Vikram Sarabhai
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Dr. Vikram Sarabhai (from NASA archives) |
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| Born | 12 August 1919 Ahmedabad, India |
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| Died | 31 November 1971 Kovalam, Kerala, India |
| Residence |  India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Field | Physics |
| Institution | Indian Space Research Organisation Physical Research Laboratory |
| Alma Mater | Gujarat College St. John's College, Cambridge University |
| Academic Advisor | Sir C. V. Raman |
| Known for | Indian space program |
| Notable Prizes | Padma Bhushan (1966) Padma Vibhushan (posthumously) (1972) |
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (August 12, 1919 – December 31, 1971) was an Indian physicist. He is considered to be the Father of the Indian space program.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early years and education
Vikram Sarabhai was born on 12 August 1919 in the city of Ahmedabad in western India. The Sarabhai family was an important and rich business family. His father Ambalal Sarabhai was an affluent industrialist and owned many mills in Gujarat. Vikram Sarabhai was one of the eight children of Ambalal and Sarla Devi.
To educate her eight children, Sarla Devi established a private school on the lines of the Montessori method, propounded by Maria Montessori, which was gaining fame. As the Sarabhai family was involved in the Indian freedom struggle, many leaders of the freedom struggle like Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore and Jawaharlal Nehru used to frequent the Sarabhai house. This is said to have greatly influenced the young Vikram Sarabhai and played an important role in the growth of his personality.
Sarabhai matriculated from the Gujarat College in Ahmedabad after passing the Intermediate Science examination. After that he moved to England and joined the St. John's College, University of Cambridge. He received the Tripos in Natural Sciences from Cambridge in 1940. With the escalation of the Second World War, Sarabhai returned to India and joined the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and began research in cosmic rays under the guidance of Sir C. V. Raman, a Nobel Prize winner. He returned to Cambridge after the war and was awarded a PhD in 1947 for his thesis titled Cosmic Ray investigation in Tropical Latitudes.
[edit] Marriage and children
In September, 1942, Vikram Sarabhai married Mrinalini Sarabhai, a celebrated classical dancer of India. The wedding was held in Chennai without anyone from Vikram's side of the family attending the wedding ceremony because of the ongoing Quit India movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. Vikram and Mrinalini had two children - Karthikeya and Mallika. Mallika Sarabhai is a renowned dancer herself and has been awarded with the Palme d'Or.
[edit] Physical Research Laboratory
Vikram returned to an independent India in 1947. Looking at the needs of the country, he persuaded charitable trusts controlled by his family and friends to endow a research institution near home in Ahmedabad. Thus, Vikram Sarabhai founded the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad on November 11, 1947. He was only 28 at that time. Sarabhai was a creator and cultivator of institutions and PRL was the first step in that direction.
[edit] Death
Vikram Sarabhai died on 30 December 1971 at Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He was visiting Thiruvananthapuram to attend the opening ceremony of the Thumba railway station. During his last days, he was under a great amount of stress due to excessive travelling and a huge work-load which adversely affected his health.
[edit] Indian Space Program
The establishment of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was one of his greatest achievements. He successfully convinced the government of the importance of a space programme for a developing country like India after the Russian, Sputnik launch. Dr. Sarabhai emphasized the importance of a space program in his quote:
"There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or the planets or manned space-flight."
"But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society."
Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha, widely regarded as the father of India's nuclear science program, supported Dr. Sarabhai in setting up the first rocket launching station in India. This center was established at Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram on the coast of the Arabian Sea, primarily because of its proximity to the equator. After a remarkable effort in setting up the infrastructure, personnel, communication links, and launch pads, the inaugural flight was launched on November 21, 1963 with a sodium vapour payload.
As a result of dialogue with NASA, Dr. Sarabhai launched the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) during July 1975 - July 1976.
Dr. Sarabhai started a project for the fabrication and launch of an Indian Satellite. As a result, the first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, was put in orbit in 1975 from a Russian Cosmodrome.
Dr. Sarabhai was very interested in science education and founded a Community Science Centre at Ahmedabad in 1966. Today, the Centre is called the Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre.
He led the family's 'Sarabhai' diversified business group.
His interests varied from science to sports to statistics. He set up Operations Research Group (ORG), the first market research organization in the country.
Dr Vikram Sarabhai established many institutes which are of international repute. Most notable among them are IIMs (Indian Institute Of Management) which are considered world class for their management studies. Also he helped establishing PRL (Physical Research Laboratory) which is doing commendable job in R&D in Physics. Dr Vikram Sarabhai setup ATIRA (Ahmedabad Textiles Industrial Research Association) which helped the booming textiles business in Ahmedabad. He also setup CEPT (Center for Environmental Planning and Technology). Not stopping with all these he went ahead and setup BMA (Blind Men Association) which helps visually challenged people with necessary skills and support. (Akash Shah)
[edit] Awards
- Bhatnagar Medal (1962)
- Padma Bhushan (1966)
- Padma Vibhushan, posthumous (1972)
[edit] Distinguished Positions
- President of the Physics section, Indian Science Congress (1962),
- President of the General Conference of the I.A.E.A., Verína (1970),
- Vice-President, Fourth U.N. Conference on `Peaceful uses of Atomic Energy' (1971)
[edit] Honors
The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, (VSSC), a research institute specialising in solid and liquid propellants for rockets located in the South Indian city of Trivandrum, or (Thiruvananthapuram) is named in his memory.
Along with other Ahmedabad-based industrialists, he played a major role in the creation of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
