Our existence would be unimaginable without science and technology as everything in our environment, from little incandescent bulbs to large equipment, is a consequence of inventive scientific discoveries that were founded on the creative minds of brilliant brains. So, let’s check out the scientists in India who have changed the world:
1. CV Raman
In the Tiruchirapalli region of South Eastern India, Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman took birth on 7th November 1888, and became the first Asian honored with the Nobel Prize in Science. He got this prestigious award in 1930 for his excellent work in Physics based on the divergence of light and is also known as Raman Scattering. Raman was knowledgeable enough since he also realized that Indian musical instruments like the tabla produce sounds that are rhythmic in composition. In 1970, unfortunately, he got an accident in a lab, and later the doctors estimated that he had only four hours to survive but he fought back incredibly and left the hospital by saying that he would like to leave this world amid the flower-filled gardens of his institute i.e, (the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore) and finally left the world on 21st November 1970.
2. Homi J. Bhabha
Homi Jehangir Bhabha who came into the world on October 30, 1909, was a native of Bombay. He keeps a significant place in the advancement of Quantum theory. Bhabha went to England in order to study nuclear physics and after returning, he persuaded the Indian congress to launch a nuclear program in India. Despite suggesting a nuclear program, he was not in favor of making nuclear weapons, rather, he sought to use nuclear energy to generate useful resources that might end Indian poverty. Accidently, he died in a plane crash and it was estimated that the CIA could be behind this incident because America did want to progress the Indian nuclear program. He was the first Indian who was handed the responsibility of the Atomic Energy Commission of India.
3. Visvesvaraya
Honored with Bharat Ratna, Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was a great scholar and engineer who came into the world on 15 September 1860. From 1912 to 1918, he was the Diwan of Mysore and his major contribution includes the invention of ‘automatic sluice gates’ and ‘block irrigation system’. He was in favor of industrialization and urged India to be an industrial nation because industries might help India prosper. 15th September, the birth date of great Engineer Visvesvaraya is declared Engineer’s Day in India in order to show honor to him. He also invented a practical method of purifying water using “Collector Wells,”.
4. Venkatraman Radhakrishnan
Venkatraman Radhakrishnan came into the world on May 18, 1929, in a place somewhere near Chennai. He was indeed a widely esteemed astronomer who was also well-known for creating and manufacturing sailboats and ultralight planes. He was a distinguished aerospace researcher with a seat in the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The world was able to solve numerous riddles involving celestial objects, interplanetary storms, planetary topologies, and a variety of other planetary systems thanks to his investigations and logical discoveries. Venkatraman was suffering from cardiovascular problems and finally, he took his last breath on 3 March 2011.
5. S. Chandrashekar
S Chandrashekar came into the world on October 19, 1910, in Lahore and turned out to be a British citizen in 1953. The mathematical study of black holes helped Chandrasekhar to win the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics. His major contribution to science was the study of stars which determined that stars emit energy, especially when they are at their dying stage. Unfortunately, S Chandrashekar left us forever on August 21, 1995, in Chicago.
6. Satyendra Nath Bose
The maestro of quantum mechanism, Satyendra Nath Bose came into the world on 1st January 1984 and contributed a lot to the field of particle physics. After adjusting a presentation he made at the University of Dhaka on the concept of radiation and ultraviolet calamity, he wrote a brief titled “Planck’s Law and the Hypothesis of Light Quanta” and submitted it to Albert Einstein. His article was approved by Einstein and then published in Zeitschrift für Physik in 1924 with Bose’s label in the German language. Thus, the Bose-Einstein Statistics were built on this foundation. Visva-Parichay, the book which was written by Rabindra Nath Tagore was presented to Satyendra Nath Bose in 1937. In 1954, Bose was honored with the Padma Vibhushan award from the Indian Government.
7. Meghnad Saha
Meghnad Saha came into the world on October 6, 1893, in Dhaka. His most well-known dissertation, which gave rise to the Saha Equation, dealt with the thermal ionization of elements. This equation is the most important key technique which is utilized in astronomy to evaluate star spectroscopy. The heating of different stars may be identified by interpreting their spectrum, and the ionization levels of the different elements that make up the star can then be calculated using Saha’s equation. Additionally, he also developed a tool to gauge the force and weight of sun rays. Because of the dedicated work and research of Meghnad Saha, the scientists got a tool to estimate the intensity and density of light from the sun. He was India’s top river planner who proposed the initial Damodar Valley Project plan.
8. Srinivasa Ramanujan
Ramanujam was an Indian mathematician who was self-taught and took birth in Tamil Nadu on December 22, 1887. He was a genius in mathematics as he did not take any academic instruction but made remarkable contributions in the field of mathematical analysis, numerical methods, etc. When he was at the age of 11 years, he had used up the mathematical ability of two college students. Afterward, he surprised everybody by comprehending S. L. Loney’s book by the age of 13 only. When he was in England, he used to be sick and surrounded by many health issues because of a lack of vegetarian food, and then he traveled back to India before passing away at the age of 32.
9. Dr. Jagadish Chandra Bose
J.C. Bose was a multifaceted individual who held the skills in biology, physics, botany, and archaeology. Born on 30th November 1858, Jagadish Chandra Bose became the first individual who intercepted radio waves through the semiconductor circuits that gave birth to wireless technology and opened the door for wireless communication. He never applied a tag of copyright on his innovations but made all his inventions readily accessible to other people to continue to explore them. One of his inventions includes a Crescograph that can determine the tiniest detail of celestial motion and plant development. Additionally, he demonstrated that cellular membranes are what enable fluid in plants to grow. He laid the foundation of Bose Research Institute in 1917 and thus appointed himself as the director of the institute.
10. Dr. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai
Aryabhata was the first Indian satellite and it was successfully deployed because of the significant efforts made by Dr. Vikram Ambala Sarabhai. He was also responsible for establishing the Indian Institute of Management and the Indian Space Research Organization. He was honored with Padham Bhusan in 1966 and later when he left the world on 30th December 1971, he was honored with Padam Vibhushan in 1972. Initially, he was a student of Gujarat College in Ahmedabad and then he went to England for further studies but because of World War II, he had to come back to India, and then he joined the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore in order to pursue his research on cosmic rays. When World War II was concluded, Sarabhai traveled back to England in order to complete PHd and in 1947 he submitted his thesis, “Cosmic Ray Investigations in Tropical Latitudes.”
11. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam
The 11th president of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was not only a scientist but also performed the role of the poet, teacher, leader, and motivator. Because of their talent in science and technology, he is also known as Missile Man. For all pupils who aspire to succeed, his personal experience has served as inspiration. He rose to the position of President in India from 2007 to 2011. Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) 3 was the invention of Abdul Kalam which propelled the satellite Rohini into the space station.
12. Dr. Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar
Born on 21 February 1894, Dr Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar came from Shahpur which is currently located in Pakistan. He had served the esteemed Council for Scientific and Industrial Research as the first director-general. He received praise for establishing 12 laboratories on a national basis in India, including the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune and the Central Food Processing Technological Institute in Mysore. Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar left India with his master’s degree in hand and moved to England for a research grant. After completing his D.Sc degree from London University in 1921, he got back to India and worked at the prestigious Banaras Hindu University. Dr. Bhatnagar was picked as an associate of the Royal Society on 18 March 1943 after receiving an honor from the British government in 1941 as acknowledgment for his scientific efforts.
13. Raja Ramanna
In the Tumkur region of Karnataka, Raja Ramanna took birth on January 28, 1925, and he took his last breath on September 24, 2004. He was a decorated Indian Nuclear Scientist and Physicist whose contribution can never be forgotten. Being multitalented, he has performed many roles in his life such as a scientist, administrator, leader, musician, physicist, and many more. Raja Ramanna adopted Dr. Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai as his role models and worked in accordance with their example. He was honored with Padam Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in 1963, Padma Shri Award in 1968, Padma Bhushan Award in 1973, Padma Vibhushan Award in 1975, and many more. From 1972-28 and 1981-83, he was the director of Bhabha Atomic Research Center.
14. G. N. Ramachandran
On 8th October 1922, G. N. Ramachandran took birth in Ernakulam situated in the Indian state of Kerala and he left the world in 2001. He comes in the list of the Indian top 20 scientists that India had delivered to the World. The Ramachandran plot, which the scientist developed in collaboration with Viswanathan Sasisekharan to comprehend the composition of peptides, is the masterpiece of G. N. Ramachandran’s achievement so far. Ramachandran was interested in Physics so he left his study of engineering and pursued his career in the Physics department. On the completion of his post-graduation in Physics, he joined IISc as a thesis student under the guidance of Nobel Prize winner Sir C V Raman.
15. Prafulla Chandra Ray
Prafulla Chandra Roy, who took birth on August 2nd, 1861, launched Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, the country of India’s first pharmaceutical enterprise. He is credited with developing and advancing the chemistry department, earning him the title of “father of chemistry” in India. He spent his whole life working to create new medications, and he was also involved in Indian politics. His most notable accomplishment is the invention of “Mercurous Nitrite”.
16. Dr. Indira Hinduja
Dr. Indira Hinduja has made a significant contribution to the field of infertility in India. Along with the first Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer (GIFT) infant, Dr. Hinduja gave birth to the first test-tube baby in India. These occurred in 1986 and 1988, two years separated. Dr. Hinduja received the Padma Shri award for the significant impact her work in the area had on the nation’s reproductive sciences. he earned her MBBS after completing her medical science degree in 1968 from the University of Medical School, and in 1973 she earned her MD in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
17. Kamala Sohonie
The first Indian female to get a Ph.D. in the field of science was Kamala Sohonie, who is a biochemist by occupation. Her research was primarily concerned with the virtues of vitamins as well as the nutritional significance of numerous plant materials. Kamala Sohonie conducted Satyagraha in order to get admission to the Indian Institute of Science. After getting admission, she was forced to abide by a unique set of restrictions.
18. Birbal Sahni
Born on 14 November 1891 in West Punjab, Birbal Sahni was an Indian paleobotanist and Geologist. His research of existing plants in India as well as their historical background represents his biggest accomplishments. In 1936, Birbal Sahni was introduced to the Royal Society of London for his great contribution to Science. He established The Paleobotanical Society which played a significant role in the inauguration of the Palaeobotany institute on 10 September. Unfortunately, Birbal Sahni left the world on 10 April 1949 because of a heart attack.
19. Salim Ali
Born on 12th November 1896, Salim Ali played the role of naturalist and ornithologist in the field of science. He was the first to undertake bird surveys to ascertain the number of birds across the country. and his book on birds contributed to the development of Zoology in India. Salim Ali, popularly referred to as the “Birdman of India,” made great efforts in the establishment of The Bombay Natural History Society in 1947 and also implemented his personal connections to get government sponsorship for the institution. He was honored with the Padam Vibhushan award in 1976.
20. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis
Born on 29th June 1893 in Kolkata, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis contributed a significant effort to the establishment of the Indian Statistical Institute. He has played an important role in the investigation of anthropometry in India. On June 28, 1972, the father of contemporary statistics in India passed away. He had been a key member of the Planning Commission of India His major contribution includes the advancement of the mathematical concept of Mahalanobis distance.