Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar

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

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century. He did commendable work in astrophysics, physics and applied mathematics. Chandrasekhar was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983.

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

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

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

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

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

Satyendra Nath Bose 

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

Satyendra Nath Bose was an outstanding Indian physicist. He is known for his work in Quantum Physics. He is famous for "Bose-Einstein Theory" and a kind of particle in atom has been named after his name as Boson.

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

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

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

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

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

M. Visvesvaraya

                                                                                  

 

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

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

Sir M. Visvesvaraya was born on September 15, 1860 in Muddenahalli village in the Kolar district of the erstwhile princely state of Mysore (present day Karnataka). His father Srinivasa Sastry was a Sanskrit scholar and Ayurvedic practitioner. His mother Venkachamma was a religious lady. He lost his father when he was only 15 years old.

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

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

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

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

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

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