Badanaval Venkatasubba Sreekantan (30 June 1925- 27 October 2019) was an Indian high-energy astrophysicist and a former associate of
Homi J. Bhabha
Homi Jehangir Bhabha, (30 October 1909 – 24 January 1966) was an Indian nuclear physicist, founding director, and professor of physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). Colloquially known as "Father of Indian nuclear pro ...
at the
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). He was also a Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Visiting Professor at the
National Institute of Advanced Studies,
Bangalore.
Known for his studies in the fields of cosmic rays, elementary particles, and high-energy X-ray astronomics, Sreekantan was an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies namely, the
Indian Academy of Sciences, the
Indian National Science Academy and the
National Academy of Sciences, India as well as the
Maharashtra Academy of Sciences
Maharashtra Academy of Sciences is a learned society whose head offices are located in Pune, Maharashtra, India. MAS is an exemplary organisation located near Kashele in the Karjat Tribal Block about 100 km east of Bombay.
The society was e ...
. He was also an associate of
Bruno Rossi
Bruno Benedetto Rossi (; ; 13 April 1905 – 21 November 1993) was an Italian experimental physicist. He made major contributions to particle physics and the study of cosmic rays. A 1927 graduate of the University of Bologna, he became in ...
at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Government of India awarded him the
Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, in 1988.
Biography
Sreekantan hailed from a family of temple priests; he was born to Laxmi Devi and Badanaval Venkata Pandit on 30 June 1925, in the small hamlet of
Nanjangud, located in the erstwhile Mysore state (present day
Karnataka).
He was the fifth of eight sons and three daughters born to the Pandit couple, whose Telugu speaking ancestors had migrated from
Andhra Pradesh to Karnataka. B. V. Pandit, an
Ayurvedic
Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...
physician by profession and the formulator of ''Nanjagud Ayurvedic Dental Powder'', was scholastically inclined and maintained a home library that helped Sreekantan develop a reading habit from an early age. Sreekantan attended the local high school in Nanjangud and completed his intermediate degree course at Mysore. He secured his graduate degree in physics, with
honours, in 1946 and completed his master's degree the following year, specializing in
Wireless communication, from
Mysore University.
He continued his studies as a research scholar at the
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, but moved to Mumbai in 1948 to the
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)
when
Homi J. Bhabha
Homi Jehangir Bhabha, (30 October 1909 – 24 January 1966) was an Indian nuclear physicist, founding director, and professor of physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). Colloquially known as "Father of Indian nuclear pro ...
invited him for advanced research in cosmic ray physics.
His research at TIFR earned him a PhD from the
University of Mumbai in 1954.
Sreekantan resided in
Malleswaram, a suburb of the south Indian city of
Bengaluru
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
.
He married Ratna, a classical musician, in 1953; she died in 2006.
Sreekantan died 27 October 2019 at his home in Bangalore.
Career and legacy
Sreekantan stayed at TIFR for 39 years, and before his retirement from TIFR service in 1987, he served as the director of the institute from 1975.
At TIFR, he initiated many research streams in cosmic ray physics and
astrophysics
Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...
and the research team he established for studies in high energy cosmic rays is still active. One of his early assignments at TIFR was the study of cosmic-ray-produced
muons detected deep underground and Sreekantan conducted
experiments at
Kolar Gold Mines
Kolar Gold Fields (K.G.F.) is a mining region in K.G.F. taluk (township), Kolar district, Karnataka, India. It is headquartered in Robertsonpet, where employees of Bharat Gold Mines Limited (BGML) and BEML Limited (formerly Bharat Earth Move ...
in Karnataka, for the detection of the elementary particles at 2760 m deep. Though his experiments failed to find cosmic ray produced muons, he continued his search, which resulted in the detection of cosmic ray produced
neutrinos, reportedly the first detection of the subatomic particles at such depth.
His experiments served as the base of his doctoral thesis on the intensity and angular distribution of muons at different depths, prepared under the guidance of
Homi Bhabha.
A noted Italian experimental physicist,
Bruno Rossi
Bruno Benedetto Rossi (; ; 13 April 1905 – 21 November 1993) was an Italian experimental physicist. He made major contributions to particle physics and the study of cosmic rays. A 1927 graduate of the University of Bologna, he became in ...
of
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, examined the thesis and
Mumbai University
The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai.
The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...
awarded him PhD in 1954.
Sreekantan's first stint at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1954 was when he worked with
Rossi on
cloud chambers and
K-mesons.
During that trip, he visited several laboratories in the UK and France to familiarize himself with the advances in high energy physics.
He also visited
Brookhaven National Laboratory and conducted experiments on K-meson decay which resulted in the publication of three scientific papers, jointly written with Herbert S. Bridge and others. Once back at TIFR, he started a new series of balloon-borne experiments for studying cosmic X-ray sources above 20 keV which helped in the future development of X-ray detectors for X-ray astronomy missions. Three X-ray instruments developed by his group were carried on the
Astrosat, the first Indian multiwavelength astronomy observatory, which was launched in October 2015.
Sreekantan was known to have furthered the studies of
Homi Bhabha and
Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi on the lifespan and decay spectrum of muons. He set up his laboratory using war-surplus goods from
World War II procured by TIFR as well as from other sources and with the assistance of H. L. N. Murthy, an expert in glass work, who helped him in the development of
Geiger counter
A Geiger counter (also known as a Geiger–Müller counter) is an electronic instrument used for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation. It is widely used in applications such as radiation dosimetry, radiological protection, experimental ph ...
s, he measured the lifespan of the positive muons as 2.24±0.15 microseconds. His findings were published in the Indian journal, ''Proceedings of Indian Academy of Sciences'' in 1951.
When a joint team of
Durham University, UK,
Osaka City University, and TIFR started experiments for studying neutrinos at a depth of 2.3 km, Sreekantan was a part of the team which recorded 18 events of neutrino interactions in
rock.
He was also a member of the team that worked on the
Grand Unification Theory, to detect the decay of protons in subterranean environment, in the 1970s, the other members of the team included
M. G. K. Menon. He assisted Homi Bhabha in the installation of two cloud chambers, ''Rani'' and ''Maharani'' at the cosmic ray laboratory in Ooty in 1954. Later, a larger cloud chamber, the largest one in India till then, and an
air shower array were also set up there, with his assistance.
He also designed, together with Subramanian and Ramamurthy, a
total absorption spectrometer and an
air Cherenkov counter, and the experiments revealed to Sreekantan and his associate, S. C. Tonwar, that increase in energy was an influential factor in the increase of nucleon-anti nucleon production cross section. Their findings have been published in Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC) journal in 1979.
Along with R. H. Vatcha, he measured ''charged to neutral (C/N) ratio for high energy hadrons in showers of 1014–1016 eV energy range'' and arrived at the conclusion that ''copious production of
baryons in high energy interactions is inevitable''.
These experiments confirmed baryon production in hadron-air nucleus collisions at 1015 eV.
As the director of the TIFR, he was instrumental in the establishment of several research centres such as
Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education Mumbai,
National Centre for Biological Sciences
National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore, Karnataka, is a research centre specialising in biological research. It is a part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) under the Department of Atomic Energy of the Go ...
Bengaluru,
National Centre for Radio Astrophysics Pune and TIFR Centre for Applicable Mathematics, Bengaluru.
His contributions are also reported in the expansion of the TIFR Balloon Facility at Hyderabad. It was during his tenure that the ''Pelletron Accelerator'', a joint project of the TIFR and the
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre was approved.
He inspired
Govind Swarup to prepare the proposal for the establishment of the
Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) at
Khodad
Khodad is a town in the Pune district of Maharashtra state, India. Khodad Village is situated in Junner taluka of Pune district of Maharashtra state, India. It is famous for Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), the largest telescope at metre w ...
, Pune.
It was under his directorship, TIFR staff was included in the BARC contributory health service scheme. He also initiated a staff pension scheme, the proposal for company quarters for TIFR employees, subsidised housing loans and welfare schemes for lower grade staff.
After his retirement from TIFR, Sreekantan was offered the
INSA Srinivasa Ramanujan
Srinivasa Ramanujan (; born Srinivasa Ramanujan Aiyangar, ; 22 December 188726 April 1920) was an Indian mathematician. Though he had almost no formal training in pure mathematics, he made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis ...
chair which he held till 1992,
when he moved to the
National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) in Bengaluru, accepting the Radhakrishnan Visiting Professor chair.
At NIAS, he was involved in the studies related to the application of physics and mathematical tools in processing biological systems, along with R. L. Kapur, a notable psychiatrist, and continued with the studies after the death of Kapur in 2006.
Sreekantan was associated with several notable scientific personalities such as
Homi Bhabha,
M. G. K. Menon,
Raja Ramanna, S. Naranan, R. L. Kapur,
Ramanath Cowsik
Ramanath Cowsik is an Indian astrophysicist and the James S. McDonnell Professor of Space Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. He is considered by many as the father of astroparticle physics. A recipient of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnaga ...
, V. S. Narasimham, S. V. Damle and G. S. Gokhale.
He delivered many keynote addresses at national and international conferences,
mentored many scientists in their doctoral research and was the author of over 300 scientific papers.
He was also credited with the publication of five books, either as the author or editor.
His studies have been documented by way of one book, ''Extensive Air Showers''
and a number of articles.
He wrote a monograph on ''Cosmic Rays : Current Status and Future Directions'' for Homi Bhabha Fellowships Council (unknown if finished before his death).
He also wrote three books namely, ''Remembering Einstein: Lectures on Physics and Astrophysics'',
'' Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Consciousness and the Self''
and ''Nature’s Longest Threads: New Frontiers in Mathematics and Physics of Information in Biology''
as well as several articles on general science topics for the propagation of science.
Positions
The
Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), established in 1786 by
William Petrie
William Petrie (1747 – 27 October 1816) was a British officer of the East India Company in Chennai (formerly Madras) during the 1780s, and was Governor of Prince of Wales Island (Penang Island) from 1812 to 1816. An amateur astronomer, Petrie he ...
,
was modernised in 1960 by
Vainu Bappu
Manali Kallat Vainu Bappu (10 August 1927 – 19 August 1982) was an Indian astronomer and president of the International Astronomical Union. Bappu helped to establish several astronomical institutions in India, including the Vainu Bappu Ob ...
, the renowned Indian astronomer, and Sreekantan became associated with the institute during this time.
The institute, functioning under the
Ministry of Civil Aviation, was brought under the jurisdiction of the
Department of Science and Technology Department of Science and Technology may refer to:
*Department of Science and Technology (Australia), an Australian Government department between November 1980 and December 1984
* Department of Science and Technology (India)
* Department of Science ...
in 1985 with the efforts of
Raja Ramanna and Sreekantan, when it was made an autonomous institution.
He was a member of the governing council of the institute from 1988 till 2007, a total of 19 years, of which 15 years from 1992, he served as the chairman of the council.
It was during his tenancy as the chairman, the institute set up the
Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT) at Hanle,
Ladakh at an altitude of 14000 ft.
He is also credited with assisting
Ramanath Cowsik
Ramanath Cowsik is an Indian astrophysicist and the James S. McDonnell Professor of Space Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. He is considered by many as the father of astroparticle physics. A recipient of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnaga ...
with the establishment of a new campus for IIA at
Hoskote in Karnataka and in the construction of housing for the staff of the institute.
Sreekantan served as the visiting professor at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology for two terms, the first from 1954 to 1955 and subsequently from 1965 to 1967. He was associated with the
University of Tokyo as their JSPS visiting professor in 1977 and taught at the
University of California, Irvine and the
University of California, San Diego during 1993–94.
He served as the president of the Indian Physics Association (1976–78) and the physics section of the Indian Science Congress (1981). He held the post of the vice chairman of the IUPAP Cosmic Ray Commission from 1987 to 1993, sat as a member of the
Atomic Energy Commission during 1985–86 and held the chair of the Research Council of
National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi.
During 1986–88, he served as the vice president of the
Indian Academy of Sciences.
He was an editorial fellow of the
Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture and chaired the ''Gandhi Centre for Science and Human Values'' of
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on 7 November 1938 by Dr K.M Munshi, with the support of Mahatma Gandhi. The trust programmes through its 119 centres in India, 7 centres abroad and 367 constituent instit ...
.
He also serves as the chairman of the board of directors of ''Sadvaidyasala'', an
Ayurvedic medicine company
founded by his father.
Much of his later scientific work involved the study of the phenomenon of
consciousness and its relationship with the physical sciences.
Awards and honours
Sreekantan was an elected fellow of four major science academies in India; the
Indian Academy of Sciences (1965),
the
Indian National Science Academy (1976),
the
National Academy of Sciences, India (1989)
and the
Maharashtra Academy of Sciences
Maharashtra Academy of Sciences is a learned society whose head offices are located in Pune, Maharashtra, India. MAS is an exemplary organisation located near Kashele in the Karjat Tribal Block about 100 km east of Bombay.
The society was e ...
.
He is an honorary fellow of the
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and the
Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru.
The
University Grants Commission of India awarded him the
C. V. Raman Award in 1977 and selected him as the
UGC National Lecturer in 1978, the same year as he delivered the PMS Blackett Memorial Award Lecture of INSA–
Royal Society of London.
One more award reached him in 1978, the Homi Bhabha Medal from the
Indian National Science Academy.
Four years later, the Indian Physics Association awarded Sreekantan the
R. D. Birla Memorial Award.
He received four awards from various governments, starting with the third highest civilian honour of
Padma Bhushan from the
Government of India in 1988.
[Alt URL]
/ref> The Indian Institute of Science Distinguished Alumni Award and the Ramanujan Award of the Indian Science Congress were awarded to him in 1987 and 1989 respectively and the Government of Madhya Pradesh awarded him the Jawaharlal Nehru Award in 1991. He was awarded the Rajyotsava Prashasti by the Government of Karnataka in 1998 and six years later, the government followed it up with the Sir M. Visvesvaraya Senior Scientist State Award in 2004.
Selected bibliography
Scientific publications
Books
*
Articles
*
*
*
General publications
Books
*
*
*
*
Articles
*
*
*
*
See also
* Observational astrophysics
* Radio astronomy
* Neutrino astronomy
* Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (; ) (19 October 1910 – 21 August 1995) was an Indian-American theoretical physicist who spent his professional life in the United States. He shared the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics with William A. Fowler for "... ...
Notes
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sreekantan, B. V.
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering
1925 births
2019 deaths
Scientists from Karnataka
People from Mysore district
Indian astrophysicists
Indian technology writers
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research alumni
Academic staff of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
University of Mysore alumni
Indian Institute of Science alumni
University of Mumbai alumni
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty
Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences
Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy
Fellows of The National Academy of Sciences, India
Academic staff of the University of Tokyo
University of California, Irvine faculty
University of California, San Diego faculty
20th-century Indian physicists
Indian scientific authors
Indian social sciences writers
Indian popular science writers
Writers from Karnataka
20th-century Indian non-fiction writers