The Hindu : A fledgling institute with vision

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 04, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore

A fledgling institute with vision

By Harichandan A. A.

BANGALORE May 3. The Admar Math from Udupi is committing funds and other resources to promote fundamental research in the basic sciences.

A small campus is coming up for the Poornaprajna Institute of Scientific Research, 50 km. from here. The new premises of the institute, run by the math, will be inaugurated by the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, on Sunday.

The institute is "dedicated to the sole purpose of research in the classical areas of physics, mathematics, chemistry, and biology,'' the pontiff of the math, Vibudhesha Tirtha, told The Hindu in an exclusive interview on the campus today.

Why spend crores of rupees on theoretical physics and mathematics when the world is running after "IT and BT"? "Without fundamental knowledge, any amount of application-oriented work will not make us strong as a nation," comes the reply. To help him implement his vision of a powerhouse of high quality research, the pontiff has roped in P. Rama Rao, former Vice-Chancellor of Hyderabad University, as Honorary Director.

"We select people based on recommendations from the best scientists in the country; and so far our methods have worked," Dr. Rao said. Many of those senior scientists are regularly consulted, and some are formally part of the institute's managing committee.

Of the post-doctoral fellows supported by the math, three have now joined the Indian Institute of Science, one has gone to the Raman Research Institute, and others have been welcomed in universities abroad. All this while they worked from temporary premises on the top of a school run by the math at Sadashivanagar here.

As a result, the institute, which will only shift to its new campus in August or September, is down to three faculty members, a research scientist, and one student. Both the pontiff and Dr. Rao welcome this as a show of confidence in the young people they have selected. "There is a dearth of post-doctoral fellowships in the country, and so the bright ones usually go abroad; we want to offer about 15 post-docs a chance to freely pursue their interests within the country," Dr. Rao said.

To do that, the institute has approached the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, for recognition for granting of Ph.D. degrees. The Admar Math is likely to sign an MoU with MAHE to make it official, shortly. Of the three faculty members present now, Nivedita Rao, is the theoretical physicist who is interested in a range of areas from quantum gravity to RNA folding.

Mallikarjun Shakarad is the evolutionary biologist working on the history traits in the common fruit fly — a favourite with such scientists — and on the division of labour among termites.

Both have travelled extensively in the U.S. and Europe, but welcome the chance to do serious research in the country. They are also free to associate themselves with other research organisations, as indeed they have. That freedom comes with only one rider: they must be prepared to work hard.

Now, four years since the inception of the institute, they are ready to take Ph.D. students on a very selective basis, where merit is the only criterion. The students will be associated with the IISc., where they will do a year's course work, before starting on their doctoral work. They are likely to do very well.

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