Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao
BR, (born 30 June 1934), is an Indian
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...
who has worked mainly in
solid-state
Solid state, or solid matter, is one of the four fundamental states of matter.
Solid state may also refer to:
Electronics
* Solid-state electronics, circuits built of solid materials
* Solid state ionics, study of ionic conductors and their use ...
and structural chemistry. He has honorary doctorates from 84 universities from around the world and has authored around 1,774 research publications and 54 books.
He is described as a scientist who had won all possible awards in his field except the Nobel Prize.
A precocious child, Rao completed BSc from
Mysore University
The University of Mysore is a public state university in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The university was founded during the reign of Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore. The university is recognised by the University Grants Commission ...
at age seventeen, and MSc from Banaras Hindu University at age nineteen. He earned a PhD from Purdue University at the age of twenty-four. He was the youngest lecturer when he joined the
Indian Institute of Science
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute was ...
in 1959.
After a transfer to
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) Hindi: भारतीय प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान कानपुर) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was ...
, he returned to IISc, eventually becoming its Director from 1984 to 1994. He was chair of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India from 1985 to 1989 and from 2005 to 2014. He founded and works in
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research
The Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) is a multidisciplinary research institute located at Jakkur, Bangalore, India. It was established by the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India, to ...
and International Centre for Materials Science.
Rao received most important scientific awards and honours including the
Marlow Medal,
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (SSB) is a science award in India given annually by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for notable and outstanding research, applied or fundamental, in biology, ...
,
Hughes Medal
The Hughes Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of London "in recognition of an original discovery in the physical sciences, particularly electricity and magnetism or their applications". Named after David E. Hughes, the medal is awarded with ...
,
India Science Award,
Dan David Prize
The Dan David Prize is a major international award that recognizes and supports outstanding contributions to the study of history and other disciplines that shed light on the human past. It awards nine prizes of $300,000 each year to outstanding ...
,
Royal Medal, Von Hippel Award, and
ENI award. He also received
Padma Shri
Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...
and
Padma Vibhushan
The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...
from the Government of India. On 16 November 2013, the Government of India selected him for
Bharat Ratna
The Bharat Ratna (; ''Jewel of India'') is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distinctio ...
, the highest civilian award in India, making him the third scientist after
C.V. Raman and
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam to receive the award.
He received the award on 4 February 2014 from President
Pranab Mukherjee
Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the India ...
at the
Rashtrapati Bhavan
The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...
.
Early life and education
C.N.R. Rao was born in a
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
Deshastha Madhva Brahmin
Deshastha Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and northern area of the state of Karnataka. Other than these states, according to authors K. S. Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha B ...
family in
Bangalore
Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
to Hanumantha Nagesa Rao and Nagamma Nagesa Rao. His father was an Inspector of Schools.
He was an only child, and his learned parents made an academic environment. He was well versed in
Hindu literature
Hindu texts are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. A few of these texts are shared across these traditions and they are broadly considered Hindu scriptures. These ...
from his mother and in English from his father at an early age. He did not attend elementary school but was home-tutored by his mother, who was particularly skilled in arithmetic and Hindu literature. He entered middle school in 1940, at age six.
Although he was the youngest in his class, he used to tutor his classmates in mathematics and English. He passed the lower secondary examination (class VII) in the first class in 1944. He was ten years old, and his father rewarded him with four
annas
Annas (also Ananus or Ananias;Goodman, Martin, "Rome & Jerusalem", Penguin Books, p.12 (2007) , ; grc-x-koine, Ἅννας, ; 23/22 BC – death date unknown, probably around AD 40) was appointed by the Roman legate Quirinius as the first High ...
(twenty-five paisa). He attended Acharya Patashala high school in
Basavanagudi, which made a lasting influence on his interest in chemistry. His father enrolled him to a
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
-medium course to encourage his mother tongue, but at home used English for all conversation. He completed secondary school leaving certificate in first class in 1947. He studied BSc at
Central College, Bangalore
Central College Bengaluru (1858) is one of the oldest colleges in India. This college was originally affiliated to University of Mysore in Mysore State. Rev. John Garrett was the first principal of the Central High School, which was afterwards r ...
. Here he developed his communication skills in English and also learnt
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
.
He obtained his bachelor's degree from
Mysore University
The University of Mysore is a public state university in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The university was founded during the reign of Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore. The university is recognised by the University Grants Commission ...
in 1951, in first class, and only at the age of seventeen. He initially thought of joining
Indian Institute of Science
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute was ...
(IISc) for a diploma or a postgraduate degree in
chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...
, but a teacher persuaded him to attend
Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...
.
He obtained a master's in chemistry from BHU two years later.
In 1953 he was granted a scholarship for PhD in
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) is a public institute of technology established by the Government of India in Kharagpur, West Bengal, India. Established in 1951, the institute is the first of the IITs to be established ...
. But four foreign universities,
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
,
Penn State,
Columbia and
Purdue also offered him financial support. He chose Purdue. His first research paper was published in the ''Agra University Journal of Research'' in 1954. He completed PhD in 1958, only after two years and nine months, at the age of twenty-four.
[
]
Career
After completion of his graduate studies, Rao returned to Bangalore in 1959 to take up a lecturing position, joining IISc and embarking on an independent research program. The facility at the time was so meagre that he described it, saying, "You would get string and sealing wax and that's about it." In 1963 he accepted a permanent position in the Department of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) Hindi: भारतीय प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान कानपुर) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was ...
. He was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences
The Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore was founded by Indian Physicist and Nobel Laureate C. V. Raman, and was registered as a society on 24 April 1934. Inaugurated on 31 July 1934, it began with 65 founding fellows. The first general meet ...
in 1964. He returned to IISc in 1976 to establish a solid state and structural chemistry unit. and became director of the IISc from 1984 to 1994. At various points in his career Rao has taken appointments as a visiting professor at Purdue University, the University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, the University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
and University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...
. He was the Jawaharlal Nehru Professor at the University of Cambridge and Professorial Fellow at the King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...
during 1983–1984.
Rao has been working as the National Research Professor holding the positions Linus Pauling Research Professor and Honorary President of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research
The Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) is a multidisciplinary research institute located at Jakkur, Bangalore, India. It was established by the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India, to ...
, Bangalore
Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
, which he founded in 1989. He had served as chair of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Indian Prime Minister for two terms, from 1985 to 1989 and from 2005 to 2014. He is also the director of the International Centre for Materials Science (ICMS), which he founded in 2010, and serves on the board of the Science Initiative Group.
Scientific contribution
Rao is one of the world's foremost solid state and materials
Material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties, or on their geolog ...
chemists. He has contributed to the development of the field over five decades. His work on transition metal oxides has led to basic understanding of novel phenomena and the relationship between materials properties and the structural chemistry of these materials.
Rao was one of the earliest to synthesise two-dimensional oxide materials such as La2CuO4. He was one of the first to synthesise 123 cuprates, the first liquid nitrogen-temperature superconductor in 1987. He was also the first to synthesis Y junction carbon nanotubes in the mid-1990s. His work has led to a systematic study of compositionally controlled metal-insulator transitions. Such studies have had a profound impact in application fields such as colossal magneto resistance and high temperature superconductivity. Oxide semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way. ...
s have unusual promise. He has made immense contributions to nanomaterials over the last two decades, besides his work on hybrid materials.
He shares co-authorship of more than 1750 research papers and has co-authored or edited more than 54 books.
Awards and recognition
Fellowships and memberships of academic societies
*Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences
The Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore was founded by Indian Physicist and Nobel Laureate C. V. Raman, and was registered as a society on 24 April 1934. Inaugurated on 31 July 1934, it began with 65 founding fellows. The first general meet ...
(FASc, 1965)
*Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy
The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi for Indian scientists in all branches of science and technology.
In August 2019, Dr. Chandrima Shaha was appointed as the president of Indian National Science Acade ...
(FNA, 1974)
*Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...
(FRS, 1982)
*Founding Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences
The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable deve ...
(FTWAS, 1983)
*Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Instit ...
(Hon. FRSC, 1989)
*Foreign Member of the Academia Europaea
Membership of the Academia Europaea (MAE) is an award conferred by the Academia Europaea to individuals that have demonstrated "sustained academic excellence". Membership is by invitation only by existing MAE only and judged during a peer review se ...
(MAE, 1997)
*Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Physics
The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application.
It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physic ...
(Hon.FInstP, 2007)
*Member of many of the world's scientific associations, including the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
, Royal Society of Canada, French Academy
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
, Japanese Academy, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...
and Polish Academy of Sciences
The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society o ...
, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Czech: ''Československá akademie věd'', Slovak: ''Česko-slovenská akadémia vied'') was established in 1953 to be the scientific center for Czechoslovakia. It was succeeded by the Czech Academy of Science ...
, Serbian Academy of Sciences
The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...
, Slovenian Academy of Sciences, Brazilian Academy of Sciences
The Brazilian Academy of Sciences ( pt, italic=yes, Academia Brasileira de Ciências or ''ABC'') is the national academy of Brazil. It is headquartered in the city of Rio de Janeiro and was founded on May 3, 1916.
Publications
It publishes a lar ...
, Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences
The Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences ( Spanish: ''Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales'') is an academic institution and learned society that was founded in Madrid in 1847. It is dedicated to the study and research of mathem ...
, National Academy of Sciences of Korea, African Academy of Sciences
The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) is a non-aligned, non-political, not-for-profit, pan-African learned society formed in 1985.
The AAS elects fellows ( FAAS) and affiliates. The AAS also awards the Obasanjo Prize for Scientific Discovery and ...
, and the American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
. He is also a member of the Pontifical Academy.
Honorary doctorates
From several universities, including Bordeaux, Caen, Colorado, Khartoum, Liverpool, Northwestern, Novosibirsk, Oxford, Purdue, Stellenbosch, Universite Joseph Fourier, Wales, Wroclaw, Notre Dame, Uppsala, Aligarh Muslim University, Anna, AP, Banaras, Bengal Engineering, Bangalore, Burdwan, Bundelkhand, Delhi, Hyderabad, IGNOU, IIT Bombay
The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay or IITB) is a public research university and technical institute in Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is considered as one of the best engineering universities in India and is top rank ...
, Kharagpur, Delhi, Patna, JNTU, Kalyani, Karnataka, Kolkata, Kuvempu, Lucknow, Mangalore, Manipur, Mysore, Osmania, Punjab, Roorkee, Sikkim Manipal, SRM, Tumkur, Sri Venkateswara, Vidyasagar, Amity University, Gurgaon, Visveswaraya Technological University
Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), previously spelled Visveswaraiah Technological University, is a collegiate university, collegiate Public university, public State university (India), state university in Belagavi district, Belagavi, ...
and The Assam Royal Global University, Guwahati 2022.
Major scientific awards
* 1967: Marlow Medal by the Faraday Society The Faraday Society was a British society for the study of physical chemistry, founded in 1903 and named in honour of Michael Faraday. In 1980, it merged with several similar organisations, including the Chemical Society, the Royal Institute of Che ...
of England
* 1968: Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (SSB) is a science award in India given annually by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for notable and outstanding research, applied or fundamental, in biology, ...
in Chemical Science
* 2000: Centenary Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, London
* 2000: Hughes Medal
The Hughes Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of London "in recognition of an original discovery in the physical sciences, particularly electricity and magnetism or their applications". Named after David E. Hughes, the medal is awarded with ...
by the Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
* 2004: India Science Award
* 2005: Dan David Prize
The Dan David Prize is a major international award that recognizes and supports outstanding contributions to the study of history and other disciplines that shed light on the human past. It awards nine prizes of $300,000 each year to outstanding ...
from Tel Aviv University shared with George Whitesides and Robert Langer
Robert Samuel Langer Jr. FREng (born August 29, 1948) is an American chemical engineer, scientist, entrepreneur, inventor and one of the twelve Institute Professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He was formerly the Germeshau ...
.
* 2008: Abdus Salam Medal by The World Academy of Sciences
The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable deve ...
(TWAS)
* 2009: Royal Medal by the Royal Society
* 2010: August-Wilhelm-von-Hofmann Medal by the German Chemical Society
The German Chemical Society (German: ', GDCh) is a learned society and professional association founded in 1949 to represent the interests of German chemists in local, national and international contexts. GDCh "brings together people working in che ...
* 2017: The Von Hippel Award by the Materials Research Society
* 2021: International ENI award 2020 for research in renewable energy sources and energy storage, also called the Energy Frontier award
Scientific awards
* 1961: DSc from Mysore University.
* 1973: Yedanapalli Medal and Prize
* 1975: C. V. Raman Award in Physical Science by the University Grants Commission of India
University Grants Commission (UGC) is a statutory body set up by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education,
Government of India in accordance to the UGC Act 1956 and is charged with coordination, determination and maintenanc ...
[
* 1980: S. N. Bose Medal by the ]Indian National Science Academy
The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi for Indian scientists in all branches of science and technology.
In August 2019, Dr. Chandrima Shaha was appointed as the president of Indian National Science Acade ...
* 1981: Royal Society of Chemistry
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Instit ...
(London) Medal
* 1981: Founding member of the World Cultural Council
The World Cultural Council is an international organization whose goals are to promote cultural values, goodwill and philanthropy among individuals. The organization founded in 1981 and based in Mexico, has held a yearly award ceremony since 198 ...
* 1989: Hevrovsky Gold Medal of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Czech: ''Československá akademie věd'', Slovak: ''Česko-slovenská akadémia vied'') was established in 1953 to be the scientific center for Czechoslovakia. It was succeeded by the Czech Academy of Science ...
[
* 1990: Meghnath Saha Medal of the Indian National Science Academy
* 1996: Einstein Gold Medal of ]UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
* 2004: Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
from University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, ...
.
* 2004: Somiya Award of the International Union of Materials Research.
* 2008: Nikkei Asia Prize for Science, Technology and Innovation, by Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc., Japan.
* 2008: Khwarizmi International Award 2008 for Innovation along with Ajayan Vinu
* 2011: Ernesto Illy Trieste Science Prize for materials research
* 2013: 2012 Award for International Scientific Cooperation from the Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...
* 2013: Elected honorary foreign member of Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...
* 2013: Distinguished Academician Award from IIT Patna
Indian Institute of Technology Patna (abbreviated IIT Patna or IITP) is a Public university, public technical university located at Bihta near Patna, Bihar. It is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India. I ...
* 2018: Platinum Medal from Indian Association of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
* 2019: The first Sheikh Saud International Prize for Materials Research from the Center for Advanced Materials of the United Arab Emirates
* Foreign fellow of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences
Bangladesh Academy of Sciences is an academic forum for Bangladeshi scientists and technologists. Established in 1973, it aims to fulfill the role of promoting research and development of sciences in Bangladesh.
History
After the partition of ...
[
]
Indian governmental honours
* Padma Shri
Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...
in 1974
* Padma Vibhushan
The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...
in 1985
* Karnataka Ratna
The Karnataka Ratna is the highest civilian honour of the State of Karnataka, India. It is awarded in recognition of a person's extraordinary contribution in any field. It was instituted in the year 1992 by Chief Minister S Bangarappa by the Go ...
by the Karnataka State Government in 2000
* Bharat Ratna
The Bharat Ratna (; ''Jewel of India'') is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distinctio ...
in 2014[
]
Foreign honours
* Great Cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit from the President of Brazil in 2002
* Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
(Knight of the Legion of Honour, France) in 2005
* Order of Friendship
The Order of Friendship (russian: Орден Дружбы, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds ...
by the President of Russia in 2009
* Order of the Rising Sun (Gold and Silver Star) of Japan in 2015
Legacy
* Rao with his wife established the CNR Rao Education Foundation using the Dan David Prize money. The foundation is based in Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research and offers Best Science Teacher Award to pre-university and high school science teachers.
*Rao established the International Centre for Materials Science (ICMS) which offers the C N R Rao Prize Lecture in Advanced Materials since 2010.
*The World Academy of Sciences
The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable deve ...
instituted the TWAS-C.N.R. Rao Award for Scientific Research since 2006 for scientists in the least developed countries.
*The Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy
The Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy, also known as SASTRA, is a private and deemed university in the town of Thirumalaisamudram, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India. SASTRA is ranked by global ranking agencies such a ...
has created the SASTRA-CNR Rao Award for Chemistry and Material Science in 2014.
Personal life
Rao is married to Indumati Rao in 1960. They have two children, Sanjay and Suchitra. Sanjay works as a science populariser in schools around Bangalore. Suchitra is married to Krishna N. Ganesh
Dr. Krishnarajanagar Nagappa Ganesh is an Indian Bio-Organic chemist and served as the (founding) director of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Tirupati (IISER Tirupati) since 2017 till 2023. He is also the founding Director of I ...
, the Director of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) at Pune, Maharashtra. Rao is technophobic and he never checks his email by himself. He also said that he uses the mobile phone only to talk to his wife.
Controversies
In 1987, Rao and his team published a series of four papers, of which three were in the ''Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences'' (''Chemical Science''), ''Pramana
''Pramana'' (Sanskrit: प्रमाण, ) literally means "proof" and "means of knowledge".[Current Science
''Current Science'' is an English-language peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. It was established in 1932 and is published by the Current Science Association along with the Indian Academy of Sciences. According to the ''Journal C ...]
'', all published by the Indian Academy of Sciences. A report was submitted to the Society for Scientific Values that the three papers had no mention of the dates of receipt, which were normally explicitly mentioned in those journals. Upon inquiry, it was found that the paper manuscripts were actually received after the date of publication, indicating that they were backdated. The society declared the case as "Use of Wrong Means to Claim Priority."
Rao has been subject of allegations on plagiarism. Rao and Saluru Baba Krupanidhi at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, with their students Basant Chitara and L. S. Panchakarla, published a paper "Infrared photodetectors based on reduced graphene oxide and graphene nanoribbons" in the journal ''Advanced Materials
''Advanced Materials'' is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering materials science. It includes communications, reviews, and feature articles on topics in chemistry, physics, nanotechnology, ceramics, metallurgy, and biomaterial ...
'' in 2011. After publication the journal editors found sentences copied verbatim in the introduction and methodology from a paper published in ''Applied Physics Letters
''Applied Physics Letters'' is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published by the American Institute of Physics. Its focus is rapid publication and dissemination of new experimental and theoretical papers regarding applications ...
'' in 2010. According to ''Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
'' report, it was Basant Chitara, a PhD student at IISc, who wrote the text. An apology was issued by the authors later in the same journal. Rao said that he did read the manuscript and that it was an oversight on his part as he focused mainly on the results and discussion.
Scientists such as Rahul Siddharthan (Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai
The Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc) (sometimes also referred to as ''Matscience'') is a research centre located in Chennai, India.R. Jagannathan, ''The Institute of Mathematical Sciences'', Resonance (January 1999) vol. 4, no. 1, pp. ...
), Y.B. Srinivas ( Institute of Wood Science and Technology), and D.P. Sengupta (former professor at IISC), agreed that the plagiarised portion has no bearing on the findings, yet Siddharthan opined that the reactions made by Rao and Krupanidhi were overboard. Rao and Krupanidhi publicly blamed Chitara, and denied the publication as not plagiarism. Rao had commented, "This should not be really considered as plagiarism, but an instance of copying of a few sentences in the text." He even extended the blame to Krupanidhi asserting that he had no role in it as it was written by Krupanidhi without his knowledge. His claims were not justified by the fact that he was the senior scientist and corresponding author in that publication.
More allegations of instances of plagiarism in articles co-authored Rao have been reported. Written with S. Venkataprasad Bhat and Krupanidhi, Rao's paper in 2010 about the effect of nanoparticles on solar cells in ''Applied Physics Express
''Applied Physics Express'' or ''APEX'' is a scientific journal publishing letters, with usually no more than three pages per (concise) article. The main purpose is to rapidly publish original, timely, and novel research papers in applied physics. ...
'' contains texts that are very similar to those of a paper by Matheu ''et al.'' from ''Applied Physics Letters'' in 2008, which it did not even cite. Rao had stated, referring to the 2011 incident, that " fI have ever stolen an idea or a result (in) my entire life, (then) hang me." But Rao's article contains similar study to and duplicated figures with that of Matheu ''et al.'' An article in the ''Journal of Luminescence
The ''Journal of Luminescence'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Elsevier. The editor-in-chief is Xueyuan Chen. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 2021 impact factor of 4.171, ranking it 26t ...
'' in 2011, written with Chitara, Nidhi Lal and Krupanidhi, contains 20 unattributed lines which appear to be copied from articles by Itskos ''et al.'' in '' Nanotechnology'' (June 2009 issue) and Heliotis ''et al.'' in ''Advanced Materials'' (January 2006 issue)''.'' Another article in ''Nanotechnology'', written also with Chitara and Krupanidhi, uses six lines from the 1995 article by Huang ''et al''. in ''Applied Physics Letters.''
Rao was given a Bharat Ratna by the Government of India in spite of the controversy and was active as a Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR). In December 2013, brother and sister Tanaya Thakur, a law student, and Aditya Thakur, a class XII student, filed a public interest litigation The chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India is public interest litigation (PIL) or social action litigation (SAL). ''Public interest litigation'' (PIL) refers to litigation undertaken to secure public interest and de ...
in Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench, to challenge Rao's Bharat Ratna. They asserted that "a scientist with proven cases of plagiarism shall not be presented the highest civilian award." But the court ruled them out as "filing pleas for publicity." There was another plea to revoke the award in 2015, but the Central Information Commission
The Central Information Commission is a statutory body, set up under the Right to Information Act in 2005 under the Government of India to act upon complaints from those individuals who have not been able to submit information requests to a Cent ...
dismissed the petition.
On 17 November 2013, at a press conference following the announcement of his Bharat Ratna, he called the Indian politicians "idiots" which caused a national outrage. He said, "Why the hell have these idiots oliticiansgiven so little to us despite what we have done? For the money that the government has given us we cientistshave done much more." In his defence Rao insisted that he merely talked about the "idiotic" way the politicians ignore investments for research funding in science.
References
Further reading
* C.N.R. Rao (2010). '' Climbing the Limitless Ladder: A Life in Chemistry'. World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., Singapore.
External links
Academic profile at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
Prof. CNR Rao @ JNCASR
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research
C.N.R. Rao Hall of Science
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, C. N. R.
1934 births
Living people
Recipients of the Karnataka Ratna
Banaras Hindu University alumni
Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences
Members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Foreign Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences
Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Fellows of the Royal Society
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Fellows of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences
Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy
Founding members of the World Cultural Council
Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
Foreign members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Scientists from Bangalore
Indian institute directors
Kannada people
Purdue University alumni
Indian Institute of Science faculty
University of Mysore alumni
Recipients of the Great Cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit (Brazil)
Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur
Recipients of the Bharat Ratna
Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in science & engineering
Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering
IIT Kanpur faculty
20th-century Indian chemists
Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science
Winners of the Nikkei Asia Prize
Members of the American Philosophical Society
Solid state chemists
Fellows of the African Academy of Sciences
Associate Fellows of the African Academy of Sciences