M. G. K. Menon

Mambillikalathil Govind Kumar Menon FRS^[1] (28 August 1928 – 22 November 2016)^[2] also known as M. G. K. Menon, was a physicist and policy maker from India. He had a prominent role in the development of science and technology in India over four decades. One of his most important contributions was nurturing the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, which his mentor Homi J. Bhabha founded in 1945.

Born in

He undertook experiments with

Menon joined Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in 1955 "essentially because of Bhabha", and the association lasted nearly five decades. He became the director of the institute in 1966, at the age of 38, following Bhabha's untimely death. In fact, Menon began handling the affairs of the institute ever since he was 33, because of Bhabha's increasing involvement with the country's nascent atomic energy programme.^[5]

Menon was the chairman of the ISRO in 1972.^[2] He was a member of the Planning Commission (1982–1989), Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister (1986–1989) and vice-president, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) (1989–1990).

Menon was elected as a

• He won the Abdus Salam Medal in 1996
• Special Awards: He won the Padma Shri in 1961, Padma Bhushan in 1968 and Padma Vibhushan in 1985.^[7][8]
• The
  7564 Gokumenon
  was named in his honour in late 2008.

Personal life

While working towards his doctoral degree in particle physics at the University of Bristol under Professor Cecil F. Powell, Menon met and married Indumati Patel, who was working towards a degree in philosophy.^[9] They have two children, Anant K. Menon, Professor of Biochemistry at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City,^[10] and Preeti Vaid, a practicing radiologist in New Delhi. Menon has one grandchild, Kartikeya M. Menon, a medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

References