Date:24/03/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/24/stories/2008032459771300.htm

National

Kalam recalls Raman’s unique trait

Philadelphia: The former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, cited an example from the life of Nobel laureate Sir C.V. Raman to stress the dedication needed by teachers, especially in research institutions.

Raman was also in the first batch of Bharat Ratna winners.

At a meeting organised by the Wharton School here on Saturday, Mr. Kalam recalled an incident when the Bharat Ratna award ceremony was to take place in the last week of January after the Republic Day celebrations in 1954.

The then President, Rajendra Prasad, wrote to Raman inviting him to be the personal guest in the Rashtrapati Bhavan when Raman came to Delhi for the award ceremony. Raman wrote a polite letter, regretting his inability to go. He had a noble reason for his inability to attend the investiture ceremony, Mr. Kalam said.

“He explained to the President that he was guiding a Ph.D student and that thesis was positively due by the last day of January.

“The student was valiantly trying to wrap it all up and Raman felt, he had to be by the side of the research student, see that the thesis was finished, sign the thesis as the guide and then have it submitted,” Mr. Kalam said.

Here was a scientist who gave up the pomp of a glittering ceremony associated with the highest honour, because he felt that his duty required him to be by the side of the student, Mr. Kalam said. It was this unique trait of giving value to science that built science.

Mr. Kalam identified seven areas of research which he believed were most important and challenging.

These included increasing the efficiency of solar photovoltaic cell, which converts solar energy into electricity, from the current 15 per cent to 45 per cent using silicon as a base with carbon nanotube (CNT); developing thorium-based reactors to produce power: proteomic which studies of proteins; development of vaccine to prevent HIV/AIDS; stem cell research; forecasting the occurrence of earthquakes; and more reliable meteorological forecasts. — PTI