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B. V. Sreekantan

January 01, 1970

Badanaval Venkatasubba Sreekantan (30 June 1925- 27 October 2019) was an Indian high-energy astrophysicist and a former associate of Homi J. Bhabha 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.

B. V. Sreekantan
Born(1925-06-30)June 30, 1925
Nanjangud, Karnataka, India
DiedOctober 27, 2019(2019-10-27) (aged 94)
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
NationalityIndian
Alma mater
Known forStudies on proton decay
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions

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. He was also an associate of Bruno Rossi at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, in 1988.

Biography edit

 
University of Mysore.

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).[1] 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 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.[2] 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)[3] when Homi J. Bhabha invited him for advanced research in cosmic ray physics.[4] His research at TIFR earned him a PhD from the University of Mumbai in 1954.[5]

Sreekantan resided in Malleswaram, a suburb of the south Indian city of Bengaluru.[6] He married Ratna, a classical musician, in 1953; she died in 2006.[1][2]

Sreekantan died 27 October 2019 at his home in Bangalore.[7]

Career and legacy edit

 
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai

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.[8][9] At TIFR, he initiated many research streams in cosmic ray physics and astrophysics 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 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.[2] 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.[10] A noted Italian experimental physicist, Bruno Rossi of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, examined the thesis and Mumbai University awarded him PhD in 1954.[1]

Sreekantan's first stint at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1954 was when he worked with Rossi on cloud chambers and K-mesons.[2] During that trip, he visited several laboratories in the UK and France to familiarize himself with the advances in high energy physics.[1] 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.[11]

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 counters, 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.[1]

 
Cosmic ray air shower created by a 1TeV proton hitting the atmosphere 20 km above the Earth (simulation)

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.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] 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[note 1] and arrived at the conclusion that copious production of baryons in high energy interactions is inevitable[note 2].[15] These experiments confirmed baryon production in hadron-air nucleus collisions at 1015 eV.[2]

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 Bengaluru, National Centre for Radio Astrophysics Pune and TIFR Centre for Applicable Mathematics, Bengaluru.[1] 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.[1] He inspired Govind Swarup to prepare the proposal for the establishment of the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) at Khodad, Pune.[1] 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.[1]

After his retirement from TIFR, Sreekantan was offered the INSA Srinivasa Ramanujan chair which he held till 1992,[5] when he moved to the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) in Bengaluru, accepting the Radhakrishnan Visiting Professor chair.[9] 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.[16]

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, V. S. Narasimham, S. V. Damle and G. S. Gokhale.[1] He delivered many keynote addresses at national and international conferences,[17] mentored many scientists in their doctoral research and was the author of over 300 scientific papers.[2][18] He was also credited with the publication of five books, either as the author or editor.[1][19][20][21][22]

His studies have been documented by way of one book, Extensive Air Showers[23] and a number of articles.[24][25][note 3] He wrote a monograph on Cosmic Rays : Current Status and Future Directions for Homi Bhabha Fellowships Council (unknown if finished before his death).[9] He also wrote three books namely, Remembering Einstein: Lectures on Physics and Astrophysics,[26] Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Consciousness and the Self[27] and Nature’s Longest Threads: New Frontiers in Mathematics and Physics of Information in Biology[28] as well as several articles on general science topics for the propagation of science.[note 4]

Positions edit

The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), established in 1786 by William Petrie,[29] was modernised in 1960 by Vainu Bappu, the renowned Indian astronomer, and Sreekantan became associated with the institute during this time.[30] The institute, functioning under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, was brought under the jurisdiction of the Department of Science and Technology in 1985 with the efforts of Raja Ramanna and Sreekantan, when it was made an autonomous institution.[1] 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.[1] 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.[31] He is also credited with assisting Ramanath Cowsik 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.[1]

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.[citation needed] 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.[9] 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.[1] During 1986–88, he served as the vice president of the Indian Academy of Sciences.[32] 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.[4] He also serves as the chairman of the board of directors of Sadvaidyasala, an Ayurvedic medicine company[33] founded by his father.[34] Much of his later scientific work involved the study of the phenomenon of consciousness and its relationship with the physical sciences.[35][36]

Awards and honours edit

Sreekantan was an elected fellow of four major science academies in India; the Indian Academy of Sciences (1965),[37] the Indian National Science Academy (1976),[38] the National Academy of Sciences, India (1989)[39] and the Maharashtra Academy of Sciences.[2] He is an honorary fellow of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru.[40] 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.[4] One more award reached him in 1978, the Homi Bhabha Medal from the Indian National Science Academy.[5]

Four years later, the Indian Physics Association awarded Sreekantan the R. D. Birla Memorial Award.[4] He received four awards from various governments, starting with the third highest civilian honour of Padma Bhushan from the Government of India in 1988.[41] The Indian Institute of Science Distinguished Alumni Award[9] 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.[1] He was awarded the Rajyotsava Prashasti by the Government of Karnataka in 1998[42] and six years later, the government followed it up with the Sir M. Visvesvaraya Senior Scientist State Award in 2004.[1]

Selected bibliography edit

Scientific publications edit

Books edit

  • S., Rao, M. V.; Sreekantan, B. V. (1998). Extensive air showers. Singapore: World Scientific. ISBN 9789810228880. OCLC 40516567.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Articles edit

  • Vatcha, R. H.; Sreekantan, B. V. (1973). "Evidence for change in the characteristics of strong interactions at ultra-high energies". Journal of Physics A: Mathematical, Nuclear and General. 6 (7): 1067. Bibcode:1973JPhA....6.1067V. doi:10.1088/0305-4470/6/7/027. ISSN 0301-0015.
  • Vatcha, R. H.; Sreekantan, B. V. (1973). "Trends in the energy dependence of strong interaction characteristics at ultra-high energies". Journal of Physics A: Mathematical, Nuclear and General. 6 (12): 1990. Bibcode:1973JPhA....6.1990V. doi:10.1088/0305-4470/6/12/524. ISSN 0301-0015.
  • Sreekantan, B. V.; Cowsik, R. (1986). "Cosmic pathways : contemporary perspectives in physics and astrophysics". Tata McGraw-Hill Pub. Co. OCLC 610404778.[43]

General publications edit

Books edit

  • Sreekantan, B.V. (2009). Science, technology, and society. Shimla: Indian Institute of Advanced Study. ISBN 978-8179860748. OCLC 373562272.
  • Sreekantan, B. V. (2010). Remembering Einstein : lectures on physics and astrophysics. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198064497. OCLC 501394980.
  • Sreekantan, B. V.; Menon, Sangeetha; Sinha, Anindya (2014). Interdisciplinary perspectives on consciousness and the self. New Delhi. ISBN 9788132215875. OCLC 866635850.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Balakrihnan, Janaki; Sreekantan, B. V. (2014). Nature's longest threads : new frontiers in the mathematics and physics of information in biology. Nature's Longest Threads: New Frontiers in the Mathematics and Physics of Information in Biology. Edited by Balakrishnan Janaki & Sreekantan B V. Published by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. Bibcode:2014nltn.book.....B. doi:10.1142/9204. ISBN 9789814612463. OCLC 886539946.

Articles edit

  • Sreekantan, B. V. (1 July 1998). "Homi Bhabha and cosmic ray research in India". Resonance. 3 (7): 18–27. doi:10.1007/bf02837309. ISSN 0971-8044. S2CID 120940624.
  • Sreekantan, B. V. (2009). Science, technology, and society. Shimla: Indian Institute of Advanced Study. ISBN 978-8179860748. OCLC 373562272.
  • "Prof DD Kosambi- some reminiscences". Resonance. June 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  • Sreekantan, B. V. (Badanaval Venkata) (2007). Dr. Raja Ramanna, his life and work. Bangalore: Bhavan's Gandhi Centre of Science and Human Values. ISBN 9788189220174. OCLC 295034766.

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Directly quoted from source
  2. ^ Directly quoted from source
  3. ^ Please see Selected bibliography – Scientific publications section
  4. ^ Please see Selected bibliography - General publications section

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q P. C. Agarwal (May 2015). "A versatile and humane scientist" (PDF). Current Science. 108 (9): 1731.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Profile of a Scientist". 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Indian Astronomical Union profile". Indian Astronomical Union. 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d (PDF). National Institute of Advanced Studies. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  5. ^ a b c "Indian Fellow". Indian National Science Academy. 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  6. ^ . National Academy of Sciences, India. 2015. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  7. ^ "B V Sreekantan 1925–2019". 10 January 2020.
  8. ^ . National Institute of Advanced Studies. 2015. Archived from the original on 4 February 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Prof. B.V. Sreekantan". Cortona India. 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  10. ^ "Homi Bhabha's Legacy". Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. 15 January 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  11. ^ "ISRO to launch Astrosat in 2015". The Hindu. 24 February 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  12. ^ P. C. Agarwal (May 2015). "A versatile and humane scientist 2" (PDF). Current Science. 108 (9): 1733.
  13. ^ Markandeya, Virat (14 April 2017). "Counting muons amid the 'shola' forests". Mint. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  14. ^ Peter K. F. Grieder (2010). Extensive Air Showers: High Energy Phenomena and Astrophysical Aspects. Springer Science and Business Media. p. 1118. ISBN 9783540769415.
  15. ^ R H Vatcha & B V Sreekantan (1973). "Evidence for change in the characteristics of strong interactions at ultra-high energies". J. Phys. A: Math. Nucl. Gen. 6 (7): 1067. Bibcode:1973JPhA....6.1067V. doi:10.1088/0305-4470/6/7/027.
  16. ^ . NIAS. 2015. Archived from the original on 5 January 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  17. ^ "Is Vacuum Biology the future of Life Sciences?". YouTube. 1 March 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  18. ^ B. V. Sreekantan, ed. (May 2010). Remembering Einstein: Lectures on Physics and Astrophysics. Oxford University Press. p. 224. ISBN 978-0198064497.
  19. ^ Sangeetha Menon; Anindya Sinha; B. V. Sreekantan (2013). Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Consciousness and the Self. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 345. ISBN 9788132215875.
  20. ^ Janaki Balakrishnan (Author, Editor), B V Sreekantan (Author, Editor) (September 2014). Nature's Longest Threads : New Frontiers in the Mathematics and Physics of Information in Biology. Nature's Longest Threads: New Frontiers in the Mathematics and Physics of Information in Biology. Edited by Balakrishnan Janaki & Sreekantan B V. Published by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. p. 208. Bibcode:2014nltn.book.....B. doi:10.1142/9204. ISBN 978-9814612463. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ B.V. Sreekantan (2009). Science Technology and Society. Indian Institute of Advanced Study. ISBN 978-81-7986-074-8.
  22. ^ Sreekantan, B. V.; Rao, M. V. S. (1998). Extensive air showers. Singapore: World Scientific. ISBN 9789810228880. OCLC 40516567.
  23. ^ "On ResearchGate". 23 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  24. ^ "Browse by Fellow". Indian Academy of Sciences. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  25. ^ Sreekantan, B. V. (2010). Remembering Einstein : lectures on physics and astrophysics. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198064497. OCLC 501394980.
  26. ^ Sreekantan, B. V.; Menon, Sangeetha; Sinha, Anindya (12 December 2013). Interdisciplinary perspectives on consciousness and the self. New Delhi. ISBN 9788132215875. OCLC 866635850.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  27. ^ Balakrishnan, Janaki; Sreekantan, B. V. (2014). Nature's longest threads : new frontiers in the mathematics and physics of information in biology. Nature's Longest Threads: New Frontiers in the Mathematics and Physics of Information in Biology. Edited by Balakrishnan Janaki & Sreekantan B V. Published by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. Bibcode:2014nltn.book.....B. doi:10.1142/9204. ISBN 9789814612463. OCLC 886539946.
  28. ^ "Indian Institute of Astrophysics – A Brief History". Indian Institute of Astrophysics. 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  29. ^ . IIA. 2015. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  30. ^ "Overview". IIA. 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  31. ^ "Present Fellows – IAS". Indian Academy of Sciences. 10 December 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  32. ^ "Nanjangud tooth powder usage on decline, toothpaste in the offing". Times of India. 24 December 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  33. ^ "Sadvaidyasala". Sadvaidyasala. 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  34. ^ "Physics and Consciousness". NIAS. 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  35. ^ . teriprakritischool.org. 21 May 2018. Archived from the original on 28 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  36. ^ "IAS Fellows". Indian Academy of Sciences. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  37. ^ (PDF). Indian National Science Academy. 9 December 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  38. ^ (PDF). National Academy of Sciences, India. 24 November 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  39. ^ "IIA Fellows". Indian Institute of Astrophysics. 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  40. ^ (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 19 May 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2018. Alt URL
  41. ^ (PDF). Government of Karnataka. 19 May 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  42. ^ B V Sreekantan; R Cowsik (1986). "Cosmic pathways : contemporary perspectives in physics and astrophysics". Tata McGraw-Hill Pub. Co. Tata McGraw-Hill Pub. Co. OCLC 610404778.

Further reading edit

  • Sreekantan, B. V. (20 February 2009). "Dr. Homi Bhabha and the Dr. Homi Bhabha and the Nuclear, Elementary Particle Era Particle Era" (PDF). Memorial Lecture. Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Study, Government of India. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  • Ramachandran, R. (19 August 2015). "The quest for ultimate reality". Physics World. 28 (7): 50–51. Bibcode:2015PhyW...28g..50W. doi:10.1088/2058-7058/28/7/47. Retrieved 21 May 2018.

External links edit

  • Sreekantan, B. V. (1 March 2012). "Is Vacuum Biology the future of Life Sciences?". Key Note Address. YouTube. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  • "Sreekantan, B. V. – Photograph". Cultural Institute. 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  • B.V. Sreekantan (27 March 2016). "Science at the edge and on the edge". YouTube. National Institute of Advanced Studies. Retrieved 25 December 2018.

January 01, 1970
sreekantan, badanaval, venkatasubba, sreekantan, june, 1925, october, 2019, indian, high, energy, astrophysicist, former, associate, homi, bhabha, tata, institute, fundamental, research, tifr, also, radhakrishnan, visiting, professor, national, institute, adva. Badanaval Venkatasubba Sreekantan 30 June 1925 27 October 2019 was an Indian high energy astrophysicist and a former associate of Homi J Bhabha 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 B V SreekantanBorn 1925 06 30 June 30 1925Nanjangud Karnataka IndiaDiedOctober 27 2019 2019 10 27 aged 94 Bengaluru Karnataka IndiaNationalityIndianAlma materMysore UniversityIndian Institute of ScienceTata Institute of Fundamental ResearchUniversity of MumbaiKnown forStudies on proton decayAwards1977 C V Raman Award1978 INSA Homi Bhabha Medal1982 R D Birla Memorial Award1987 IISc Distinguished Alumni Award1988 Padma Bhushan1989 ISC Ramanujan AwardJawaharlal Nehru Award1998 Rajyotsava Prashasti2004 Sir M Visvesvaraya Senior Scientist State AwardScientific careerFieldsAstrophysicsInstitutionsTata Institute of Fundamental Research 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 He was also an associate of Bruno Rossi at Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan India s third highest civilian honour in 1988 Contents 1 Biography 2 Career and legacy 3 Positions 4 Awards and honours 5 Selected bibliography 5 1 Scientific publications 5 1 1 Books 5 1 2 Articles 5 2 General publications 5 2 1 Books 5 2 2 Articles 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksBiography edit nbsp University of Mysore 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 1 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 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 2 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 3 when Homi J Bhabha invited him for advanced research in cosmic ray physics 4 His research at TIFR earned him a PhD from the University of Mumbai in 1954 5 Sreekantan resided in Malleswaram a suburb of the south Indian city of Bengaluru 6 He married Ratna a classical musician in 1953 she died in 2006 1 2 Sreekantan died 27 October 2019 at his home in Bangalore 7 Career and legacy edit nbsp Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Mumbai 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 8 9 At TIFR he initiated many research streams in cosmic ray physics and astrophysics 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 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 2 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 10 A noted Italian experimental physicist Bruno Rossi of Massachusetts Institute of Technology examined the thesis and Mumbai University awarded him PhD in 1954 1 Sreekantan s first stint at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1954 was when he worked with Rossi on cloud chambers and K mesons 2 During that trip he visited several laboratories in the UK and France to familiarize himself with the advances in high energy physics 1 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 11 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 counters 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 1 nbsp Cosmic ray air shower created by a 1TeV proton hitting the atmosphere 20 km above the Earth simulation 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 12 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 13 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 14 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 note 1 and arrived at the conclusion that copious production of baryons in high energy interactions is inevitable note 2 15 These experiments confirmed baryon production in hadron air nucleus collisions at 1015 eV 2 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 Bengaluru National Centre for Radio Astrophysics Pune and TIFR Centre for Applicable Mathematics Bengaluru 1 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 1 He inspired Govind Swarup to prepare the proposal for the establishment of the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope GMRT at Khodad Pune 1 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 1 After his retirement from TIFR Sreekantan was offered the INSA Srinivasa Ramanujan chair which he held till 1992 5 when he moved to the National Institute of Advanced Studies NIAS in Bengaluru accepting the Radhakrishnan Visiting Professor chair 9 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 16 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 V S Narasimham S V Damle and G S Gokhale 1 He delivered many keynote addresses at national and international conferences 17 mentored many scientists in their doctoral research and was the author of over 300 scientific papers 2 18 He was also credited with the publication of five books either as the author or editor 1 19 20 21 22 His studies have been documented by way of one book Extensive Air Showers 23 and a number of articles 24 25 note 3 He wrote a monograph on Cosmic Rays Current Status and Future Directions for Homi Bhabha Fellowships Council unknown if finished before his death 9 He also wrote three books namely Remembering Einstein Lectures on Physics and Astrophysics 26 Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Consciousness and the Self 27 and Nature s Longest Threads New Frontiers in Mathematics and Physics of Information in Biology 28 as well as several articles on general science topics for the propagation of science note 4 Positions editThe Indian Institute of Astrophysics IIA established in 1786 by William Petrie 29 was modernised in 1960 by Vainu Bappu the renowned Indian astronomer and Sreekantan became associated with the institute during this time 30 The institute functioning under the Ministry of Civil Aviation was brought under the jurisdiction of the Department of Science and Technology in 1985 with the efforts of Raja Ramanna and Sreekantan when it was made an autonomous institution 1 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 1 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 31 He is also credited with assisting Ramanath Cowsik 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 1 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 citation needed 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 9 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 1 During 1986 88 he served as the vice president of the Indian Academy of Sciences 32 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 4 He also serves as the chairman of the board of directors of Sadvaidyasala an Ayurvedic medicine company 33 founded by his father 34 Much of his later scientific work involved the study of the phenomenon of consciousness and its relationship with the physical sciences 35 36 Awards and honours editSreekantan was an elected fellow of four major science academies in India the Indian Academy of Sciences 1965 37 the Indian National Science Academy 1976 38 the National Academy of Sciences India 1989 39 and the Maharashtra Academy of Sciences 2 He is an honorary fellow of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics Bengaluru 40 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 4 One more award reached him in 1978 the Homi Bhabha Medal from the Indian National Science Academy 5 Four years later the Indian Physics Association awarded Sreekantan the R D Birla Memorial Award 4 He received four awards from various governments starting with the third highest civilian honour of Padma Bhushan from the Government of India in 1988 41 The Indian Institute of Science Distinguished Alumni Award 9 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 1 He was awarded the Rajyotsava Prashasti by the Government of Karnataka in 1998 42 and six years later the government followed it up with the Sir M Visvesvaraya Senior Scientist State Award in 2004 1 Selected bibliography editScientific publications edit Books edit S Rao M V Sreekantan B V 1998 Extensive air showers Singapore World Scientific ISBN 9789810228880 OCLC 40516567 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Articles edit Vatcha R H Sreekantan B V 1973 Evidence for change in the characteristics of strong interactions at ultra high energies Journal of Physics A Mathematical Nuclear and General 6 7 1067 Bibcode 1973JPhA 6 1067V doi 10 1088 0305 4470 6 7 027 ISSN 0301 0015 Vatcha R H Sreekantan B V 1973 Trends in the energy dependence of strong interaction characteristics at ultra high energies Journal of Physics A Mathematical Nuclear and General 6 12 1990 Bibcode 1973JPhA 6 1990V doi 10 1088 0305 4470 6 12 524 ISSN 0301 0015 Sreekantan B V Cowsik R 1986 Cosmic pathways contemporary perspectives in physics and astrophysics Tata McGraw Hill Pub Co OCLC 610404778 43 General publications edit Books edit Sreekantan B V 2009 Science technology and society Shimla Indian Institute of Advanced Study ISBN 978 8179860748 OCLC 373562272 Sreekantan B V 2010 Remembering Einstein lectures on physics and astrophysics New Delhi Oxford University Press ISBN 9780198064497 OCLC 501394980 Sreekantan B V Menon Sangeetha Sinha Anindya 2014 Interdisciplinary perspectives on consciousness and the self New Delhi ISBN 9788132215875 OCLC 866635850 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Balakrihnan Janaki Sreekantan B V 2014 Nature s longest threads new frontiers in the mathematics and physics of information in biology Nature s Longest Threads New Frontiers in the Mathematics and Physics of Information in Biology Edited by Balakrishnan Janaki amp Sreekantan B V Published by World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd Bibcode 2014nltn book B doi 10 1142 9204 ISBN 9789814612463 OCLC 886539946 Articles edit Sreekantan B V 1 July 1998 Homi Bhabha and cosmic ray research in India Resonance 3 7 18 27 doi 10 1007 bf02837309 ISSN 0971 8044 S2CID 120940624 Sreekantan B V 2009 Science technology and society Shimla Indian Institute of Advanced Study ISBN 978 8179860748 OCLC 373562272 Prof DD Kosambi some reminiscences Resonance June 2011 Retrieved 10 December 2017 Sreekantan B V Badanaval Venkata 2007 Dr Raja Ramanna his life and work Bangalore Bhavan s Gandhi Centre of Science and Human Values ISBN 9788189220174 OCLC 295034766 See also edit nbsp India portal nbsp Science portal nbsp Physics portal Observational astrophysics Radio astronomy Neutrino astronomy Subrahmanyan ChandrasekharNotes edit Directly quoted from source Directly quoted from source Please see Selected bibliography Scientific publications section Please see Selected bibliography General publications sectionReferences edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q P C Agarwal May 2015 A versatile and humane scientist PDF Current Science 108 9 1731 a b c d e f g Profile of a Scientist 2015 Retrieved 12 July 2015 Indian Astronomical Union profile Indian Astronomical Union 2015 Retrieved 12 July 2015 a b c d Brief Resume B V Sreekantan PDF National Institute of Advanced Studies 2015 Archived from the original PDF on 13 July 2015 Retrieved 13 July 2015 a b c Indian Fellow Indian National Science Academy 2015 Retrieved 12 July 2015 NASI Fellows National Academy of Sciences India 2015 Archived from the original on 16 March 2016 Retrieved 13 July 2015 B V Sreekantan 1925 2019 10 January 2020 Faculty National Institute of Advanced Studies 2015 Archived from the original on 4 February 2011 Retrieved 12 July 2015 a b c d e Prof B V Sreekantan Cortona India 2015 Retrieved 12 July 2015 Homi Bhabha s Legacy Tata Institute of Fundamental Research 15 January 2010 Retrieved 13 July 2015 ISRO to launch Astrosat in 2015 The Hindu 24 February 2014 Retrieved 27 February 2014 P C Agarwal May 2015 A versatile and humane scientist 2 PDF Current Science 108 9 1733 Markandeya Virat 14 April 2017 Counting muons amid the shola forests Mint Retrieved 26 December 2018 Peter K F Grieder 2010 Extensive Air Showers High Energy Phenomena and Astrophysical Aspects Springer Science and Business Media p 1118 ISBN 9783540769415 R H Vatcha amp B V Sreekantan 1973 Evidence for change in the characteristics of strong interactions at ultra high energies J Phys A Math Nucl Gen 6 7 1067 Bibcode 1973JPhA 6 1067V doi 10 1088 0305 4470 6 7 027 Past Faculty NIAS 2015 Archived from the original on 5 January 2015 Retrieved 13 July 2015 Is Vacuum Biology the future of Life Sciences YouTube 1 March 2012 Retrieved 13 July 2015 R H Vatcha amp B V Sreekantan 1973 Trends in the energy dependence of strong interaction characteristics at ultra high energies J Phys A Math Nucl Gen 6 12 1990 Bibcode 1973JPhA 6 1990V doi 10 1088 0305 4470 6 12 524 B V Sreekantan ed May 2010 Remembering Einstein Lectures on Physics and Astrophysics Oxford University Press p 224 ISBN 978 0198064497 Sangeetha Menon Anindya Sinha B V Sreekantan 2013 Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Consciousness and the Self Springer Science amp Business Media p 345 ISBN 9788132215875 Janaki Balakrishnan Author Editor B V Sreekantan Author Editor September 2014 Nature s Longest Threads New Frontiers in the Mathematics and Physics of Information in Biology Nature s Longest Threads New Frontiers in the Mathematics and Physics of Information in Biology Edited by Balakrishnan Janaki amp Sreekantan B V Published by World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd p 208 Bibcode 2014nltn book B doi 10 1142 9204 ISBN 978 9814612463 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a author has generic name help CS1 maint multiple names authors list link B V Sreekantan 2009 Science Technology and Society Indian Institute of Advanced Study ISBN 978 81 7986 074 8 Sreekantan B V Rao M V S 1998 Extensive air showers Singapore World Scientific ISBN 9789810228880 OCLC 40516567 On ResearchGate 23 November 2017 Retrieved 23 November 2017 Browse by Fellow Indian Academy of Sciences 6 December 2017 Retrieved 6 December 2017 Sreekantan B V 2010 Remembering Einstein lectures on physics and astrophysics New Delhi Oxford University Press ISBN 9780198064497 OCLC 501394980 Sreekantan B V Menon Sangeetha Sinha Anindya 12 December 2013 Interdisciplinary perspectives on consciousness and the self New Delhi ISBN 9788132215875 OCLC 866635850 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Balakrishnan Janaki Sreekantan B V 2014 Nature s longest threads new frontiers in the mathematics and physics of information in biology Nature s Longest Threads New Frontiers in the Mathematics and Physics of Information in Biology Edited by Balakrishnan Janaki amp Sreekantan B V Published by World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd Bibcode 2014nltn book B doi 10 1142 9204 ISBN 9789814612463 OCLC 886539946 Indian Institute of Astrophysics A Brief History Indian Institute of Astrophysics 2015 Retrieved 13 July 2015 M K Vainu Bappu IIA 2015 Archived from the original on 1 July 2015 Retrieved 13 July 2015 Overview IIA 2015 Retrieved 13 July 2015 Present Fellows IAS Indian Academy of Sciences 10 December 2017 Retrieved 10 December 2017 Nanjangud tooth powder usage on decline toothpaste in the offing Times of India 24 December 2013 Retrieved 13 July 2015 Sadvaidyasala Sadvaidyasala 2015 Retrieved 13 July 2015 Physics and Consciousness NIAS 2015 Retrieved 14 July 2015 Prof B V Sreekantan Governing Council TERI Prakriti School teriprakritischool org 21 May 2018 Archived from the original on 28 May 2018 Retrieved 21 May 2018 IAS Fellows Indian Academy of Sciences 19 May 2018 Retrieved 19 May 2018 INSA Year Book 2016 PDF Indian National Science Academy 9 December 2017 Archived from the original PDF on 4 November 2016 Retrieved 9 December 2017 NASI Year Book 2015 PDF National Academy of Sciences India 24 November 2017 Archived from the original PDF on 6 August 2015 Retrieved 24 November 2017 IIA Fellows Indian Institute of Astrophysics 2015 Retrieved 13 July 2015 Padma Awards PDF Ministry of Home Affairs Government of India 19 May 2018 Archived from the original PDF on 15 October 2015 Retrieved 19 May 2018 Alt URL Karnataka Rajyothsava 1998 PDF Government of Karnataka 19 May 2018 Archived from the original PDF on 20 May 2018 Retrieved 19 May 2018 B V Sreekantan R Cowsik 1986 Cosmic pathways contemporary perspectives in physics and astrophysics Tata McGraw Hill Pub Co Tata McGraw Hill Pub Co OCLC 610404778 Further reading editSreekantan B V 20 February 2009 Dr Homi Bhabha and the Dr Homi Bhabha and the Nuclear Elementary Particle Era Particle Era PDF Memorial Lecture Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Study Government of India Retrieved 14 July 2015 Ramachandran R 19 August 2015 The quest for ultimate reality Physics World 28 7 50 51 Bibcode 2015PhyW 28g 50W doi 10 1088 2058 7058 28 7 47 Retrieved 21 May 2018 External links editSreekantan B V 1 March 2012 Is Vacuum Biology the future of Life Sciences Key Note Address YouTube Retrieved 10 December 2015 Sreekantan B V Photograph Cultural Institute 2015 Retrieved 10 December 2015 B V Sreekantan 27 March 2016 Science at the edge and on the edge YouTube National Institute of Advanced Studies Retrieved 25 December 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title B V Sreekantan amp oldid 1223459455, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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