specific domains. Science continues to be fun for Dr. Ajay Sood. Need more efforts to energize science in India - says universities in India have not kept pace with what is expected of them. Even the best labs in India need to be taken to the next level. Recommends a two-tier approach to improve science in India. Nanoscience and nanotechnology hold promise for several areas. Nano sensors used in medical science; single layer transistors possible with nanoscience/technology. Stresses the importance of inter-diciplinary research. Dr. Raza says Dr. Sood has won almost all major science awards except the Nobel prize. Feels happy to be recognized by foreign institutions (honoured with Royal Society Feelowship in 2015) as it gives the feeeling that science research in India is very good - has done his education solely in India. Message for younger generation: stay motivated and work hard.
Kishore M. Paknikar: Director, Agharkar Research Institute. Biologist who has also worked on nano-technology and metal-extraction technologies involving biological mechanisms. Metal extraction from low-quality ores using sulphur-consuming bacteria - started on this through a UNEP-sponsored project in the former Sovite Union. This is a bio-friendly technology and also more cost-efficient than traditional techniques for low-quality ores. This technique is now being used in multiple countries. Says India didn't make large-scale use of this technology early on as it then had high-quality ores and investing in this new technique seemed unnecessary. Now that India is running out of high-quality ores, it must start investing more in this technology. The process involves water tanks with ore-water mixture which specific bacteria are made to act on - bacteria consume sulphur and produce sulphuric acid and the metal gets separated. (When asked, says this technique can also be made to work on uranium ores??). Another project was to address the problem of arsenic contamination of water in Bangladesh. Was invited by a friend working in the medical field to help on this and was moved by the plight of some affected people who had got their limbs amputated due to arsenic poisoning. Some biological mechanism used to treat contaminated water? Got introduced to nano-technology when he got to interact with a Nobel laureate in chemistry who asked him if bio-organisms had anything to do with nano particles. Dr. Parnikar then realized that some bacteria do infact produce nano-particles (as a protetive shield??), something he and some other biologists too had observed earlier but hadn't known the term nano-particles or the special properties of nano-particles. More recently, he worked with some pharmaceutical lab in India to develop silver nano-particle based creams/ointments that have been found to be more efective than existing ointments for treatment of burns and diabetic skin afflictions. Shows one carton of the ointment to Dr. Raza. Silver nano-particles inhibit the growth of bacteria through physical mechanism, not chemical, and so he believes there is very unlikley for bacteria to develop resistance to this new medicine. Message to younger generation: be open-minded, and understand that it is important work on inter-disciplinary research projects (do not restrict yourself to work on just one domain).
17.10.2015:
Ajay K. Sood: Professor at IISc (nanotechnology) whose experiment lead to the discovery that water/gas flow over nano tubes generates electicity - calls it his Eureka moment. Experiment started off as an extension of high-school physics - 3 concepts used: Bernoulli's theorem, temperature difference due to pressure changes and Seibeck effect due to temperature difference generates electricity. People ask him why such a simple thinh went undicovered for 200 years and he says he too is surprised that it had gone undiscovered for long. Dr. Raza says Prof. Ajay Sood still has a child-like curiosity for science. First one in the family to study science for degree; his relatives were engineers or doctors. After B.Sc got an opportunity to study atomic science within India and he took to it with interest. Was not interested in studying abroad and felt enthused about physics research in India. Condensed-matter physics for Ph.D? Nano-science is an inter-disciplinary field and is a culmination of many different specific domains. Science continues to be fun for Dr. Ajay Sood. Need more efforts to energize science in India - says universities in India have not kept pace with what is expected of them. Even the best labs in India need to be taken to the next level. Recommends a two-tier approach to improve science in India. Nanoscience and nanotechnology hold promise for several areas. Nano sensors used in medical science; single layer transistors possible with nanoscience/technology. Stresses the importance of inter-diciplinary research. Dr. Raza says Dr. Sood has won almost all major science awards except the Nobel prize. Feels happy to be recognized by foreign institutions (honoured with Royal Society Feelowship in 2015) as it gives the feeeling that science research in India is very good - has done his education solely in India. Message for younger generation: stay motivated and work hard.
Interviews telecasted in September 2015
5.9.2015:
Dr. Prabhat Ranjan: Physicist - plasma physics, nuclear fusion technology and superconductivity for nuclear fusion. Executive director at TIFAC. Moved from Saha institute to Ahmedabad. PhD at the University of California. Says 2 of his classmates at IIT Kharagpur too did PhD in the US but only he returned to work in India as he wanted to serve his country. Said to his friends that even if one gets to do less research in India, serving the country gives pride. Says he enjoys research work and does not focus on publishing papers merely to add to one's publication list. Says Indian scientist must be given opportunities to do more focused and targeted research and should not be evaluated by the number of papers they have published. TIFAC prepared Vision 2035 which is a set of 12 documents. GRaza asks for difference between Visions 2035 & 2020.
When he was asked by govt to look at what needs to be done to boost India's exports, he was surprised to find India exports 80% of guar seeds in the world but only 1% of the over 15000 patents on guar gum are from India. India exports many raw materials and imports them at high price after value add. With just a little additional investment in science and technology, India can become improve its self-reliance and become an exporter of value-added material.
Advice: whatever you do, do with passion and try to be the best.
12.9.2015:
Arjava Sharma: Director of BAGR (Bureau of animal genome research). Significance of livestock - India has a huge population of livestock that helps meet needs of India's human population.
Says the introduction of foreign breeds/varieties (both crops and livestock) was a wrong decision somewhat driven by greedy motives. People did not realize that India has the widest diversity of flora and fauna in the world.
India also has rich natural resources for food production; unlike Europe where producing crops for more than one season per year is difficult due to climate, India can produce crops almost around the year. India must preserve its indigenous varieties of cattle/livestock and his BAGR is helping in this.
Advice: Says he is not old enough to give advice :) ... but since asked, says something (don't recall what he said - either be passionate or sincere or curious or work hard).
19.Sep.2015:
A.K.Ganguli: Chemistry researcher. PhD from IISc under te guidance of Dr. C.N.R. Rao. Important work in areas of superconductivity (materails for) and nanotechnology. Initial research project during PhD was not related to either of these but a few years into PhD, superconductivity became an interesting area of research (due to Dr. Rao ??) and Dr. Ganguli got to work on it. Later switched (prefers not to consider it a switch between areas - still a research scientist working on chemistry, but for different applications). Talks about nanotechnology being used for 2 different reasons - some applications solely because they benefit from the small size of nanoparticles (some cosmetic products were the first such practical application), and some other rely on the special physical properties of naoparticles - at nanoscale, quantum physics laws apply, rather than classical physics. Self-cleaning clothes a novel application and is a reality - video of a t-shirt that does not get stained when some dye is poured on it is shown. Also shown is a video of a hand taken behing a lens/glass and the hand not being visible through the glass - "invisible" behind the lens.. the wall behind the lens is what is seen. Tells this is a reality and uses negative (refractivei?) index materials developed using nanotechnology. "Apparent" invisibility achieved because such materials bend the light around them and make the thing they would have otherwise hidden become visible in their front too.
Feels India does not invest enough in science research - must iincease its allotment to atleast 3% or 4% or GDP which is possible. Says India cannot and does not need to invest in all research/applications of nanotechnology, but should invest in atleast some where it has the capacity and will benefit from it too - mainly pharmaceutical and health applications where India has the capability. Examples like nanotechnology for improved drug delivery, self-cleaning material in hospitals (blankets, curtains) and door handles with special nanotech coating that will not allow microbes to stick onto them.
Dr. Raza asks the standard question - what is the answer to people who say India does not need to invest in research, must instead buy technology from others and use them. Dr. Ganguli says countries that tried it have realized that it does not work in long-term. Japan, S.Korea which initially took that path of late have begun to focus a lot on research too due to problems with relying on technology from others. Taiwan is still technology-only and has no footholding on research.
Advice: Do what interests u the most - do not take to science if you're not interested in it. Have some pastime for relaxation - says he regularly played cricket/games during his stint at IIT. Says for success, one needs a good, supportive family too - cannot focus if family is chaotic or unsupportive.
27.9.2015:
A.S.Kiran Kumar: ISRO chief. Simple and soft-spoken. Born in Hassan where his father was a well-known advocate; taught him that any work should be respected - dignity of labour. Mentions his curiosity in science started with some optical device (like prism??) demonstrated at school and his childhood experiments with light shining through the roof and passing it through plastic sheets to make film-like projections on the floor. Studied physics and joined ISRO. India got little help from developed countries in its space programme due to which ISRO had to develop technologies of its own and often play catch-up game (behind the latest advances by a few years). Since he was from physics background, he was willing to take up experimental, inter-disciplinary projects which engineers where unwilling to work on as they were not sure of success and were averse to experimentation. Such project involved working with mechanical engineers, elecronics and physics. As they did not have access to latest scientific/technological advances made in the West, ISRO scientists worked for long hours studying whatever they came to know of new advances and experimenting with those with no guidance from the original developers. Simulation was a crucial factor in ensuring the success of ISRO's projects. The conditions seen in lab could be very different from the concitions in space, so simulating various possible conditions was important. Special acknowledgement to Satish Dhawan who encouraged ISRO scientists to be not afraid of failures, took bold decisions and would take full responsibility for if any project failed, instead of letting the junior scientists take the blame. ISRO made best use of its position by taking up some innovations that existed only on paper/publications and becoming the first in the world to implementing them for practical use. Mentions these becoming useful for people at large, even across countries - like some remote sensing technologies that even the West hasn't implemented.
Dr. Prabhat Ranjan: Physicist - plasma physics, nuclear fusion technology and superconductivity for nuclear fusion. Executive director at TIFAC. Moved from Saha institute to Ahmedabad. PhD at the University of California. Says 2 of his classmates at IIT Kharagpur too did PhD in the US but only he returned to work in India as he wanted to serve his country. Said to his friends that even if one gets to do less research in India, serving the country gives pride. Says he enjoys research work and does not focus on publishing papers merely to add to one's publication list. Says Indian scientist must be given opportunities to do more focused and targeted research and should not be evaluated by the number of papers they have published. TIFAC prepared Vision 2035 which is a set of 12 documents. GRaza asks for difference between Visions 2035 & 2020.
When he was asked by govt to look at what needs to be done to boost India's exports, he was surprised to find India exports 80% of guar seeds in the world but only 1% of the over 15000 patents on guar gum are from India. India exports many raw materials and imports them at high price after value add. With just a little additional investment in science and technology, India can become improve its self-reliance and become an exporter of value-added material.
Advice: whatever you do, do with passion and try to be the best.
12.9.2015:
Arjava Sharma: Director of BAGR (Bureau of animal genome research). Significance of livestock - India has a huge population of livestock that helps meet needs of India's human population.
Says the introduction of foreign breeds/varieties (both crops and livestock) was a wrong decision somewhat driven by greedy motives. People did not realize that India has the widest diversity of flora and fauna in the world.
India also has rich natural resources for food production; unlike Europe where producing crops for more than one season per year is difficult due to climate, India can produce crops almost around the year. India must preserve its indigenous varieties of cattle/livestock and his BAGR is helping in this.
Advice: Says he is not old enough to give advice :) ... but since asked, says something (don't recall what he said - either be passionate or sincere or curious or work hard).
19.Sep.2015:
A.K.Ganguli: Chemistry researcher. PhD from IISc under te guidance of Dr. C.N.R. Rao. Important work in areas of superconductivity (materails for) and nanotechnology. Initial research project during PhD was not related to either of these but a few years into PhD, superconductivity became an interesting area of research (due to Dr. Rao ??) and Dr. Ganguli got to work on it. Later switched (prefers not to consider it a switch between areas - still a research scientist working on chemistry, but for different applications). Talks about nanotechnology being used for 2 different reasons - some applications solely because they benefit from the small size of nanoparticles (some cosmetic products were the first such practical application), and some other rely on the special physical properties of naoparticles - at nanoscale, quantum physics laws apply, rather than classical physics. Self-cleaning clothes a novel application and is a reality - video of a t-shirt that does not get stained when some dye is poured on it is shown. Also shown is a video of a hand taken behing a lens/glass and the hand not being visible through the glass - "invisible" behind the lens.. the wall behind the lens is what is seen. Tells this is a reality and uses negative (refractivei?) index materials developed using nanotechnology. "Apparent" invisibility achieved because such materials bend the light around them and make the thing they would have otherwise hidden become visible in their front too.
Feels India does not invest enough in science research - must iincease its allotment to atleast 3% or 4% or GDP which is possible. Says India cannot and does not need to invest in all research/applications of nanotechnology, but should invest in atleast some where it has the capacity and will benefit from it too - mainly pharmaceutical and health applications where India has the capability. Examples like nanotechnology for improved drug delivery, self-cleaning material in hospitals (blankets, curtains) and door handles with special nanotech coating that will not allow microbes to stick onto them.
Dr. Raza asks the standard question - what is the answer to people who say India does not need to invest in research, must instead buy technology from others and use them. Dr. Ganguli says countries that tried it have realized that it does not work in long-term. Japan, S.Korea which initially took that path of late have begun to focus a lot on research too due to problems with relying on technology from others. Taiwan is still technology-only and has no footholding on research.
Advice: Do what interests u the most - do not take to science if you're not interested in it. Have some pastime for relaxation - says he regularly played cricket/games during his stint at IIT. Says for success, one needs a good, supportive family too - cannot focus if family is chaotic or unsupportive.
27.9.2015:
A.S.Kiran Kumar: ISRO chief. Simple and soft-spoken. Born in Hassan where his father was a well-known advocate; taught him that any work should be respected - dignity of labour. Mentions his curiosity in science started with some optical device (like prism??) demonstrated at school and his childhood experiments with light shining through the roof and passing it through plastic sheets to make film-like projections on the floor. Studied physics and joined ISRO. India got little help from developed countries in its space programme due to which ISRO had to develop technologies of its own and often play catch-up game (behind the latest advances by a few years). Since he was from physics background, he was willing to take up experimental, inter-disciplinary projects which engineers where unwilling to work on as they were not sure of success and were averse to experimentation. Such project involved working with mechanical engineers, elecronics and physics. As they did not have access to latest scientific/technological advances made in the West, ISRO scientists worked for long hours studying whatever they came to know of new advances and experimenting with those with no guidance from the original developers. Simulation was a crucial factor in ensuring the success of ISRO's projects. The conditions seen in lab could be very different from the concitions in space, so simulating various possible conditions was important. Special acknowledgement to Satish Dhawan who encouraged ISRO scientists to be not afraid of failures, took bold decisions and would take full responsibility for if any project failed, instead of letting the junior scientists take the blame. ISRO made best use of its position by taking up some innovations that existed only on paper/publications and becoming the first in the world to implementing them for practical use. Mentions these becoming useful for people at large, even across countries - like some remote sensing technologies that even the West hasn't implemented.
Interviews telecast in August 2015
1.8.2015:
C. Venkatamohan: CSIR. Developed technology to produce hydrogen from waste water - using biological methods involving anaerobic bacteria. Hydrogen gets used for energy and water gets (partially?) treated in this process. Received an international award for this recently. His father was a chemical engineer (??) and he had experience working with electrodes/electrolytes as a child.
8.8.2015:
Abhishek?? Kumar Sarangi: UCIL - Uranium Corporation of India limited?. Uranium ore in India limited and of lower grade, but says India must still get the best out of this limited resource to improve its energy security. Improvements in uranium extraction methods as well as in fission technology are important.
22.8.2015:
Y.M.Dimri: Internationally acclaimed geophysicist. Hails from Uttarakhand which is known for its natural beauty of mountains and forests and known for its spectacular weather phenomenon, which made him curious to understand natural phenomenon. Childhood experience with cloudburst - purohit warning a group of children to quickly move away from a stream saying a cloudburst was about to flood the stream after seeing some clouds; amazed by people's ability to predict based on their observation and experience. Talks about prediction of earthquales and tsunamis and warning systems for these. Predicting earthquakes still very difficult but a warning system can be put in place to alert people in Delhi soon after tremors are detected in Nepal - takes only about 60 seconds for quake to travel between these 2 places, yet many lives can be saved if emergency safety measures are taken within that duration - traffic can be halted, trains can be stopped, people can be evacuated or moved to safety shelters within buildings. Better position with tsunamis originating in Malay/Indone region since they take a few hours to reach Indian coast (reaches A & N islands earlier) and more time available to take action. Asked about an interesting incident where Indian media created a panic when earthquake ocurred in Indonesia region some years ago - he asked a TV channel to put him on air and said that the quake posed no tsunami threat to India, which turned out to be right.
29.8.2015:
Dr. Sibaji Raha: Theoretical/quantum physicist, currently based in Bose Institute. Worked under stalwarts like fynman and miller (?). He and wife decided to move back to India after several years in Europe/US - says it was not because of patriotism but because they felt it was best to raise family in India. Mentions he identified some gaps/shortcomings in a well-known theory and it motivated him to come up with mathematical models to explain the missing pieces. Feels scientists based in India aren't getting due recognition worldwide as the scientific community abroad gives attention and credit to a very limited number of journals/publications/conferences and it is far more easier for US/EU-based scientists to get their research work on these forums than scientists from other regions even if their quality of work is on par.
Interviews telecast in June 2015
6.6.2015:
Dr. Amit Sharma: Biotechnology scientist (currently at ICGEB, Delhi?). Post doctoral reasearch at the prestigious Oxford university ; had offers from both Cambridge and Oxford. Gauhar Raza jokes that Cambridge university lost such a brilliant reasearcher to the Oxford university. Dr. Sharma hardly smiles during the interview. Did work on malarial parasite and its mechanismm of action. Returned to India for multiple reasons - family, feels more at home. Has received several awards.
Note: Web search result - interesting - reversal of brain drain - Dr. Ami Sharma mentioned - http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/young-academics-return-india-leaving-their-careers/1/309635.html
13.6.2015:
Dr. K.K.K. Singh: Geophysicist specializing in mining. Gauhar Raza and interviewer both in mining suit - helmet with light, mining jacket etc :). Interview location: Dhanbad coal mine? Dr. Singh studied physics undergrad and due to interest in understand earth, took to geophysics for higher studies. Developed a radar just capable of breaching the 60m limit - says radar waves can penetrate several kilometres in a place like Antarctica but in cola mines, assessing what lies more even 60m deep or away is difficult. Felt motivated to develop this improved radar as he wanted to improve mining safety and avoid mishaps like a major 1 that happened in a coal mine in 1970s when water entered a mine. His radar has now been approved for use in UK as well. Wants to improve his radar further to become capable of studying things upto 100m or more. Hopes he can achieve that. Message: Feel positive, work hard to achieve it.
20.6.2015:
G.P.S.Raghava: Computer engineer (scientist??) at IMTeCH, Chandigarh; joined c.1986. Pioneer of bioinformatics in India. M.Tech in Electronics from IIT; took interest in No background in biology but work in bioinformatics and possibly computational biology started when a biology researcher approached him asking for help to solve a computational problem related to his research. G.P.S. solved it by devising an improved algorithm. Was the 1st Indian to publish a paper related to bioinformatics - though the paper was not widely recognized in India, it drew the attention of Western researchers and G.P.S. too knew it would be a helpful tool for biology. Says he did not have a good relatiuonship with teachers, both in school an in college - largely relied on self-study and curiosity. Stresses the importance of self-study and curiosity (says he was curious in how things work right from childhood), keeping in touch with latest developments and preserving and publishing one's findings.. says India had lots of good research/science knowledge for long but had not been good at preserving/publishing/advertising those findings. Says biologists must come out of the habit of thinking that only working in biolog lab is the mark of a researcher - now it is very easy to get biological data (genetic information, for instance) but it is analysing that data and making inferences is the more challenging part. Says no lack of funds for research, at least in CSIR.
27.6.2015:
Gangan Prathap: Aeronautics engineering researcher who became director of NISCAIR. A famous German aeronautics engineer was his role model, though his parents reminded him once during his college days that in his early schools days he would mention he was inspired by C.V.Raman. First to do research on non-linear mathematical models in the context of aeronautics in India. Says he wanted to continue to be in research but was called upon to head scientific committees and took to that duty to serve the nation.
Dr. Amit Sharma: Biotechnology scientist (currently at ICGEB, Delhi?). Post doctoral reasearch at the prestigious Oxford university ; had offers from both Cambridge and Oxford. Gauhar Raza jokes that Cambridge university lost such a brilliant reasearcher to the Oxford university. Dr. Sharma hardly smiles during the interview. Did work on malarial parasite and its mechanismm of action. Returned to India for multiple reasons - family, feels more at home. Has received several awards.
Note: Web search result - interesting - reversal of brain drain - Dr. Ami Sharma mentioned - http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/young-academics-return-india-leaving-their-careers/1/309635.html
13.6.2015:
Dr. K.K.K. Singh: Geophysicist specializing in mining. Gauhar Raza and interviewer both in mining suit - helmet with light, mining jacket etc :). Interview location: Dhanbad coal mine? Dr. Singh studied physics undergrad and due to interest in understand earth, took to geophysics for higher studies. Developed a radar just capable of breaching the 60m limit - says radar waves can penetrate several kilometres in a place like Antarctica but in cola mines, assessing what lies more even 60m deep or away is difficult. Felt motivated to develop this improved radar as he wanted to improve mining safety and avoid mishaps like a major 1 that happened in a coal mine in 1970s when water entered a mine. His radar has now been approved for use in UK as well. Wants to improve his radar further to become capable of studying things upto 100m or more. Hopes he can achieve that. Message: Feel positive, work hard to achieve it.
20.6.2015:
G.P.S.Raghava: Computer engineer (scientist??) at IMTeCH, Chandigarh; joined c.1986. Pioneer of bioinformatics in India. M.Tech in Electronics from IIT; took interest in No background in biology but work in bioinformatics and possibly computational biology started when a biology researcher approached him asking for help to solve a computational problem related to his research. G.P.S. solved it by devising an improved algorithm. Was the 1st Indian to publish a paper related to bioinformatics - though the paper was not widely recognized in India, it drew the attention of Western researchers and G.P.S. too knew it would be a helpful tool for biology. Says he did not have a good relatiuonship with teachers, both in school an in college - largely relied on self-study and curiosity. Stresses the importance of self-study and curiosity (says he was curious in how things work right from childhood), keeping in touch with latest developments and preserving and publishing one's findings.. says India had lots of good research/science knowledge for long but had not been good at preserving/publishing/advertising those findings. Says biologists must come out of the habit of thinking that only working in biolog lab is the mark of a researcher - now it is very easy to get biological data (genetic information, for instance) but it is analysing that data and making inferences is the more challenging part. Says no lack of funds for research, at least in CSIR.
27.6.2015:
Gangan Prathap: Aeronautics engineering researcher who became director of NISCAIR. A famous German aeronautics engineer was his role model, though his parents reminded him once during his college days that in his early schools days he would mention he was inspired by C.V.Raman. First to do research on non-linear mathematical models in the context of aeronautics in India. Says he wanted to continue to be in research but was called upon to head scientific committees and took to that duty to serve the nation.
Interviews telecast in July 2015
4.7.2015:
C.N.R. Rao: Prolific Indian scientist with over 1600 published papers - works out to one paper per 2 weeks of his research career! Early research in molecular physics and structural chemistry? Started publishing papers right from his masters degree days or earlier. Says Michael Faraday is the greatest scientist in his opinion and would have been awarded multiple Nobel prizes had he been in the 20th century. Took interest in Linus Pauling's work on chemical bonds at a time when these concepts were not known in India. Inspired by C.V.Raman's enthusiasm. C.V.Raman, sometime in 1960s, got to notice some research work of C.N.R.Rao and wrote him a letter caling him to join his research academy. Talk unusually a lot about his papers appearing in several top journals and science magazines, his work being recognized abroad and receiving many awards. Attributes the large number of papers to the large number of PhD students he guides. Says scientists peak after their 50s/60s and feels the quality, complexity and importance of his research work has been steadily increasing and has grown exponentially since his 70s!! Dr. Gauhar says "so ability to work as a team in research is an important aspect for being a successful scientist", but Dr. Rao seems to suggest that more than team work, individual creativity is important (contrast with the views of some of the scientists interviewed earlier in this programme series!!!!). Mentions his work on some oxide material and its importance to the then new and highly exciting field superconductors being brought to his attention by some western scientist.
11.7.2015:
Dr. Anita Rani: Scientist at ICAR-DSR. Mentions Gregor Mendel as her role model since her school days as he used mathematical models and arrived at the concept of genes more than a century before DNA was discovered. Research work on soya beans - took 10-12 years to deelop a new genotype. Working to achieve 2 major goals - make soya bean more amenable for consumption by Indians (remove anti-nutritional and poor taste/odour factors that make non-fermented soya difficult for consumption) and imporve the oxidational stability of soya bean oil. Says though soya bean has high oil content, converting it to edible oil is a costly manufacturing process. Soya bean oil gets oxidised easily even at room temperature making it unsafe for cosumption without complex processing. Developing genotypes that are more resitant to oxidation will improve effective oil yield by over 20%. Says getting farmers to be more receptive to using these new genotypes is a difficult task but is crucial to getting the benefit of the research. Message: Enjoy being involved in experiment and research - the joy of research comes from involvement whether or not awards are given for the research. Background: Father had meagre education due to being forced to migrate after communal riots but could read and write, and after reading about Dr.Hargobind khorana in a newspaper, wanted his daughter to do research in biology or a related area. Was exteremely supportive and when Dr.Anitha's initial research work wasn't giving successful results, he would ask if she needed money for procuring anything for research work that would help her achieve success in that experiment. Husband too a researcher in agriculture science. Funny anecdote about him - when in 6th grade, teacher starts teaching about sulphuric & hydrochloric acid - he gets up and asks about omega-3 fatty acid and teacher is unable to answer; on returning home, he complains that his teacher doesn't know enough chemistry.
18.7.2015:
Dr. Chitra Sarkar: Neuropathologist at AIIMS. Internationally renowned due to her prolific research publication work. Approximately one paper per month of her career. Attributes it to her not being able to travel often to international conferences, thereby incentivizing her to make her work known through journal papers. Two types of papers - lab research papers and case studies. Maintains a smiling face throughout the interview even when talking about serious diseases that make even Dr. GR look sober. Mentions studies done on brain lesions and the like, childhood brain diseases, neuroonco/genetic studies. Took to pathology on insistence of her family as they didn't want her to become a gynaecologist (which was her original goal) at AIIMS (because that would mean almost no personal time). Neuropathology was very nascent when she started in 1980s - her mentors advised her to focus on neuropathology as it offered scope for lot more new discoveries. Mentions that surgical advances, high-precision instruments and microscopes for surgery have made brain surgery lot more successful than it was a few decades back.
25.7.2015:
Prof. Dinesh Mohan: prof emeritus at IIT-Delhi - expert on traffic safety; pioneering work in airbag effectiveness.
Graduation in aerospace engg. at Univ of Delaware. Due to involvement in anti-war movement, decided to move away from aeronautical work. PhD in bioengineering <from Univ of Michigan?>.
Came back to India in 1979 after having spent around 13 yrs in US. Says he never had planned to settle in US.
Dr. Gauhar says Prof. Dinesh Mohan's was once viewed as controversial figure as he was the key person behind the policy in Delhi to make helmets mandatory for riders. His emphasis on use of helmets was against the old view by doctors that helmets add to stress on neck and didn't have major benefit.
Dr. GR mentions that Dr. DM was already a famous person at IIT when GR was just graduating from IIT.
Talks about BRT in Delhi and says the failure there was not due to oppn. by masses but by vested interests.
Feels quality of roads reflects the quality of democracy. BRT allots separate lanes for public transport.
Opines that corruption in the society cannot be an excuse for intellectuals not taking any efforts to bring changes. Even IIT may have not-so-good people, but if there'll definitelt be 10 good ppl and if there are 10 such institutions in a city, the 100 good ppl can get together to take some action. GR says "so 1 Dr. CNR Rao is not sufficient for India)".
Eureka moment: Done on small work. No eureka moment. But feels hapy that small things like his team identifying that firework injuries were more due to substandard fireworks rather than use of rockets, and the campaign on use of water as first-aid for firework injuries, helped save many people.
Message for youth? Sarcastically funny but true reply..
"Message for bureaucrats and politicians if any of them are watching". More IITs and IIMs is not a complete solution. Recruit scientists and researchers in public sector institutions like railways etc. Without jobs in public sector, the large number of researchers that will come with more IITs will not be able to contribute enough to the society unless they get to put their expertise to use in public sector.
Another message - Push hard. Learn from older generation. If reseachers in his generation and older ones like Prof. Yash Pal were able to achieve things at a time when India was poorer, the younger generation of academicians can do a lot more now in if they take effort.
C.N.R. Rao: Prolific Indian scientist with over 1600 published papers - works out to one paper per 2 weeks of his research career! Early research in molecular physics and structural chemistry? Started publishing papers right from his masters degree days or earlier. Says Michael Faraday is the greatest scientist in his opinion and would have been awarded multiple Nobel prizes had he been in the 20th century. Took interest in Linus Pauling's work on chemical bonds at a time when these concepts were not known in India. Inspired by C.V.Raman's enthusiasm. C.V.Raman, sometime in 1960s, got to notice some research work of C.N.R.Rao and wrote him a letter caling him to join his research academy. Talk unusually a lot about his papers appearing in several top journals and science magazines, his work being recognized abroad and receiving many awards. Attributes the large number of papers to the large number of PhD students he guides. Says scientists peak after their 50s/60s and feels the quality, complexity and importance of his research work has been steadily increasing and has grown exponentially since his 70s!! Dr. Gauhar says "so ability to work as a team in research is an important aspect for being a successful scientist", but Dr. Rao seems to suggest that more than team work, individual creativity is important (contrast with the views of some of the scientists interviewed earlier in this programme series!!!!). Mentions his work on some oxide material and its importance to the then new and highly exciting field superconductors being brought to his attention by some western scientist.
11.7.2015:
Dr. Anita Rani: Scientist at ICAR-DSR. Mentions Gregor Mendel as her role model since her school days as he used mathematical models and arrived at the concept of genes more than a century before DNA was discovered. Research work on soya beans - took 10-12 years to deelop a new genotype. Working to achieve 2 major goals - make soya bean more amenable for consumption by Indians (remove anti-nutritional and poor taste/odour factors that make non-fermented soya difficult for consumption) and imporve the oxidational stability of soya bean oil. Says though soya bean has high oil content, converting it to edible oil is a costly manufacturing process. Soya bean oil gets oxidised easily even at room temperature making it unsafe for cosumption without complex processing. Developing genotypes that are more resitant to oxidation will improve effective oil yield by over 20%. Says getting farmers to be more receptive to using these new genotypes is a difficult task but is crucial to getting the benefit of the research. Message: Enjoy being involved in experiment and research - the joy of research comes from involvement whether or not awards are given for the research. Background: Father had meagre education due to being forced to migrate after communal riots but could read and write, and after reading about Dr.Hargobind khorana in a newspaper, wanted his daughter to do research in biology or a related area. Was exteremely supportive and when Dr.Anitha's initial research work wasn't giving successful results, he would ask if she needed money for procuring anything for research work that would help her achieve success in that experiment. Husband too a researcher in agriculture science. Funny anecdote about him - when in 6th grade, teacher starts teaching about sulphuric & hydrochloric acid - he gets up and asks about omega-3 fatty acid and teacher is unable to answer; on returning home, he complains that his teacher doesn't know enough chemistry.
18.7.2015:
Dr. Chitra Sarkar: Neuropathologist at AIIMS. Internationally renowned due to her prolific research publication work. Approximately one paper per month of her career. Attributes it to her not being able to travel often to international conferences, thereby incentivizing her to make her work known through journal papers. Two types of papers - lab research papers and case studies. Maintains a smiling face throughout the interview even when talking about serious diseases that make even Dr. GR look sober. Mentions studies done on brain lesions and the like, childhood brain diseases, neuroonco/genetic studies. Took to pathology on insistence of her family as they didn't want her to become a gynaecologist (which was her original goal) at AIIMS (because that would mean almost no personal time). Neuropathology was very nascent when she started in 1980s - her mentors advised her to focus on neuropathology as it offered scope for lot more new discoveries. Mentions that surgical advances, high-precision instruments and microscopes for surgery have made brain surgery lot more successful than it was a few decades back.
25.7.2015:
Prof. Dinesh Mohan: prof emeritus at IIT-Delhi - expert on traffic safety; pioneering work in airbag effectiveness.
Graduation in aerospace engg. at Univ of Delaware. Due to involvement in anti-war movement, decided to move away from aeronautical work. PhD in bioengineering <from Univ of Michigan?>.
Came back to India in 1979 after having spent around 13 yrs in US. Says he never had planned to settle in US.
Dr. Gauhar says Prof. Dinesh Mohan's was once viewed as controversial figure as he was the key person behind the policy in Delhi to make helmets mandatory for riders. His emphasis on use of helmets was against the old view by doctors that helmets add to stress on neck and didn't have major benefit.
Dr. GR mentions that Dr. DM was already a famous person at IIT when GR was just graduating from IIT.
Talks about BRT in Delhi and says the failure there was not due to oppn. by masses but by vested interests.
Feels quality of roads reflects the quality of democracy. BRT allots separate lanes for public transport.
Opines that corruption in the society cannot be an excuse for intellectuals not taking any efforts to bring changes. Even IIT may have not-so-good people, but if there'll definitelt be 10 good ppl and if there are 10 such institutions in a city, the 100 good ppl can get together to take some action. GR says "so 1 Dr. CNR Rao is not sufficient for India)".
Eureka moment: Done on small work. No eureka moment. But feels hapy that small things like his team identifying that firework injuries were more due to substandard fireworks rather than use of rockets, and the campaign on use of water as first-aid for firework injuries, helped save many people.
Message for youth? Sarcastically funny but true reply..
"Message for bureaucrats and politicians if any of them are watching". More IITs and IIMs is not a complete solution. Recruit scientists and researchers in public sector institutions like railways etc. Without jobs in public sector, the large number of researchers that will come with more IITs will not be able to contribute enough to the society unless they get to put their expertise to use in public sector.
Another message - Push hard. Learn from older generation. If reseachers in his generation and older ones like Prof. Yash Pal were able to achieve things at a time when India was poorer, the younger generation of academicians can do a lot more now in if they take effort.
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