&w=3840&q=100)
Renowned astrophysicist and Padma Vibhushan Dr Jayant Narlikar passes away
Eminent astrophysicist, science communicator, and Padma Vibhushan awardee Dr Jayant Vishnu Narlikar passed away in Pune on Tuesday, family sources said.
He was 87.
A towering figure in Indian science, Dr Narlikar was widely known for his pioneering contributions to cosmology, his efforts to popularise science, and for setting up premier research institutions in the country.
According to family sources, Dr Narlikar died in his sleep early Tuesday morning.
He had recently undergone hip surgery in a city-based hospital.
He is survived by three daughters.
Born on July 19, 1938, Dr Narlikar completed his early education on the campus of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), where his father, Vishnu Vasudeva Narlikar, was a professor and Head of the Mathematics Department, and he went to Cambridge for higher studies, becoming a Wrangler and Tyson Medallist in the Mathematical Tripos.
He returned to India to join the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (1972-1989), where, under his charge, the Theoretical Astrophysics Group expanded and acquired international standing.
In 1988, the University Grants Commission invited Dr Narlikar to set up the proposed Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) as its Founder Director.
He held the directorship of IUCAA until his retirement in 2003. Under his direction, IUCAA has acquired a worldwide reputation as a centre for excellence in teaching and research in astronomy and astrophysics. He was an Emeritus Professor at IUCAA.
In 2012, the Third World Academy of Sciences awarded Dr Narlikar their prize for setting up a centre for excellence in science.
Besides his scientific research, Dr Narlikar was well-known as a science communicator through his books, articles, and radio/TV programmes.
He is also known for his science fiction stories.
For all these efforts, he was honoured by Unesco in 1996 with the Kalinga Award for popular science works.
Dr Narlikar was awarded Padmabhushan in 1965 at the young age of 26.
In 2004, he was awarded Padmavibhushan, and the Maharashtra government honoured him with the state's highest civilian award, Maharashtra Bhushan, in 2011.
In 2014, the Sahitya Akademi, the premiere literary body in India, selected his autobiography for its highest prize in regional language (Marathi) writing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
25 minutes ago
- India.com
Completed school in 9 years, MSc at 12, PhD at 21, worked at IIT Bombay as professor at 22, fired from job due to…; he is now...
Completed school in 9 years, MSc at 12, PhD at 21, worked at IIT Bombay as professor at 22, fired from job due to…; he is now... Some people are born geniuses. They complete their studies at a young age and achieve their goals and passions. Tathagat Avatar Tulsi, who was once hailed as a child prodigy in physics, now finds himself at an uncertain stage in life, presently unemployed. Right from childhood, his brilliant mind stood out from the rest. Born on September 9, 1987, in Bihar, Tulsi had already completed school studies when most children were barely starting out. While his initial success was newsworthy, his experience has now followed a surprising and unforeseen path. In this article, we will discuss the motivational story of an Indian genius, who completed school at 9, PhD at 21, became an IIT professor at 22, then got fired due to….; his name is.. Hailing from Bihar, Tathagat Avatar Tulsi was born on September 9, 1987. He exhibited extraordinary talent from a young age. Surprisingly, Tulsi finished his schooling at 9, a mere age when most of the students are barely starting out their academic journey. Soon after pursuing his school education at the age of 9, Tathagat Avatar Tulsi achieved another milestone. He completed his BSc at 11, and an MSc at 12 from Patna Science College. Not only this, Tathagat Avatar Tulsi further studied for a PhD at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore and finished it when he was just 21 years old. Though he achieved everything so early in life, nowadays he is also struggling with unemployment. Avatar earned his PhD and authored his thesis on the subject, 'Generalizations of the Quantum Search Algorithm.' He co-authored a research paper with Lov Grover titled 'A New Algorithm for Fixed-point Quantum Search,' although it remained unpublished. A wave of good news returned to his life in 2010, when Tulsi was appointed as a contractual professor at the Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) Bombay. Life took an arduous turn in 2011 when his health started to deteriorate. He had a high fever, and it was diagnosed as an allergy. His sickness was the start of his tribulations. In 2013, on health grounds, Tathagat went on a four-year-long leave in Patna. Unfortunately, after his long leave, IIT Bombay laid off his services in 2019, bringing an effective end to his academic life at the institute. Going by the media reports, he is said to have earned the title of youngest PhD holder in India. Tathagat, who was once among the most gifted Asian kids, earning nicknames such as 'Superteen' by Science, 'Physics Prodigy' by The TIMES, and 'Master Mind' by The WEEK, now finds himself unemployed and seeking to recreate his life. In 2019, Tulsi's tenure at IIT came to an official end when he was released from his duties. Now, Tathagat Avatar Tulsi is moving into a new stage of life. No longer in school, he has shifted his attention to the study of law. His keen mind is looking for new possibilities, and many who were once inspired by him are observing, waiting to see what the future has in store for this once-great scholar.
India Today
44 minutes ago
- India Today
New Covid-19 variants are not serious threats: Top scientist
New Covid-19 variants are not serious threats: Top scientist Jun 6, 2025 Credit: Getty Images As India sees a rise in Covid-19 cases, leading Indian immunologist Dr. Vineeta Bal has said that the new variants currently in circulation are not serious threats. Dr. Bal, former scientist at the National Institute of Immunology, told that new mutations of the virus are spreading, they are not causing alarm like Delta. Several parts of India are reporting an increase in Covid-19 cases, largely due to new sub-lineages of the virus. However, experts believe that this uptick is not linked to a rise in severity of illness or deaths. Most deaths are said to be because of underlying conditions. Dr. Bal explained that the current wave of Covid-19 is very different from what India experienced during the Delta wave in 2021. "Back then, the virus was new to our immune systems, and the population had not been exposed to it before. That led to widespread severe illness and a major public health crisis,' she said. New virus Widespread vaccination and natural infections have helped build community-level immunity across most of the population. Community immunity "We are now continuously managing new variants as they emerge. This doesn't mean the virus is gone or harmless, but the level of threat is quite low," she said. New variants: Mild cases As Covid continues to shift toward an endemic stage, Dr. Bal said that it is unlikely that any new variant now will cause major illness or high fatality rates. The government has advised the public to practise hand hygiene, cough etiquette, and avoid crowded places when unwell. Hygiene protocol
India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
First pictures of Dragon spacecraft that Shubhanshu Shukla will pilot to space
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will fly to the International Space Station (ISS) is spacecraft that will carry four Ax-4 astronauts and return them to Earth arrived at the hangar at pad 39A in Florida ahead of its first newly developed spacecraft will launch on its maiden voyage to space with astronauts from the US, India, Poland and Hungry as part of a private mission being led by Axiom Space. Dragon arrives at the hangar at pad 39A in Florida ahead of its first flight. (Phot0: SpaceX) advertisement The Dragon spacecraft will launch on June 10 from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida to space aboard SpaceX reusable Falcon-9 rocket that will return to Earth after delivering the vehicle in astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will be piloting the spacecraft and has been trained for the mission by SpaceX and Axiom Space. He will be responsible for supervising the launch and docking operations of the vehicle, which is completely autonomous and does not require human spacecraft was brought to the Nasa launch pad by SpaceX, just hours before the dramatic spat between US President Donald Trump and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, who were earlier close dispute escalated after Musk publicly criticised a key spending bill backed by the Trump administration, calling it an 'abomination'. Trump responded on his social media platform by suggesting that axing Musk's government contracts would save the US billions, and questioned why such action hadn't already been taken..@NASA, @Axiom_Space, and @SpaceX are targeting 8:22 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, June 10, for launch of the fourth private astronaut mission to the @Space_Station, Axiom Mission mission will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at @NASAKennedy in Florida. The crew will travel to the NASA Space Operations (@NASASpaceOps) June 4, 2025advertisementIn a swift reaction, Musk declared on X, "In light of the President's statement about the cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately".Musk's announcement raises concerns over the fate of the Ax-4 mission, which has been postponed twice due to other factors, from May 29 to June 8 and then to June SpaceX founder, however, took back his decision in reply to an X post and said, "Good advice. Ok, we won't decommission Dragon".Must Watch
