Barry Ramachandra Rao

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Barry Ramachandra Rao
Born(1922-11-21)21 November 1922
Yalamanchili,
UGC
  • National Fisheries Advisory Board
    • Doctoral advisor

    Barry Ramachandra Rao (21 November 1922 – 24 September 2005) was an Indian space physicist and the vice chairman of the

    University Grants Commission of India. Known for his pioneering research in radio physics, Rao was a Member of Parliament of the Rajya Sabha and an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies viz. Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and National Academy of Sciences, India. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Physical Sciences in 1965.[1][note 1]

    Biography

    Entrance to Andhra University

    B. Ramachandra Rao was born on 21 November 1922 at Yalamanchili, a small village in

    British India in a fisherman's family of limited financial means.[2] After early schooling at local institutions, he did his intermediate course at Visakhapatnam before joining Andhra University for his graduate studies. It was during this time, he had the opportunity to train under Suri Bhagavantam, a known physicist, who would later go on to become the vice chancellor of Osmania University. After completing the degree of BSc (hons) in 1944 winning Sripathi Medal for standing first in the university, he obtained the degree of MSc in 1945, again with a first rank which earned him the Metcalf Medal. Subsequently, he joined Andhra University as a lecturer and simultaneously did his doctoral studies on diffraction of light by high frequency ultrasonic waves under the guidance of Bhagavantam, to secure the degree of Doctor of Science in 1949.[3]

    On receiving a Commonwealth Senior Research Fellowship, Rao moved to Australia to do his post-doctoral work with

    Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). At Martyn's laboratory, he worked on experimental space physics and after returning to India, he resumed his career at Andhra University where spent the rest of his academic career till his superannuation as a professor and head of the department of physics. In 1976, the Government of India appointed him as the vice chairman of the University Grants Commission and he held the post for two terms until 1982 when he was elected to the Rajya Sabha.[5] He completed one full term as a member of parliament (1982–88) and later served as the part-time chair of the National Fisheries Advisory Board in 1989.[3]

    Rao died on 24 September 2005, at the age of 82, survived by his wife and siblings.[2]

    Legacy

    AQ500 SoDAR used in wind energy development and wind condition monitoring

    One of the principal contributions of Rao in the academic field was the establishment of a laboratory for Ionosphere and Space Research (ISRL) at the

    oscillographs for pulse measurement, seismic sounders and satellite signal recorders.[3] He designed a multi-frequency HF phase path radar which was the first equipment of its kind that used spaced-receiver configuration.[7]

    The other equipment developed by his team included an HF phase path sounder which was a first time development, as well as an ionospheric drift recorder, a meteor radar and a

    ionospheric plasma contributed to the development of HF Doppler radar, meteor radar and SODAR systems presently in use.[5] He also carried out studies on Ionospheric dynamo region and on the horizontal winds over a sunspot cycle.[8] His studies have been documented by way of a number of articles[note 2] of which many have been listed by the article repository of the Indian Academy of Sciences.[9] He also edited three books, Physics of the solid state : commemoration volume to Professor S. Bhagavantam,[10] and Bhagavantam Volume: Volume in Honour of Prof. S. Bhagavantam on the Occasion of the 60th Birthday, 14.04.1969[11] both festschrifts on his mentor, as well as Science, Technology and Education for Prosperity,[12] and his work has drawn citations in books published by others.[13][14][15]

    Rao, who is reported to have introduced many educational plans during his tenure as the vice-chair of the University Grants Commission of India, presided the

    Defence Research and Development Organization.[3]

    Awards and honors

    Rao received of the Sripathi Medal and Metcalf Medal of Andhra University during his college days; the university would honor him again with a doctorate (

    Bengal Engineering College in 1982.[3]

    Selected bibliography

    Books

    Article

    See also

    Notes

    1. ^ Long link – please select award year to see details
    2. ^ Please see Selected bibliography section

    References

    1. ^ "View Bhatnagar Awardees". Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize. 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
    2. ^ a b c d P. Balarama Rao (May 2006). "Barry Ramachandra Rao (1922–2005)" (PDF). Obituary. Current Science. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
    3. ^ a b c d e f "Deceased fellow". Indian National Science Academy. 2017.
    4. ^ "T. K. Sidey Medal". Royal Society of New Zealand. 2017.
    5. ^ a b c Bhattacharjee, Sumit (25 September 2015). "Teacher who spent his time with students". The Hindu.
    6. ^ "Department of Physics Profile". Andhra University. 2017. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
    7. ^ a b "Barry Ramachandra Rao on Neglected Science". Neglected Science. 2017.
    8. ^ "Brief Profile of the Awardee". Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize. 2017.
    9. ^ "Browse by Fellow". Indian Academy of Sciences. 2017.
    10. OCLC 65732
      .
    11. ASIN B001A9A2M6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
      )
    12. ASIN B005W7VPBY.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
      )
    13. ISBN 978-1-4832-2665-1
      .
    14. ISBN 978-1-4832-2650-7
      .
    15. ^ IGY Symposium (1962). Proceedings. Council of Scientific & Industrial Research.
    16. ^ "List of Past General Presidents". Indian Science Congress Association. 2017.
    17. ^ "Past Presidents". National Academy of Sciences, India. 2017. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
    18. ^ "OFFICE BEARERS OF ASI OVER THE YEARS". Acoustical Society of India. 2017. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
    19. ^ "CSIR list of Awardees". Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. 2017.
    20. ^ "Fellow profile". Indian Academy of Sciences. 2017.
    21. ^ "NASI Deceased fellows". National Academy of Sciences, India. 2017. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015.
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