E. S. Raja Gopal
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Erode Subramanian Raja Gopal (12 May 1936 – 15 November 2018) was an Indian condensed matter physicist, a former professor at 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 wa ...
and a former director of the
National Physical Laboratory of India The CSIR- National Physical Laboratory of India, situated in New Delhi, is the measurement standards laboratory of India. It maintains standards of SI units in India and calibrates the national standards of weights and measures. History of me ...
. Known for his research in
condensed matter physics Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases which arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms. More generally, the sub ...
, Raja Gopal was an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies – 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 Academ ...
, the
National Academy of Sciences, India The National Academy of Sciences, India, established in 1930, is the oldest science academy in India. It is located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Prof. Meghnad Saha was the founder president. Fellows *Suddhasatwa Basu * Sudha Bhattacharya * Ch ...
, and 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 ...
– as well as a member 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 Physica ...
. He was a former CSIR emeritus scientist, an alumnus of 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 ...
and the author of three reference texts in
condensed matter physics Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases which arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms. More generally, the sub ...
. The
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (IAST: ''vaigyanik tathā audyogik anusandhāna pariṣada''), abbreviated as CSIR, was established by the Government of India in September 1942 as an autonomous body that has emerged as the l ...
, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the
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 science, applied or Fundamenta ...
, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to Physical Sciences in 1978.


Biography

Born on 12 May 1936 at
Salem, Tamil Nadu Salem (), is a major city in Salem district, located on the banks of Thirumanimutharu river in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Salem is the List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, sixth largest urban agglomeration and metropolitan city in ...
, E. S. Raja Gopal did his pre-graduate studies at
St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli (SJC) is a Catholic college in Tamil Nadu, India. It was established in 1844 by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and it is regarded as one of the most prestigious institutions in India. It was affiliated wi ...
and after earning a BSc (hons) from the
University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigiou ...
, he continued at the university to complete an MA in physics in 1956 and a second master's degree by research (MSc) in 1958. Subsequently, he moved to the neighboring state of
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
to pursue his doctoral studies at 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 wa ...
and secured a PhD in 1961 under the guidance of distinguished experimental physicist R. S. Krishnan. He then undertook post-doctoral studies at the
Clarendon Laboratory The Clarendon Laboratory, located on Parks Road within the Science Area in Oxford, England (not to be confused with the Clarendon Building, also in Oxford), is part of the Department of Physics at Oxford University. It houses the atomic and ...
of the Department of Physics,
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
under
Kurt Mendelssohn Kurt Alfred Georg Mendelssohn FRS (7 January 1906, Berlin-Schoeneberg – 18 September 1980) was a German-born British medical physicist, elected a Fellow of the Royal Society 1951. Family life He was the only child of Ernst Moritz Mendelsso ...
. Upon his return to India in 1964, he joined Indian Institute of Science (IISc) as a CSIR pool officer at the department of physics, to commence an association which would last over 35 years. He held several positions at IISc during this period, where he became an assistant professor in 1965, a full professor in 1969 and the dean of the faculty of science in 1976. He chaired the department of physics during 1977–80 and Regional Sophisticated Instrumentation Centre (present-day NMR Research Centre) from 1983 to 1989. In 1991, Raja Gopal was appointed the director of
National Physical Laboratory of India The CSIR- National Physical Laboratory of India, situated in New Delhi, is the measurement standards laboratory of India. It maintains standards of SI units in India and calibrates the national standards of weights and measures. History of me ...
(NPL) but he continued his association with IISc as the MSIL chair professor from 1991 to 1994. He headed NPL till his retirement from official service in 1997 after which he remained with the laboratory as a CSIR emeritus scientist for a while before returning to Bengaluru to rejoin IISc holding the CSIR position and became an emeritus professor of the department of physics, a position he held until his death. At IISc, he held the position of a senior scientist of the Indian National Science Academy from 2001 to 2006 and was an honorary scientist of INSA since then. Raja Gopal, who was a resident of
Malleswaram Malleshwara (also referred as Malleshwaram) is a northwest neighborhood and one of the zones of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike in Bengaluru, India. It was planned in 1889 after the great plague of 1898, developed as a suburb in 1892 and h ...
in Bengaluru, died on 15 November 2018.


Legacy

Raja Gopal has worked on various aspects of condensed matter physics especially critical point phenomena which assisted in understanding the Law of the Rectilinear Diameter and its breakdown. He studied
electrical resistivity Electrical resistivity (also called specific electrical resistance or volume resistivity) is a fundamental property of a material that measures how strongly it resists electric current. A low resistivity indicates a material that readily allows ...
in relation to non-equilibrium critical point phenomena and elucidated its unusual behavior. His studies of the ''liquid systems and disordered materials'' with regard to their
phase transitions In chemistry, thermodynamics, and other related fields, a phase transition (or phase change) is the physical process of transition between one state of a medium and another. Commonly the term is used to refer to changes among the basic states of ...
returned precision measurements which helped in observing ''particle-hole asymmetry in the liquid-gas critical phenomena in binary liquid mixtures'' for the first time.
Percolation threshold The percolation threshold is a mathematical concept in percolation theory that describes the formation of long-range connectivity in Randomness, random systems. Below the threshold a giant connected component (graph theory), connected component ...
in covalently bonded
chalcogenide glass Chalcogenide glass (pronounced hard ''ch'' as in ''chemistry'') is a glass containing one or more chalcogens (sulfur, selenium and tellurium, but excluding oxygen). Such glasses are covalently bonded materials and may be classified as covalent netw ...
es through precise measurements was another of his notable findings. He has published his research findings by way of over 250 articles of which 167 have been listed in the article repository 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 ...
. He has also written three books: ''High Temperature Superconductors'', ''Specific Heats at Low Temperatures'', and ''Statistical Mechanics and Properties of Matter: Theory and Applications'' and has supervised the studies of over 60 master's and doctoral scholars. Raja Gopal, the editor-in-chief of the ''Journal of the Instrument Society of India'', has also served as the chief editor of two science journals; ''
Pramana ''Pramana'' (Sanskrit: प्रमाण, ) literally means " proof" and "means of knowledge".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 ...
(1984–89) and the ''Journal of the Acoustical Society of India'' (1982–87) and was a member of the editorial advisory boards of the ''Indian Journal of Cryogenics'' and the ''
Indian Journal of Physics The ''Indian Journal of Physics'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Springer Science+Business Media on behalf of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science. It was established in 1926 by C. V. Raman and covers a ...
''. He served as the principal investigator of ''Design & development of a high pressure high temperature system and application'', a project of the
Defence Research and Development Organization The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, ...
(DRDO) and has been a member of the committee of conveners of the IISc project to prepare an archives of the activities of the institute through 100 years. He was a member of Asia Pacific Academy of Materials (APAM), an honorary member of the Indian Cryogenics Council, a life member of the Indian Physics Association as well as Acoustical Society of India and a former council member of the
International Bureau of Weights and Measures The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (french: Bureau international des poids et mesures, BIPM) is an intergovernmental organisation, through which its 59 member-states act together on measurement standards in four areas: chemistry, ...
(1993–2003). He served as the president of the Indian Cryogenics Council (1986–88), Acoustical Society of India (1991–92), Indian Society for Mass Spectrometry (1992–95), Ultrasonics Society of India (1993–98), Instrument Society of India (1993–97) and Metrology Society of India (1994–98) and as the vice president of the Indian Physics Association (1985–87) as well as the Acoustical Society of India (1989–90). He has been involved with the organization of science workshops such as ''Emerging Trends in Physical and Mathematical Sciences'' in connection with the IISc centenary conference of 2008 as well as ''National Workshop of preserving our scientific heritage'' organized by the
Indian Institute of Astrophysics The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), with its headquarters in Bengaluru,is an autonomous Research Institute wholly financed by the department of Science and Technology, Government of India. IIA conducts research primarily in the areas of ...
in January 2008. The international conferences he has been associated with as an advisory board member included ''CSIR-CEERI International Conference on Advanced Electronic Systems (ICAES-2013)'', ''International Conference on Sustainable Energy Technologies (ICSET 20414)'' organized by a consortium which comprised
University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...
,
University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
,
Research Council of Norway The Research Council (also the Research Council of Norway; no, Norges forskningsråd) is a Norwegian government agency that funds research and innovation projects. On behalf of the Government, the Research Council invests NOK 11,9 billion (2021) ...
,
Western Norway University of Applied Sciences Western Norway University of Applied Sciences () or HVL is a Norwegian public institution of higher education, established in January 2017 through the merging of formerly independent colleges across five campuses: Bergen, Førde, Haugesund, Sog ...
and The Michelsen Center, ''Biennial international conference on cryogenic engineering (ICEC 26 – ICMC 2016)'', ''9th International Conference on Advances in Metrology – 2016'' and ''International Educators Meet 2016'' of Anna University. He has also delivered a number of keynote addresses or invited speeches and the oration on ''Global Warming: A Scientist Looks at the Reality and the Myths'' at the
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram (abbreviated as IISER Thiruvananthapuram or IISER-TVM) is an autonomous public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, India. The institute is one of the seven IISERs esta ...
on 1 April 2017 features among them.


Awards and honors

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research awarded Raja Gopal the
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 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 science, applied or Fundamenta ...
, one of the highest Indian science awards in 1978. When the Acoustical Society of India (ASI) instituted an annual award for articles published in its official journal in 1980, an article co-written by Raja Gopal, ''Ultrasonic study of chromatin and DNA solution at High Pressure up to 3 kbar'', earned the inaugural Sir C.V. Raman Award; ASI would honor him again with the 1993–94 Dr. S Bhagavantam Award for ''contributions in the field of Acoustics''. In between, he received the Inventions Promotions Award of the
National Research Development Corporation The National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) was a non-departmental government body established by the British Government to transfer technology from the public sector to the private sector. History The NRDC was established by Attlee's La ...
(NRDC) in 1984. He received the Homi Jehangir Bhabha Medal 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 Academ ...
in 1993 and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Biotech Research Society of India in 2004. He was also a recipient of the 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award of the Instrument Society of India and his alma mater, Indian Institute of Science, honored him with Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2008. Raja Gopal, a National Lecturer of the
University Grants Commission of India University Grants Commission (UGC) is a statutory body set up by the Department of Higher Education (India), Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development (India), Ministry of Education, Government of India in accordan ...
during 1974–75, has been awarded honoris causa doctorates by two Indian institutions, by the
Burdwan University The University of Burdwan (also known as Burdwan University or B. U.) is a public university in Purba Bardhaman, West Bengal, India. It was established by the West Bengal Government as a teaching and affiliating university on 15 June 1960 wit ...
in 1999 and by the
Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur (IIEST Shibpur), erstwhile Bengal Engineering College (also known as B.E. College), formerly Bengal Engineering and Science University (also known as BESU), is a public research u ...
in 2017. All the three major Indian science academies elected him as a fellow, starting with Indian Academy of Sciences in 1974 followed by Indian National Science Academy and National Academy of Sciences, India in 1981 and 1992 respectively. He was also an elected 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 Physica ...
, Indian Cryogenics Council, Metrology Society of India, Ultrasonics Society of India and the Instrument Society of India. The award orations delivered by him include the Lord Rippon Memorial lecture of the
Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in basic sciences under the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, situated at the heart of ...
in 1987, P. A. Pandya Lecture of the Indian Physics Association in 1990, Golden Jubilee lecture of the
Indian Science Congress Association Indian Science Congress Association(ISCA) is a premier scientific organisation of India with headquarters at Kolkata, West Bengal. The association started in the year 1914 in Kolkata and it meets annually in the first week of January. It has a ...
in 1992, B. N. Singh Memorial lecture of the
University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...
in 1992, Prof. S. Bhagavantham Memorial lecture of Andhra Pradesh Akademi of Sciences in 1994 and the Golden Jubilee Memorial lecture of the Indian Institute of Science on ''Metrology: New Vistas'' in 1998.


Selected bibliography


Books

* * *


Articles

* * * * * * *


See also

* Germanium telluride *
MISFET The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET, MOS-FET, or MOS FET) is a type of field-effect transistor (FET), most commonly fabricated by the controlled oxidation of silicon. It has an insulated gate, the voltage of which d ...
*
Relative permittivity The relative permittivity (in older texts, dielectric constant) is the permittivity of a material expressed as a ratio with the electric permittivity of a vacuum. A dielectric is an insulating material, and the dielectric constant of an insulat ...
*
Electrical resistivity and conductivity Electrical resistivity (also called specific electrical resistance or volume resistivity) is a fundamental property of a material that measures how strongly it resists electric current. A low resistivity indicates a material that readily allows ...


Notes


References


External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raja Gopal, Erode Subramanian 1936 births 2018 deaths Scientists from Tamil Nadu Tamil scientists St Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli alumni University of Madras alumni Indian Institute of Science alumni Indian Institute of Science faculty Alumni of the University of Oxford Indian technology writers Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy Fellows of The National Academy of Sciences, India Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Medical Science Fellows of the Institute of Physics Indian condensed matter physicists 20th-century Indian physicists