Manapurathu Verghese George (3 October 1928 - 9 December 2019) was an Indian photochemist and an Emeritus professor of the

National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology The National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST, formerly ''Regional Research Laboratory, Trivandrum'') is a constituent laboratory of CSIR, India, engaged in research and development activities in the field of agropr ...

(NIIST). He was known for establishing the Photochemistry Research Unit at NIIST and his studies on the mechanism of organic reactions. He is a recipient of the 1992 TWAS Award and an elected 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 ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

, 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 or fundamental, in biology, ...

, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1973, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Biography

M. V. George, born on 3 October 1928 in the south Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, graduated in chemistry from Madras University in 1948 and moved to

Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, formerly Agra University, is an Autonomous University located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. The university is named after Bhimrao Ambedkar, Indian scholar, social reformer, and the architect of the Indian Consti ...

(then known as Agra University) from where he secured his master's degree in 1951. He did his doctoral studies at St. John's College, Agra of Agra University under the guidance of P. I. Ittyerah, a former principal of the college, and after securing PhD in 1954, he did his post-doctoral studies at various colleges in the US, UK, Germany and Canada. He returned to India in 1963 and started his career as a member of faculty 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 stayed at the institution for quarter of a century until 1988 during which period he headed the Department of Chemistry from 1966 to 1969, succeeding C. N. R. Rao. Returning to his home state of Kerala in 1988, he joined the Regional Research Laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (present-day

) as an emeritus professor and served the institution until his superannuation from service. In between, he had various stints at

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

as a visiting professor during 1978–2001.

Legacy

The main focus of George's researches were centered on the mechanical implications of the thermal and photochemical organic reactions. His studies covered different areas of organometallic chemistry and he worked on

electron transfer Electron transfer (ET) occurs when an electron relocates from an atom or molecule to another such chemical entity. ET is a mechanistic description of certain kinds of redox reactions involving transfer of electrons. Electrochemical processes ar ...

processes, organic reactions and functional group transformations. Thus he studied the organic reactions and functional group transformations, heterohexa-1, 3, 5-triene systems with regard to its electrocyclic reactions and the synthetic utility and phototransformations of dibenzobarrelenes. He also studied the picosecond laser

flash photolysis Flash photolysis is a pump-probe laboratory technique, in which a sample is first excited by a strong pulse of light from a pulsed laser of nanosecond, picosecond, or femtosecond pulse width or by another short-pulse light source such as a fla ...

techniques and the transient intermediates involved in photoreactions. He was noted for the original approach in his studies of hetero-aromatic systems. George published his researches through over 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals and guided a number of doctoral and post-doctoral scholars in their researches. He has contributed chapters to ''Handbook of Chemistry and Physics'', edited by C. N. R. Rao and his works have been cited by various authors in their publications. He pioneered photochemistry research at National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology and established the Photochemistry Research Unit at the institution. He was a collaborator of C. N. R. Rao in popularizing science education at academic levels and is associated, as the executive director, with the ''Foundation for Capacity Building in Science (FCBS)'' initiative which promotes science education among Indian students through seminars and workshops. He also served as a member of the council of the Indian National Science Academy from 1989 to 1991.

Awards and honors

The Indian Academy of Sciences elected George as a fellow in 1973 before he became an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy in 1975. The

awarded him 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 or fundamental, in biology, ...

, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1973. He received the C. V. Raman Award in 1985 and the Professor T. R. Seshadri 70th Birthday Commemoration Medal of the Indian National Science Academy in 1990.

awarded him the

TWAS Prize This is a list of recipients of the TWAS Prize, awarded annually by The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). Summary Agricultural Sciences Biology Chemistry Earth Sciences Engineering Sciences Mathematics Medical Sc ...

in 1992 and two years later, elected him as their fellow. He is also a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the

Chemical Research Society of India Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) is an India based scientific society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, professio ...

and a life member of the society.

Selected bibliography

Books

Articles

* * * * * * * *

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:George, Manapurathu Verghese Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Chemical Science 1928 births 2019 deaths Scientists from Kerala Malayali people Indian organic chemists Photochemists Indian scientific authors Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University alumni University of Madras alumni University of Toronto alumni Iowa State University alumni Academics of Imperial College London Ohio State University alumni Academic staff of IIT Kanpur University of Notre Dame faculty Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy TWAS fellows TWAS laureates 20th-century Indian chemists