Yelavarthy Nayudamma (10 September 1922 – 23 June 1985) was a chemical engineer and a

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosoph ...

killed on

Air India Flight 182 Air India Flight 182 was an Air India flight operating on the Montreal–London–Delhi–Bombay route. On 23 June 1985, it was operated using Boeing 747-237B registered ''VT-EFO''. It disintegrated in mid-air en route from Montreal to Lond ...

(Emperor Kanishka bombing).Public hearing Volume 11

Archive
. ''Commission of Inquiry into the investigation of the Bombing of ap Flight 182 '' (Commission d'enquête relative aux measures d'investigation prises à s contre le vol 182 d'Air India). Friday 13 October 2006. p. 1034 (PDF 39-59).

Early life and education

Nayudamma was born on 10 September 1922 into an agricultural family at Yelavarru village near Tenali in Guntur district of present day

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

state in India. He was the eldest of three brothers and a sister. His parents Raghavamma and Anjaih named him Nayudammma (‘amma’ is a short name used by parents while referring to sons as well as daughters, while ‘Nayudu’ in Telugu means a leader). Nayudamma who was over 6 feet tall lived up to his name. He had his primary education in the village and studied Intermediate in AC College. Later, he did B.SC (Chemical Technology) at the famous

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 ...

and a course in leather technology at Madras Institute of Leather Technology. He contributed to the initial development of the

Central Leather Research Institute Central Leather Research Institute or CLRI is the world's largest leather research institute in terms of research papers and patents. The institute located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu was founded on 24 April 1948 as a constituent laboratory under the ...

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, India. He was responsible for building the international image of the institute and for establishing close ties with the Indian leather industry. Nayudamma went to UK for further education and he went on to pursue doctoral degree in Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, USA.

Positions and honors

Nayudamma served as the Director General of CSIR,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

and also as the 4th

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

of the prestigious

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...

from 12 June 1981 to 27 October 1982. He also served on many prestigious national and international committees. He was awarded many national and international awards and honours, including

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 1971. Yelevarthy was conferred with the prestigious Raja-Lakshmi Award in the year 1983 from

Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation The Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation is an Indian charitable trust that promotes arts, sciences, literature, medicine, journalism, humanities and other intellectual pursuits and to honour distinguished persons in these fields. Established in 1979 in C ...

, Chennai.

Death

Dr. Nayudamma left India on June 10, 1985, to attend COSTED meeting in USSR and then the International Development Research Centre Governors meeting on June 21 in Ottawa, Canada. On June 23 he boarded

on a plane titled 'Emperor Kanishka', which was carrying 329 passengers. He died in the subsequent mid-air bombing over the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, South of Ireland. The terrorist attack was orchestrated by the Sikh extremist group,

Babar Khalsa Babbar Khalsa International (BKI, pa, ਬੱਬਰ ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ, ), better known as Babbar Khalsa, is an organisation whose main objective is to create an independent Sikh country, Khalistan. It operates in Canada, Germany and the United ...

. He was married to Y. Pavana. His had two sons, Rathiesh and Ramesh, and one daughter Shanti. After Yelevarthy's death, his wife committed suicide.

Dr. Y. Nayudamma Memorial Award

Recipients of this prestigious award include

T. Ramasami Thirumalachari Ramasami is a former Indian Science and Technology Secretary. He assumed charge in May 2006. Prior to this assignment, he served as the Director of the Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai, India. He is a distinguished r ...

, A. Sivathanu Pillai,

Nori Dattatreyudu Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori is a noted Indian radiation oncologist. He was once named one of the top doctors in America for the treatment of cancers in women by the women's magazine ''Ladies' Home Journal''. Early life Dattatreyudu Nori was born in a ...

Sam Pitroda Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda also known as Sam Pitrod) is an Indian inventor, telecommunication engineer and entrepreneur. He was born in Titlagarh in the eastern Indian state of Odisha to a Gujarati people, Gujarati family. He is popularly ...

G. Madhavan Nair G. Madhavan Nair (born 31 October 1943) is an Indian space scientist and a former Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, and Secretary to the Department of Space, Government of India. He has also been the Chairman of the Space ...

Kota Harinarayana Kota Harinarayana (born 1943 in Brahmapur, Odisha) is an aviation engineer. He was born in Brahmapur on the border of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh into a Telugu speaking family. He was appointed as chairman of the board of governors of IIT (BHU), ...

, V. K. Aatre,

R. Chidambaram Rajagopala Chidambaram (born 11 November 1936) is an Indian Physicist who is known for his integral role in India's nuclear weapons program; he coordinated test preparation for the Pokhran-I (1975) and Pokhran-II (1998). Previously served ...

R.A. Mashelkar Raghunath Anant Mashelkar Fellowship of the Royal Society, FRS Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, FREng Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, FRSC, also known as Ramesh Mashelkar, (born 1 January 1943) is an Indian Chemical Engineer ...

Jasbir Singh Bajaj Jasbir Singh Bajaj was an Indian physician and diabetologist. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian award, for his outstanding contribution to the medical sciences and research, and his efforts to improve the health ...

, K. Kasturirangan,

Verghese Kurien Verghese Kurien (26 November 1921 - 9 September 2012), known as the "Father of the White Revolution" in India, was a social entrepreneur whose "billion-litre idea", Operation Flood, made dairy farming India's largest self-sustaining industry a ...

S.Z. Qasim Sayed Zahoor Qasim (31 December 1926 – 20 October 2015) was an Indian marine biologist. Qasim helped lead India's exploration to Antarctica and guided the other seven expeditions from 1981 to 1988. He was a Member of the Planning Commission of ...

M. G. K. Menon Mambillikalathil Govind Kumar Menon (28 August 1928 – 22 November 2016) also known as M. G. K. Menon, was a physicist and policy maker from India. He had a prominent role in the development of science and technology in India over four ...

Vijay Kumar Saraswat Vijay Kumar Saraswat is an Indian scientist who formerly served as the Director General of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Indian Minister of Defence. He retired on 31 May 2003 and ...

, and M.S. Swaminathan among others.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yelavarthy, Nayudamma Telugu people 1922 births 1985 deaths Recipients of the Padma Shri in trade and industry Banaras Hindu University alumni People from Guntur district Academic staff of Jawaharlal Nehru University Air India Flight 182 Scientists from Andhra Pradesh Indian chemical engineers Mass murder victims Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Ireland Indian people murdered abroad People murdered in Ireland Indian leather industry 20th-century Indian chemists Terrorism victims in India Victims of Sikh terrorism Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1985