Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

Last updated

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research logo.png
Type Public Deemed university
Established1 June 1945;79 years ago (1 June 1945)
DirectorJayaram N. Chengalur
Academic staff
268 [1]
Students696 [1]
Postgraduates 45 [1]
651 [1]
Location
Mumbai
,
Maharashtra
,
India
Campus Urban
Website www.tifr.res.in

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is a leading research Institute under the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India. It is a public deemed university located at Navy Nagar, Colaba in Mumbai. It also has a centres in Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad. TIFR conducts research primarily in the natural sciences, the biological sciences and theoretical computer science. [2]

Contents

History

Homi J. Bhabha, known for his role in the development of the Indian atomic energy programme, wrote to the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust requesting financial assistance to set up a scientific research institute. [3] With support from J.R.D. Tata, then chairman of the Tata Group, TIFR was founded on 1 June 1945, and Homi Bhabha was appointed its first director. [4] The institute initially operated within the campus of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore before relocating to Mumbai later that year. TIFR's new campus in Colaba was designed by Chicago-based architect Helmuth Bartsch and was inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on 15 January 1962. [5]

Shortly after Indian Independence, in 1949, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) designated TIFR to be the centre for all large-scale projects in nuclear research. [6] [7] The first theoretical physics group was set up by Bhabha's students B.M. Udgaonkar and K.S. Singhvi. [8] In December 1950, Bhabha organised an international conference at TIFR on elementary particle physics. Several world-renowned scientists attended the conference, including Rudolf Peierls, Léon Rosenfeld, William Fowler as well as Meghnad Saha, Vikram Sarabhai and others providing expertise from India. [8] In the 1950s, TIFR gained prominence in the field of cosmic ray physics, with the setting up of research facilities in Ooty and in the Kolar gold mines.

In 1957, India's first digital computer, TIFRAC was built in TIFR. [3] Acting on the suggestions of British physiologist Archibald Hill, Bhabha invited Obaid Siddiqi to set up a research group in molecular biology. This ultimately resulted in the establishment of the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore twenty years later. In 1970, TIFR started research in radio astronomy with the setting up of the Ooty Radio Telescope. Encouraged by the success of ORT, Govind Swarup persuaded J. R. D. Tata to help set up the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope near Pune, India. [8]

TIFR attained the official deemed university status in June 2002. [9] To meet the ever-growing demand of space needed for research labs and accommodation institute is coming up with a new campus at Hyderabad. [10]

Research

Research at TIFR is distributed across three schools, working over the mathematical sciences, natural sciences, technology and computer science.

School of Mathematics

Since its birth in the 1950s, several contributions to mathematics have come from TIFR School of Mathematics. Notable contributions from TIFR mathematicians include Raghavan Narasimhan's proof of the embedding of open Riemann surfaces in , C. S. Seshadri's work on projective modules over polynomial rings and M. S. Narasimhan's results in the theory of pseudo differential operators. [8]

Narasimhan and Seshadri wrote a seminal paper on stable vector bundles, work which has been recognised as one of the most influential articles in the area. [8] M. S. Raghunathan started research at TIFR on algebraic and discrete groups, and was recognised for his work on rigidity.

School of Natural Sciences

The School of Natural Sciences is further split into seven departments working in several areas of physics, chemistry and biology.

Within physics, the Department of Theoretical Physics (DTP) was set up by Bhabha, who conducted research in high energy physics and Condensed Matter Physics. The department worked on the major advances in this period such as Quantum Field Theory, string theory, and superconductivity. [2] The current faculty includes Sandip Trivedi, Shiraz Minwalla, Abhijit Gadde, and Gautam Mandal. Several early faculty members at the institution were renowned in their fields. These include Ashoke Sen, who conducted seminal work on String Theory, specifically S-Duality, while at this institution. Other distinguished members were Spenta Wadia, Sunil Mukhi, Deepak Dhar and Nandini Trivedi.

The Department of Astrophysics works in areas like stellar binaries, gravitational waves and cosmology. TIFR is involved in building India's first gravity wave detector. [11] The High Energy Physics Department, TIFR has been involved in major accelerator projects like the KEK, Tevatron, LEP and the LHC. TIFR also runs the Pelletron particle accelerator facility. [12] Bhabha's motivation resulted in the development of an NMR spectrometer for solid state studies. The Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Material Sciences also conducts experimental research in high-temperature superconductivity, nanoelectronics and nanophotonics.

School of Technology and Computer Science

The School of Technology and Computer Science grew out of early activities carried out at TIFR for building digital computers. Today, its activities cover areas such as Algorithms, Complexity Theory, Formal Method, Applied Probability, Learning Theory, Mathematical Finance, Information Theory, Communications, etc.

Department of Biological Sciences

The Department Of Biological Sciences was set up by Obaid Siddiqi in early 1960s as a molecular biology group.[ citation needed ] Over the years has expanded to encompass various other branches of modern biology. The department has fourteen labs covering various aspects of modern molecular and cell biology.

Notable alumni

TIFR Centres

TIFR also includes institutes outside its main campus in Colaba and Mumbai:

Visiting Students Research Programme

The Visiting Students Research Programme (VSRP) is a summer programme conducted annually during the summer season by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. VSRP is offered in the subjects Physics and Astronomy, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology and Computer Science. [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K. G. Ramanathan</span> Indian mathematician

Kollagunta Gopalaiyer Ramanathan was an Indian mathematician known for his work in number theory. His contributions are also to the general development of mathematical research, and teaching in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TIFR Centre for Applicable Mathematics</span> Research institute in Bangalore, India

The TIFR Centre for Applicable Mathematics is part of the School of Mathematics of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. S. Narasimhan</span> Indian mathematician (1932–2021)

Mudumbai Seshachalu NarasimhanFRS was an Indian mathematician. His focus areas included number theory, algebraic geometry, representation theory, and partial differential equations. He was a pioneer in the study of moduli spaces of holomorphic vector bundles on projective varieties. His work is considered the foundation for Kobayashi–Hitchin correspondence that links differential geometry and algebraic geometry of vector bundles over complex manifolds. He was also known for his collaboration with mathematician C. S. Seshadri, for their proof of the Narasimhan–Seshadri theorem which proved the necessary conditions for stable vector bundles on a Riemann surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Institute of Science Education and Research</span> Higher education institution in Bhubaneswar, India

The National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) is an autonomous research institute in Jatani, Odisha, India, aided by Department of Atomic Energy. The institute is affiliated by Homi Bhabha National Institute. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone on August 28, 2006. Government of India earmarked an initial outlay of ₹823.19 crore (US$99 million) during the first seven years of the project, starting in September 2007. It was ranked second in the country by the Nature Index 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education</span> Science research centre in Mumbai, india

Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE) is a National Centre of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, India. The broad goals of the institute are to promote equity and excellence in science and mathematics education from primary school to undergraduate college level, and encourage the growth of scientific literacy in the country. To these ends it carries out a wide spectrum of inter-related activities, which may be viewed under three broad categories:

Srinivasacharya Raghavan was an Indian mathematician who worked in number theory. He was born on 11 April 1934 in Thillaisthanam, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. After completing B.A. (Hons) from St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirapalli, he joined TIFR in 1954 as research student, and completed his Ph.D. in 1960 under the supervision of Professors K. Chandrasekharan and K.G. Ramanathan. He was affiliated with TIFR from 1956 until retirement in 1994, and served as Dean of Mathematics Faculty during 1986–89. He played an important role in the development of the TIFR Centre for Applicable Mathematics at Bangalore in its initial years. He also held visiting appointments at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USA, Sonderforschungsberiech at University of Goettingen, Germany, SPIC Mathematical Institute and taught at the Centre for Advanced Studies in Mathematics at the University of Mumbai for many years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K. S. Chandrasekharan</span> Indian mathematician (1920–2017)

Komaravolu Chandrasekharan was a professor at ETH Zurich and a founding faculty member of School of Mathematics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). He is known for his work in number theory and summability. He received the Padma Shri, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, and the Ramanujan Medal, and he was an honorary fellow of TIFR. He was president of the International Mathematical Union (IMU) from 1971 to 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S. G. Dani</span> Indian mathematician

Shrikrishna Gopalrao Dani is a professor of mathematics at the Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences, Mumbai who works in the broad area of ergodic theory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shekhar C. Mande</span> Indian biologist (born 1962)

Shekhar C. Mande is Structural and Computational Biologist. He was the Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India, and the Secretary of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology. Prior to this, he was the Director of National Centre for Cell Science, Pune.

Mustansir Barma is an Indian scientist specializing in statistical physics. He was former director of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research from 2007 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasudevan Srinivas</span> Indian mathematician

Vasudevan Srinivas is an Indian mathematician working in algebraic geometry. He is a Distinguished Professor in the School of Mathematics Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. Srinivas is an elected Fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences, American Mathematical Society, Indian National Science Academy, and the Indian Academy of Sciences.

Yamuna Krishnan is a professor at the Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, where she has worked since August 2014. She was born to P.T. Krishnan and Mini in Parappanangadi, in the Malappuram district of Kerala, India. She was earlier a Reader in National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India. Krishnan won the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for science and technology, the highest science award in India in the year 2013 in the Chemical Science category.

Badanaval Venkatasubba Sreekantan was an Indian high-energy astrophysicist and a former associate of Homi J. Bhabha at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). He was also a Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Visiting Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore.

Kalobaran Maiti is an Indian physicist specialising in condensed matter physics and materials science. He obtained his MSc degree from Rajabazar Science College and PhD degree from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He was awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology in 2010, the highest science award in India, in the physical sciences category for his contribution in the field of very high resolution photoelectron spectroscopy in understanding the physics of metal-insulator transition, charge density wave and Kondo systems. He is also a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, Indian Academy of Sciences and the Indian National Science Academy.

Vadapalli Chandrasekhar is an Indian inorganic and organometallic chemist and is currently a distinguished professor and the centre director of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Hyderabad. He is known for his studies on the chemistry of inorganic clusters and rings and is an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy National Academy of Sciences, India, The World Academy of Sciences and the Indian Academy of Sciences 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, in 2003, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Vivek Shripad Borkar is an Indian electrical engineer, mathematician and an Institute chair professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. He is known for introducing analytical paradigm in stochastic optimal control processes and is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies viz. the Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and the National Academy of Sciences, India. He also holds elected fellowships of The World Academy of Sciences, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Indian National Academy of Engineering and the American Mathematical Society. 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 Engineering Sciences in 1992. He received the TWAS Prize of the World Academy of Sciences in 2009.

Virendra Singh is an Indian theoretical physicist and a former C. V. Raman chair professor and director of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). Known for his research in high energy physics, Singh is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies - Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Sciences, India as well as The World Academy of Sciences. 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 1973.

Sudhanshu Shekhar Jha is an Indian condensed matter physicist and a former director of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Known for his research in optoelectronics, Jha is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies – Indian National Science Academy, National Academy of Sciences, India and Indian Academy of Sciences – as well as of The World Academy of Sciences and American Physical Society. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded Jha the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to Physical Sciences in 1979.

Echur Varadadesikan Sampathkumaran is an Indian condensed matter physicist and a Distinguished Professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Known for his research on the thermal and transport behaviour of magnetic systems, Sampathkumaran is 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 as well as The World Academy of Sciences. 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 1999.

Anish Ghosh is an Indian mathematician specialising in ergodic theory, Lie groups and number theory. He is a Professor in the School of Mathematics of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. He was awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology in Mathematical Sciences in the year 2021. Anish Ghosh is also a part of the INFOSYS-Chandrasekharan Virtual Centre for Random Geometry which is a group of scientists at TIFR Mumbai and ICTS Bengaluru working on topics related to random geometry.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "NIRF 2020" (PDF). Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
  2. 1 2 Special Correspondent (November 2005). "Making bright ideas happen". Frontline. 22 (23). Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2010.{{cite journal}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  3. 1 2 Bhattacharya, Shobo. "Fanning the spirit of frontier science". Tata sons Ltd. Archived from the original on 10 May 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
  4. ↑ Lala, R. M. (29 July 2005). "JRD — The builder of modern Tatas". Business Line . Archived from the original on 17 April 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
  5. ↑ Raychaudhari, Oindrilla. "History of TIFR". Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Archived from the original on 23 September 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
  6. ↑ U.P.I. (2 February 1949). "Tata Institute to be centre of nuclear research". The Indian Express. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
  7. ↑ "NPIHP Partners Release New Documents on Indian Nuclear History". Nuclear Proliferation International History Project. Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Center. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Sreekantan, B. V. (March 2006). "Sixty years of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research 1945–2005" (PDF). Current Science. 90 (5). Retrieved 29 November 2010.
  9. ↑ "About TIFR". University Cell, TIFR. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  10. ↑ "TIFR Hyderabad-bound for Bhabha b'day". Indianexpress.com. 21 November 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  11. ↑ "TIFR approves the construction of a 3-meter prototype interferometer". Indigo. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
  12. ↑ "14 MV BARC-TIFR Pelletron Accelerator located at TIFR, Mumbai". TIFR. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
  13. ↑ "Deceased Fellow:Rajan Roy Daniel". Indian National Science Academy. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  14. ↑ "Deceased fellow-Kapahi". Indian National Science Academy. 2017. Archived from the original on 22 October 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  15. ↑ P. C. Agarwal (May 2015). "A versatile and humane scientist" (PDF). Current Science. 108 (9).
  16. ↑ "Indian Fellow - Easwaran". Indian National Science Academy. 2016. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  17. ↑ "Indian fellow - Swarup". Indian National Science Academy. 2016. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  18. ↑ "Bhamidipati Lakshmidhara Kanakadri Somayajulu (1937–2016)" (PDF). Current Science. 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  19. ↑ "Biographical Information - Naresh Patwari". Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  20. ↑ "Maneesha Inamdar - Academic profile". www.jncasr.ac.in. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  21. ↑ "Visiting Students Research Programme".

18°54′27″N72°48′22″E / 18.90757°N 72.80601°E / 18.90757; 72.80601 (TIFR)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.