Famous Scientists Part7

Nag-Chowdhury, B.D.: An eminent Indian nuclear physicist, known all over the world.

Narlikar, J.V.: Indian scientist; co-author of Hoyle-Narlikar Theory of continuous creation. The theory of which he is co-author has been hailed as supplying some important missing links in Einstein’s theory of Relativity. The new theory of gravitation propounded by both the scientists, Narlikar and Hoyle, shows that gravitation is always attractive and there is no gravitational repulsions.

Newton, Sir Isaac: (1642-1727) was the British natural philosopher. He discovered binomial theorem; the differential and integral calculus. He expounded the universal law of gravitation. He is author of Principia Mathematica.

Nirenberg, Dr Marshall: Was a U.S. molecular biologist who shared the 1968 Nobel Prize for Medicine with Dr Robert Holley and Dr Hargobind Khorana. Nirenberg is the author of a very simple but ingenious experiment which helped a great deal in clarifying the general character of the genetic code.

Oberth, Hermann: Was a Rumanian-German Professor who is credited with establishing the experimental basis of modern rocketry. In 1923, the publication of his book, “The Rocket into Interplanetary Space” aroused great interest in space travel.

Ohm, George Simon: (1787-1854) Physicist and mathematician; discovered the law known as Ohm’s Law.

Onsager, Lars: Was a U.S. Professor who became a Nobel laureate in 1968 by winning the prize for Chemistry “for the discovery of the reciprocal relations bearing his name which are fundamental for the thermo-dynamics of irreversible processes”.

Paraceisus: (1493-1541) A Swiss mystic and chemist. He was the first to employ laudanum and antimony in Pharmacy.

Parson, Sir Charles: (1854-1931) British  engineer;  inventor of Parson steam turbine.

Famous Scientists Part6

Kepler, Johannes: (1571-1630) German astronomer. He discovered 3 laws of planetary motion that bear his name viz., (1) The orbit of each planet is an ellipse with the sun at one of the foci; (2) the Radius vector of each planet describes equal areas in equal times; (3) The squares of the periods of the planets are proportional to the cubes of their mean distances from the sun. Kepler had evolved a set of laws governing man in space with rare prescience. In a kind of allegory, he referred to the dangers of solar radiation, the need to overcome gravitational resistance, gravitational capture of spacecraft by the moon etc. What he wrote nearly 360 years ago was, however, little understood and his family was persecuted for it. His mother had to die in jail having been condemned as a witch.

Khorana Hargobind: Who shared with two others the 1968 Nobel Prize for Medicine is an Indian by birth and an American by domicile. He deciphered the genetic code and later created an artificial gene.

Krishnan, Dr K.S.: (born 1898) Collaborated with Sir C.V. Raman in the discovery of “Raman Effect”. President, Indian Science Congress, 1949; delegate to several international scientific conferences; Director, National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi.

Lavoisier, A.L.: (1743-1794) French chemist; established law of Indestructibility of Matter, Composition of Water and Air.

Lister, Joseph: (1827-1912) British surgeon. He was the first to use antiseptic treatment for wounds; introduced antiseptic surgery.

Lodge, Sir Oliver Joseph: (1851-1940) British physicist. He is chiefly known for his researches on radiation, and the relation between matter and ether.

Famous Scientists Part5

Freud, Sigmund: (1856-1939) Originator of psycho-analysis, born of Jewish parents. Works: The Interpretation of Dreams; The Psychopathology of Every-day Life; The Ego and the Id; Civilization and Its Discontents.

Gabor, Dr Dennis: Who won the 1971 Nobel Prize award for Physics is a 71-year old British electrical engineer working as a scientist in the U.S.A. He was cited for his “invention in development of the holographic method”—three dimensional photography. Dr Gabor was the 16th Briton to have won the Nobel Prize in Physics. He was born and educated in Hungary. He later worked as research engineer in Germany and came to join the staff of the Imperial College in London in 1949. He invented holography in the late forties. But the science became fully developed with the coming of the laser in 1960. A holographic image is so lifelike that a viewer can see around things in a holograph by moving his head just as he looks around the real object.

Galileo: (1564-1642) Italian scientist. He was professor of mathematics. His view that all falling bodies, great or small, descend with equal velocity, made him unpopular with the orthodox scientists. He improved telescope and with it was the first man to see the satellites of Jupiter.

Gell-Mann, Prof Murray: Was the recipient of the 1969 Nobel Prize for Physics. He is a teacher in the California Institute of Technology. Born in New York in 1929, Prof Gell-Mann has been the leading theorist in elementary particle research for the last 15 years. He was the 28th American to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in which the U.S.A. now leads. The Nobel Prize was given to him for “his classification of elementary particles and their interactions”.

Famous Scientists Part4

Charak: (A.D. 80-180) He was a court physician to Kushan king Kanishka. His writings are invaluable in the study of Hindu medicine.

Charles, Jacques Alexander Cesar: (1746-1823) A French scientist of great repute. He was the first to make balloon ascension with hydrogen. He is known for his work on the effect of temperature on the volume of gases.

Clarke, Arthur C.: He is known for his suggestion of the concept of Geostationary Orbit.

Clark Maxwell, James: (1831-79) British physicist. His theoretical work prepared the way for wireless telegraphy and telephony. His principal works include: Perception of Colour, Colour Blindness, Theory of Heat, Electricity and Magnetism, Matter and Motion.

Claude, Albert: He is a biologist of Luxembourg who shared the 1974 Nobel Prize in Medicine. His field of research relates to causes and treatment of cancer.

Columbus, Christopher: (1446-1506) A well-known Italian navigator set out on his first voyage in 1492; he discovered West Indies Islands, Cuba and Bahamas; he also discovered South America in 1498.

Famous Scientists Part3

Berzelius, J.J: (1779-1848) Swedish Chemist, known for introduction of chemical shorthand symbols and atomic weights.

Bessemer, Sir Henry: (1813-1898) English engineer. He invented the process for the manufacture of steel known after his name.

Bhabha, Dr H.J.: (1909-66) Indian scientist. He published important papers on Cosmic Rays and Quantum Theory. He was professor at the Indian Science Institute, Bangalore; Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission; Director, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research; President, Indian Science Congress in 1951 and presided at the Atoms for Peace Conference held at Geneva in 1956. He had many significant researches in structure of atom and contributed largely to the setting up of atomic reactors at Trombay (Mumbai).

Bhagvantam, Dr S.: He is an eminent Indian scientist who has made a rich contribution to research in radio astronomy and cosmic rays. He has published more than 150 research papers and several books. He retired in October 1969 as the Scientific Adviser to the Ministry of Defence, and Director General of the Defence Research Development Organisation. He is an old-time associate of Sir C.V. Raman.

Bhaskaracharya: Born in A.D. 1114, he was almost the last great Hindu mathematician and astronomer until modern times. He wrote Sidhanta-Siromani in 1150  which consisted of two mathematical and two astronomical parts. Bhaskara anticipated the modern theory on the convention of signs (minus by minus makes plus, minus by plus makes minus). He also anticipated Kepler’s method for determining the surface and volume of sphere.

Bhatnagar, Dr Shanti Swarup: (1895-1955) Great Indian scientist. He was Director of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (C.S.I.R.). A chain of National Laboratories has been established in the country due to his able organisation and unbounded energy.

Famous Scientists Part2

Rontgen, W. Konrad: (1845-1923) German physicist. He discovered X-rays, also called Rontgen rays. He was awarded the first Nobel Prize in 1901 for discovery of X-Rays.

Ross, Ronald: (1857-1932) leading British physician who discovered the cause of Malaria; awarded Nobel Prize for medicine in 1902.

Rutherford, Daniel: (1749-1819) a Scottish scientist who is given the credit for the discovery of nitrogen.

Rutherford, Lord: (1871-1937) won a Nobel Prize for his work on structure of atom and radio-activity.

Ryle, Sir Martin: of the U.K. who shared the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics is known for the development of “aperture synthesis” technique designed to identify stellar objects through radio signals.

Saha, Dr Meghnad: (1893-1956) late Palit Prof of Physics, University College of Science and Technology, Calcutta University—well known for his researches in nuclear physics, cosmic rays, spectrum analysis and other branches of theoretical physics.

Sanger, Dr Frederik: British scientist awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1958 for his work in determining the composition of the insulin molecule. By his discovery he has put science a step forward towards knowing how disease attacks the human body. In 1980, he became only the fourth person ever to be awarded a second Nobel Prize.

Famous Scientists Part1

Famous Scientists

Abdul Kalam, Dr A.P.J: He is credited with advancement of missile technology in India. He was honoured with Bharat Ratna award on November 26, 1997. He is known as “father of India’s Missile Technology”. He was elected 11th President of India.

Alvares, Luis W.: He is an American physicist teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A. He won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1968 for an important breakthrough he made in elementary physics in 1960 when he discovered a new resonance particle—a discovery that shattered the then prevailing notions as to how matter was built.

Anfinsen, Dr Christian B: He is from the U.S.A.’s National Institute of Health, Bethseda, Maryland was one of the three co-winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1972.

Archimedes: Greek mathematician (born in Sicily) who lived about 250 B.C. is known for the discovery of the Archimedes’ principle viz., The volume of any insoluble solid can be found by noting its loss of weight when immersed in water. He is also credited with the invention of Archimedean Screw, a cylindrical device for raising water.