"Pioneers of Contemporary Indian and World Science: Contributions and Legacy", R&D in India

   

Research and Development (R&D) in India, showcasing advancements in science, technology, and innovation.

The scientists of the century re responsible for the growth of scientific thought in contemporary India. Scientists include theorists who create theories and models to explain current facts and forecast future outcomes, as well as experimentalists who conduct tests to test ideas. Many scientists engage in both of these activities, indicating a continuum between them. Scientists from India have a long history of producing highly regarded work worldwide. Numerous Indian scientists changed the globe and established standards for innovation, making history. A large portion of the ongoing scientific study is based on the ideas of Indian intellectuals. We honor some of the most illustrious living figures in Indian science who have made significant contributions to the development of Indian science in the present day.

 It is not necessary to introduce Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao to statisticians, mathematicians, scientists, or engineers because he is an indigenous figure. For his groundbreaking contributions to statistical theory and applications, Rao was honored by all statistics societies. Over the past fifty years, he has been one of the world's leading figures in statistical research. His work has been incorporated into standard references for statistical study and practice, and his research, scholarship, and professional service have had a significant impact on statistics theory and applications.Rao has a position in statistics history because of his contributions to statistical theory. The American Statistical Association's Samuel Wilks Medal (1989), the National Medal of Science (2003), the India Science Award (2009), the Guy Medal in Gold of the Royal Statistical Society (2011), the Mahalanobis Birth Centenary Gold Medal (1996), the Bhatnagar Award (1963), and the International Mahalanobis Prize (2003) were all given to him in recognition of his groundbreaking work. In addition, the Government of India's Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation established a national prize in recognition of the nation's most famous statistician, C. R. Rao.

Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao: A multifaceted living legend, Professor CNR Rao was a passionate and committed scientist. He is the only surviving Indian scientist to have received the highest civilian honor in the nation, the Bharat Ratna. It was given to him in recognition of his decades-long leadership, outstanding accomplishments, and dedication to high-quality science. Rao is without a doubt one of the world's most well-known chemists. In the academic field, a living legend is usually someone who motivates students and colleagues with his work, attitudes, and insights.He is all of that and more. In addition, he is a brilliant institution builder, a visionary and vigilant guardian of science in India and abroad, an unmatched leader and innovator in Indian science during the past few decades, and a joyful science communicator to thousands of young people. Transition metal oxides and other extended inorganic solids (new synthesis and novel structures, metal-insulator transitions, CMR materials, superconductivity, multiferroics, etc.), inorganic-organic hybrid materials, nanomaterials like graphene and nanotubes, and artificial photosynthesis and hydrogen generation through photocatalysis and thermal methods are some of his main research topics. In addition, he has received other fellowships, medals, scholarships, and prizes.

Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan: Dr. Kasturirangan is interested in studying optical astronomy and high energy X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy. Another significant accomplishment under his direction was the definition of India's most ambitious space-based High Energy Astronomy observatory and the start of associated initiatives. His contributions to the study of cosmic gamma and x-ray sources, as well as the impact of cosmic x-rays on the lower atmosphere, are many and noteworthy. As Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Space and as Chairman of ISRO and the Space Commission, he was in charge of overseeing the Indian space program for more than nine years.Previously, he served as the Director of the ISRO Satellite Center, where he oversaw the creation of research satellites, the Indian National Satellite (INSAT-2), the Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS-1A and 1B), and other innovative spacecraft. Additionally, he served as the Project Director for Bhaskara-I and II, India's first two experimental earth observation satellites.

M. S. Swaminathan: He is renowned for his contribution to the Green Revolution in India, a program that planted high-yield rice and wheat cultivars. The "Father of Green Revolution in India" is Swaminathan, who introduced and advanced high-yielding wheat cultivars in India. He created a potato hybrid with the frost-resistance gene from a tetraploid wild relative, S. acaule, while he was a young research scholar at Wisconsin University (USA). Later, a frost-resistant potato variety known as "Alaska Frostless" was created using this hybrid potato material. MS decided to go back to his home country, where he was unemployed at the time, despite being given an alluring research-cum-teaching position in Wisconsin.His stated goal is to eradicate poverty and hunger worldwide. Using environmentally friendly agriculture, sustainable food security, and biodiversity preservation—what he refers to as a "evergreen revolution"—Swaminathan is a proponent of bringing India closer to sustainable development. He served as the Indian Council of Agricultural Research's director general from 1972 until 1979. From 1979 to 1980, he served as the Ministry of Agriculture's Principal Secretary. He was the International Rice Research Institute's director general from 1982 to 1988. In 1988, he was elected president of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.Due to his contributions, he received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award and numerous national and international honors, including the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award, the International Geographical Union's Planet and Humanity Medal, and Outstanding Technology Leadership, which was named one of Scientific American's 50 world leaders.

Ramakrishnan Venkatraman: Ramakrishnan is renowned across the world for figuring out the atomic structure of the 30S ribosomal subunit. He previously solved the X-ray structures of individual components and their RNA complexes and used neutron diffraction to map the organization of proteins in the 30S subunit. His crystallographic investigations of the whole 30S subunit provided fundamental insights. Twenty related proteins and more than 1500 RNA bases were incorporated in the atomic model. The probable mechanisms of action of numerous therapeutically significant antibiotics were ascertained by identifying the RNA interactions that reflect the P-site tRNA and the mRNA binding site.It was "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome" that he and Thomas A. Steitz and Ada Yonath shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He was chosen to serve a five-year term as the Royal Society's president. In 2010, he was granted the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honor, along with numerous other notable and important accolades for his study.

Kalkunte, Vasudev Aatre: Dr. Aatre led the Institute for Smart Structures and Systems (ISSS) in India as its founding president. Initiating India's first National Program on Smart Materials (NPSM) was made possible in large part by him. Following its successful conclusion, he recently launched a new, significant National Program on Micro and Smart Systems (NPMASS), of which he serves as Chairman. At the Naval Physical & Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Cochin, Aatre began working for DRDO. In 1984, he was promoted to Director. He then became the DRDO's Chief Controller (R&D). As the Director General of DRDO and SA to RM, he succeeded Abdul Kalam in February 2000. He was the scientific advisor to George Fernandes, the defense minister at the time.Then-President K. R. Narayanan presented Dr. Aatre with the Padma Bhushan award in 2000. In 2016, he received India's second-highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan award.

In 1917, Kamal Samarth was born in Pune. Her father made sure all of his children, including his daughters, had a good education while working as a biology professor at Ferguson College in Pune. Kamal was the most intelligent of his children. She attended Huzurpaga: the H.H.C.P. High School for Girls, a girls' high school, and Ferguson College to study botany. She also started working on the cytogenetics of annoneacae for her Master's degree at the Agri-culture College in Pune. After marrying J.T. Ranadive, Kamal Ranadive relocated to Bombay near Tata Memorial Hospital, where she met V.R. Khanolkar, a distinguished pathologist and visionary who established the Indian Cancer Research Centre.Under his direction, Kamal completed the University of Bombay Ph.D. program. Returning to India, Kamal Ranadive set up the first tissue culture lab at the Indian Cancer Research Center following a post-doctoral stay in the lab of George Gey, who created the HeLa cell line at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. Tissue culture media and other reagents had to be made in a lab at the beginning of the 1960s.She was adamant that scientists who pursued postdoctoral studies overseas ought to come back to Indiana and establish new research fields in their own labs. Being a strong nationalist, she encouraged this enthusiasm in her colleagues to the point where the majority of them went back to work in India, establishing the Cancer Research Institute as a world-renowned cancer research center. In reality, in addition to tissue culture, her exceptional ability to foster the growth of particular scientific talents led to the creation of three new divisions: carcinogenesis, cell biology, and immunology. Her research on using animal models to better understand the pathophysiology of cancer was crucial. She was one of the first to identify the link between hormone-tumor virus interaction and cancer susceptibility. Her group's study of the so-called Indian Cancer Research Institute (ICRC) mouse proved to be a great model for research on oesophageal cancer, breast cancer, and leukemia. She also kept researching leprosy microorganisms, which ultimately resulted in the development of a vaccine against the disease.Dr. Ranadive assembled a group of biologists and biochemists to meet these demands.In order to promote science to the general public, especially women and children, she established the Indian Women Scientist Association (IWSA). Even now, IWSA, a working women's hostel with a community center in addition to its office, hosts a number of events. Following her retirement, Dr. Ranadive worked in Rajur, Maharashtra, on the health and nutrition of tribal mothers and children. This project was a great success since it trained women health workers to be the primary healthcare providers and educated tribal members about nutrition and medical care.Those of us fortunate enough to have known Dr. Ranadive well remember her hospitality and kindness. The topics of science, novel concepts, accomplishments, and what should be pursued in light of the needs of the nation would constantly come up in conversations. My spouse was her doctorate student and eventually a colleague, but I didn't work for her. It was during her 1969 visit to Philadelphia that I realized her complete earnestness and dedication to science. Prior to the visit, she requested that we bring Indian post-docs so she could speak casually with them. Of course, the goal was to see if any of them would go back to India.