Jayant Narlikar

Jayant Vishnu Narlikar

Jayant Vishnu Narlikar
Born (1938-07-19) 19 July 1938
Kolhapur, India
Residence Pune, India
Nationality Indian
Fields Physics, astronomy
Institutions Cambridge University
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics
Alma mater Banaras Hindu University
Cambridge University
Doctoral advisor Fred Hoyle
Doctoral students Thanu Padmanabhan
Known for Quasi-steady state cosmology
Hoyle-Narlikar theory of gravity
Notable awards Padma Vibhushan (2004)
Adams Prize (1967)
Padma Bhushan (1965)

Jayant Vishnu Narlikar (born 19 July 1938) is an Indian astrophysicist.[1]

Narlikar is a proponent of steady state cosmology. He developed with Sir Fred Hoyle the conformal gravity theory, commonly known as Hoyle–Narlikar theory. It synthesises Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity and Mach's Principle. It proposes that the inertial mass of a particle is a function of the masses of all other particles, multiplied by a coupling constant, which is a function of cosmic epoch. In cosmologies based on this theory, the gravitational constant G decreases strongly with time.

Early life

Narlikar was born in Kolhapur, India on 19 July 1938 in a Karhade family of scholars. His father, Vishnu Vasudev Narlikar, was a mathematician who served as a professor and the Head of the Department of Mathematics at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Jayant's mother, Sumati Narlikar, was a scholar of Sanskrit.[2][3]

Career

Narlikar received his Bachelor of Science degree from Banaras Hindu University in 1957. He then began his studies at Fitzwilliam House, Cambridge University in England, where he received a B.A. in mathematics in 1959 and was Senior Wrangler.[4] In 1960, he won the Tyson Medal for astronomy. During his doctoral studies at Cambridge, he won the Smith's Prize in 1962. After receiving his PhD in 1963 under the guidance of Fred Hoyle, he served as a Berry Ramsey Fellow at King's College in Cambridge and earned an M.A. in astronomy and astrophysics in 1964. He continued to work as a Fellow at King's College until 1972. In 1966, Fred Hoyle established the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy in Cambridge, and Narlikar served as the founder staff member of the institute during 1966–72.

In 1972, Narlikar took up Professorship at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai, India. At the TIFR, he was in charge of the Theoretical Astrophysics Group. In 1988, the Indian University Grants Commission set up the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune, and Narlikar became the Founder-Director of IUCAA.

Narlikar is internationally known for his work in cosmology, especially in championing models alternative to the popular Big Bang model.[5] During 1994–1997, he was the President of the Cosmology Commission of the International Astronomical Union. His research work has involved Mach's Principle, quantum cosmology, and action-at-a-distance physics.

Narlikar was part of a study which cultured microorganisms from stratospheric air samples obtained at 41 km.[6] According to the study, "Such findings have enormous implications for the budding field of astrobiology besides providing important inputs into the question of how life started on our planet."[7]

Narlikar was appointed as the Chairperson of The Advisory Group for Textbooks in Science and Mathematics, the textbook development committee responsible for developing textbooks in Science and Mathematics, published by NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training), which are used widely as standard textbooks in many Indian schools.

Honours

Narlikar has received several national and international awards and honorary doctorates. India's second highest civilian honour, Padma Vibhushan, was awarded to him in 2004 for his research work.[8] Prior to this, in 1965, he was conferred Padma Bhushan.[8] He was awarded 'Rashtra Bhushan' in 1981 from FIE Foundation, Ichalkaranji[9]

He received Maharashtra Bhushan Award for the year 2010.[1]

He is a recipient of Bhatnagar Award, M.P. Birla Award, and the Prix Jules Janssen of the French Astronomical Society. He is an Associate of the Royal Astronomical Society of London, and a Fellow of the three Indian National Science Academies and the Third World Academy of Sciences.

Apart from his scientific research, Narlikar has been well known as a communicator of science through his books, articles, and radio & television programs. For these efforts, he was honoured in 1996 by UNESCO with the Kalinga Prize.[10]

He was once featured on Carl Sagan's TV show Cosmos: A Personal Voyage in the late 1980s. He received the Indira Gandhi Award of the Indian National Science Academy in 1990.[11] He is a global figure in science.

He received a Sahitya Akademi Award for his autobiography in Marathi, Chaar Nagarantale Maze Vishwa - 2014.[12]

Writings

Besides scientific papers and books and popular science literature, Narlikar has written science fiction, novels, and short stories in English, Hindi, and Marathi. He is also the consultant for the Science and Mathematics textbooks of NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training, India).

Non-fiction

Fiction

In English:

In Marathi:

In Hindi:

Personal life

Narlikar married a mathematics researcher and professor Mangala Rajwade who was later known as Dr. Mangala Narlikar. The couple have three daughters – Geeta, Girija and Leelavati. He is the uncle of the Cambridge University academic Amrita Narlikar.

References

  1. 1 2 "Narlikar honoured with Maharashtra Bhushan". The Times of India. 7 March 2011.
  2. ↑ "Jayant Vishnu Narlikar". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy 19: 123–127. 1994. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  3. ↑ Dadhich, Naresh (10 July 2014). "Jayant Vishnu Narlikar" (PDF). Current Science 107 (1): 113–120. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  4. ↑ Mitton, Simon (2005). Fred Hoyle: A Life in Science. Aurum. p. 275. ISBN 978-1-85410-961-3.
  5. ↑ Monte, Leslie (24 Jan 2015). "I don’t subscribe to the bandwagon idea of Big Bang: Jayant Vishnu Narlikar". Live Mint. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  6. ↑ Wainwright M1, Wickramasinghe NC, Narlikar JV, Rajaratnam P (21 Jan 2003). "Microorganisms cultured from stratospheric air samples obtained at 41 km". FEMS Microbiol Lett. 218 (1): 161–5. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  7. ↑ Narlikar, Jayant (25 March 2009). "Stratosphere microbes might hold clues to life on earth". Nature India. doi:10.1038/nindia.2009.81. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  8. 1 2 "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  9. ↑ Current Science May 20 1983 Vol 52 No 10 page 449
  10. ↑ "Kalinga Prize laureate". UNESCO.ORG. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  11. ↑ Ernet.in
  12. ↑ "Sahitya Akademi award for Narlikar". TOI. Dec 20, 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  13. ↑ http://www.worldscibooks.com/physics/8148.html

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