Latest news with #Hoyle
The Advertiser
a day ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Permanent training base on wish list of new Jets coach
Finding a permanent training base for the Newcastle Jets' A-League Women's side will be a priority for newly appointed coach Stephen Hoyle. The 32-year-old Englishman was unveiled as Ryan Campbell's replacement on Tuesday and has already held discussions with off-contract captain Cassidy Davis about the facility issues faced by the women's team last season. Hoyle is based in New Zealand and will move his young family to Newcastle in September, but is keen to get to work reviewing Newcastle's 2024-25 season with a focus on the Jets' roster as well as trying to find a solution to their training venue woes. A longer A-League competition in recent years, although welcome, has meant the Jets moving out of their No.2 Sportsground training base before the season's completion to make way for rugby union. They were also unable to move in on time last season due to issues with the playing surface. Both prompted scrambling searches for last-minute training venues. That included a week of 6am training at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility because no other timeslots were available and using a junior community club's soccer field. "I've had a conversation with Cass already," Hoyle told the Newcastle Herald. "In terms of developing players, I want to leave players better than I found them, and I want to improve myself, but I think organisationally, you've got to leave a place better than you found it as well. "So these are key things that we will look to fix. I understand that you have to be adaptable in your coaching journey, but there's nothing wrong with trying to hold the club accountable and trying to push for the best that you can get for your players. "At the end of the day, the better the players feel, the better they're looked after, the better the performances. "So, things like that will be key things that we speak about, and they have already been talked about in terms of, 'Can we get a permanent home', and that adds straight away to the performance that we can put on the pitch." Davis is one of 16 players off contract but the home-grown Jets captain, who is closing in on 200 A-League appearances, is expected to be re-signed for a 13th season. Contracted for another year are Matildas centre-back Natasha Prior, Jets player of the year Sophie Hoban, attacker India Breier, defenders Josie Wilson and Claudia Cicco plus home-grown midfielders Emma Dundas and Libby Copus-Brown. "I want to do a lot more work on watching the games from last season, with the tactical footage and getting a good understanding of what we have and what we want to take forward," Hoyle said. "I'll try to do a lot of work from New Zealand, in getting to know the players, connecting to the staff that remains and seeing what we need to do and fill some spaces as well, then hit the ground running in September." The Jets finished second-last on the competition standings, and just four points off the bottom of the table, a season after breaking a six-year finals drought. They lacked a prolific goalscorer and leaked a league-high 53 goals. "I think people like Cass are invaluable," Hoyle said. "There's not many stories where a player has been at a club for 10 years and really understands the place, was brought up in the place. "Obviously, I understand the Jets want to have local talent and local players in there. It's then mixing that with some experience, a couple of good foreign spots if I can make that happen, and then some other good, young Australian talent and maybe a couple of older players who are Australian and are leaders. That's what I'm looking at. "But, in terms of what positions they are and how that will work, that will be a jigsaw when I learn from the Jets who's got another year left on their deal, what positions do we have available, what don't we have available, and I'm working through all of that information with them now to find out where we sit." Originally from Barnsley in England, Hoyle has played in leagues around the world and coached at various levels for over a decade. He coached Eastern Suburbs to grand final glory in New Zealand Women's National League in 2022 and is assistant coach of the under-17 women's national team. Hoyle, a defender with experience playing up front, is currently playing for New Zealand National League club Napier City, where he is also an assistant coach, but will hang up the boots to take on a two-year commitment with the Jets. Newcastle is somewhat familiar already. "My partner Jill [O'Meagher] is actually born in Newcastle," Hoyle said. "Her mum and dad moved to New Zealand when she was two years old but most of her family still live in Newcastle. She holidays there a lot. I've been quite a few times on holiday, so I know the place. "I'm from in between Barnsley and Sheffield, which is a huge mining town, a huge steel city, so I feel like it's kind of where I was brought up but it's on the beach, which makes it 10 times better. "But I think I understand what the people want to see from a work ethic side and from a cultural side of their team." Hoyle and O'Meagher have a three-year-old son George and are expecting a second child in November. Finding a permanent training base for the Newcastle Jets' A-League Women's side will be a priority for newly appointed coach Stephen Hoyle. The 32-year-old Englishman was unveiled as Ryan Campbell's replacement on Tuesday and has already held discussions with off-contract captain Cassidy Davis about the facility issues faced by the women's team last season. Hoyle is based in New Zealand and will move his young family to Newcastle in September, but is keen to get to work reviewing Newcastle's 2024-25 season with a focus on the Jets' roster as well as trying to find a solution to their training venue woes. A longer A-League competition in recent years, although welcome, has meant the Jets moving out of their No.2 Sportsground training base before the season's completion to make way for rugby union. They were also unable to move in on time last season due to issues with the playing surface. Both prompted scrambling searches for last-minute training venues. That included a week of 6am training at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility because no other timeslots were available and using a junior community club's soccer field. "I've had a conversation with Cass already," Hoyle told the Newcastle Herald. "In terms of developing players, I want to leave players better than I found them, and I want to improve myself, but I think organisationally, you've got to leave a place better than you found it as well. "So these are key things that we will look to fix. I understand that you have to be adaptable in your coaching journey, but there's nothing wrong with trying to hold the club accountable and trying to push for the best that you can get for your players. "At the end of the day, the better the players feel, the better they're looked after, the better the performances. "So, things like that will be key things that we speak about, and they have already been talked about in terms of, 'Can we get a permanent home', and that adds straight away to the performance that we can put on the pitch." Davis is one of 16 players off contract but the home-grown Jets captain, who is closing in on 200 A-League appearances, is expected to be re-signed for a 13th season. Contracted for another year are Matildas centre-back Natasha Prior, Jets player of the year Sophie Hoban, attacker India Breier, defenders Josie Wilson and Claudia Cicco plus home-grown midfielders Emma Dundas and Libby Copus-Brown. "I want to do a lot more work on watching the games from last season, with the tactical footage and getting a good understanding of what we have and what we want to take forward," Hoyle said. "I'll try to do a lot of work from New Zealand, in getting to know the players, connecting to the staff that remains and seeing what we need to do and fill some spaces as well, then hit the ground running in September." The Jets finished second-last on the competition standings, and just four points off the bottom of the table, a season after breaking a six-year finals drought. They lacked a prolific goalscorer and leaked a league-high 53 goals. "I think people like Cass are invaluable," Hoyle said. "There's not many stories where a player has been at a club for 10 years and really understands the place, was brought up in the place. "Obviously, I understand the Jets want to have local talent and local players in there. It's then mixing that with some experience, a couple of good foreign spots if I can make that happen, and then some other good, young Australian talent and maybe a couple of older players who are Australian and are leaders. That's what I'm looking at. "But, in terms of what positions they are and how that will work, that will be a jigsaw when I learn from the Jets who's got another year left on their deal, what positions do we have available, what don't we have available, and I'm working through all of that information with them now to find out where we sit." Originally from Barnsley in England, Hoyle has played in leagues around the world and coached at various levels for over a decade. He coached Eastern Suburbs to grand final glory in New Zealand Women's National League in 2022 and is assistant coach of the under-17 women's national team. Hoyle, a defender with experience playing up front, is currently playing for New Zealand National League club Napier City, where he is also an assistant coach, but will hang up the boots to take on a two-year commitment with the Jets. Newcastle is somewhat familiar already. "My partner Jill [O'Meagher] is actually born in Newcastle," Hoyle said. "Her mum and dad moved to New Zealand when she was two years old but most of her family still live in Newcastle. She holidays there a lot. I've been quite a few times on holiday, so I know the place. "I'm from in between Barnsley and Sheffield, which is a huge mining town, a huge steel city, so I feel like it's kind of where I was brought up but it's on the beach, which makes it 10 times better. "But I think I understand what the people want to see from a work ethic side and from a cultural side of their team." Hoyle and O'Meagher have a three-year-old son George and are expecting a second child in November. Finding a permanent training base for the Newcastle Jets' A-League Women's side will be a priority for newly appointed coach Stephen Hoyle. The 32-year-old Englishman was unveiled as Ryan Campbell's replacement on Tuesday and has already held discussions with off-contract captain Cassidy Davis about the facility issues faced by the women's team last season. Hoyle is based in New Zealand and will move his young family to Newcastle in September, but is keen to get to work reviewing Newcastle's 2024-25 season with a focus on the Jets' roster as well as trying to find a solution to their training venue woes. A longer A-League competition in recent years, although welcome, has meant the Jets moving out of their No.2 Sportsground training base before the season's completion to make way for rugby union. They were also unable to move in on time last season due to issues with the playing surface. Both prompted scrambling searches for last-minute training venues. That included a week of 6am training at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility because no other timeslots were available and using a junior community club's soccer field. "I've had a conversation with Cass already," Hoyle told the Newcastle Herald. "In terms of developing players, I want to leave players better than I found them, and I want to improve myself, but I think organisationally, you've got to leave a place better than you found it as well. "So these are key things that we will look to fix. I understand that you have to be adaptable in your coaching journey, but there's nothing wrong with trying to hold the club accountable and trying to push for the best that you can get for your players. "At the end of the day, the better the players feel, the better they're looked after, the better the performances. "So, things like that will be key things that we speak about, and they have already been talked about in terms of, 'Can we get a permanent home', and that adds straight away to the performance that we can put on the pitch." Davis is one of 16 players off contract but the home-grown Jets captain, who is closing in on 200 A-League appearances, is expected to be re-signed for a 13th season. Contracted for another year are Matildas centre-back Natasha Prior, Jets player of the year Sophie Hoban, attacker India Breier, defenders Josie Wilson and Claudia Cicco plus home-grown midfielders Emma Dundas and Libby Copus-Brown. "I want to do a lot more work on watching the games from last season, with the tactical footage and getting a good understanding of what we have and what we want to take forward," Hoyle said. "I'll try to do a lot of work from New Zealand, in getting to know the players, connecting to the staff that remains and seeing what we need to do and fill some spaces as well, then hit the ground running in September." The Jets finished second-last on the competition standings, and just four points off the bottom of the table, a season after breaking a six-year finals drought. They lacked a prolific goalscorer and leaked a league-high 53 goals. "I think people like Cass are invaluable," Hoyle said. "There's not many stories where a player has been at a club for 10 years and really understands the place, was brought up in the place. "Obviously, I understand the Jets want to have local talent and local players in there. It's then mixing that with some experience, a couple of good foreign spots if I can make that happen, and then some other good, young Australian talent and maybe a couple of older players who are Australian and are leaders. That's what I'm looking at. "But, in terms of what positions they are and how that will work, that will be a jigsaw when I learn from the Jets who's got another year left on their deal, what positions do we have available, what don't we have available, and I'm working through all of that information with them now to find out where we sit." Originally from Barnsley in England, Hoyle has played in leagues around the world and coached at various levels for over a decade. He coached Eastern Suburbs to grand final glory in New Zealand Women's National League in 2022 and is assistant coach of the under-17 women's national team. Hoyle, a defender with experience playing up front, is currently playing for New Zealand National League club Napier City, where he is also an assistant coach, but will hang up the boots to take on a two-year commitment with the Jets. Newcastle is somewhat familiar already. "My partner Jill [O'Meagher] is actually born in Newcastle," Hoyle said. "Her mum and dad moved to New Zealand when she was two years old but most of her family still live in Newcastle. She holidays there a lot. I've been quite a few times on holiday, so I know the place. "I'm from in between Barnsley and Sheffield, which is a huge mining town, a huge steel city, so I feel like it's kind of where I was brought up but it's on the beach, which makes it 10 times better. "But I think I understand what the people want to see from a work ethic side and from a cultural side of their team." Hoyle and O'Meagher have a three-year-old son George and are expecting a second child in November. Finding a permanent training base for the Newcastle Jets' A-League Women's side will be a priority for newly appointed coach Stephen Hoyle. The 32-year-old Englishman was unveiled as Ryan Campbell's replacement on Tuesday and has already held discussions with off-contract captain Cassidy Davis about the facility issues faced by the women's team last season. Hoyle is based in New Zealand and will move his young family to Newcastle in September, but is keen to get to work reviewing Newcastle's 2024-25 season with a focus on the Jets' roster as well as trying to find a solution to their training venue woes. A longer A-League competition in recent years, although welcome, has meant the Jets moving out of their No.2 Sportsground training base before the season's completion to make way for rugby union. They were also unable to move in on time last season due to issues with the playing surface. Both prompted scrambling searches for last-minute training venues. That included a week of 6am training at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility because no other timeslots were available and using a junior community club's soccer field. "I've had a conversation with Cass already," Hoyle told the Newcastle Herald. "In terms of developing players, I want to leave players better than I found them, and I want to improve myself, but I think organisationally, you've got to leave a place better than you found it as well. "So these are key things that we will look to fix. I understand that you have to be adaptable in your coaching journey, but there's nothing wrong with trying to hold the club accountable and trying to push for the best that you can get for your players. "At the end of the day, the better the players feel, the better they're looked after, the better the performances. "So, things like that will be key things that we speak about, and they have already been talked about in terms of, 'Can we get a permanent home', and that adds straight away to the performance that we can put on the pitch." Davis is one of 16 players off contract but the home-grown Jets captain, who is closing in on 200 A-League appearances, is expected to be re-signed for a 13th season. Contracted for another year are Matildas centre-back Natasha Prior, Jets player of the year Sophie Hoban, attacker India Breier, defenders Josie Wilson and Claudia Cicco plus home-grown midfielders Emma Dundas and Libby Copus-Brown. "I want to do a lot more work on watching the games from last season, with the tactical footage and getting a good understanding of what we have and what we want to take forward," Hoyle said. "I'll try to do a lot of work from New Zealand, in getting to know the players, connecting to the staff that remains and seeing what we need to do and fill some spaces as well, then hit the ground running in September." The Jets finished second-last on the competition standings, and just four points off the bottom of the table, a season after breaking a six-year finals drought. They lacked a prolific goalscorer and leaked a league-high 53 goals. "I think people like Cass are invaluable," Hoyle said. "There's not many stories where a player has been at a club for 10 years and really understands the place, was brought up in the place. "Obviously, I understand the Jets want to have local talent and local players in there. It's then mixing that with some experience, a couple of good foreign spots if I can make that happen, and then some other good, young Australian talent and maybe a couple of older players who are Australian and are leaders. That's what I'm looking at. "But, in terms of what positions they are and how that will work, that will be a jigsaw when I learn from the Jets who's got another year left on their deal, what positions do we have available, what don't we have available, and I'm working through all of that information with them now to find out where we sit." Originally from Barnsley in England, Hoyle has played in leagues around the world and coached at various levels for over a decade. He coached Eastern Suburbs to grand final glory in New Zealand Women's National League in 2022 and is assistant coach of the under-17 women's national team. Hoyle, a defender with experience playing up front, is currently playing for New Zealand National League club Napier City, where he is also an assistant coach, but will hang up the boots to take on a two-year commitment with the Jets. Newcastle is somewhat familiar already. "My partner Jill [O'Meagher] is actually born in Newcastle," Hoyle said. "Her mum and dad moved to New Zealand when she was two years old but most of her family still live in Newcastle. She holidays there a lot. I've been quite a few times on holiday, so I know the place. "I'm from in between Barnsley and Sheffield, which is a huge mining town, a huge steel city, so I feel like it's kind of where I was brought up but it's on the beach, which makes it 10 times better. "But I think I understand what the people want to see from a work ethic side and from a cultural side of their team." Hoyle and O'Meagher have a three-year-old son George and are expecting a second child in November.
The National
4 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Speaker 'disappointed' in Labour over defence review announcement
Speaker Lindsay Holye blasted ministers, who he noted were 'not slow to complain when the previous government made major policy announcements outside Parliament'. Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled the Strategic Defence Review at a press conference in Glasgow on Monday morning, sparking the anger of the Commons chair. Major policy announcements are supposed to be made in Parliament, according to Westminster rules set out in the Ministerial Code. Hoyle said: 'This morning, the Government published the Strategic Defence Review, the Prime Minister made a speech and held a press conference in Glasgow, in addition to other media appearances. This follows several days of media briefing. 'I am disappointed once again the Government appears to have breached the principle set out in par 9.1 of the Ministerial Code that, when the Parliament is in session, the most important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance in Parliament.' READ MORE: UK to build up to 12 new attack submarines and invest £15bn in warheads He said that while there were some instances where timings would be more complicated, the announcement of the defence review was 'wholly within the Government's discretion', adding: 'It is highly regrettable that, once again, ministers have chosen to hold a major media event before coming to the House. 'This shows complete disregard for the House and for honourable members. I note that ministers, when they were in opposition were not slow to complain when the previous government made major policy announcements outside Parliament.' Commons leader Lucy Powell said the Government was committed to the principles of the Ministerial Code and pointed to examples where major announcements had been made in Parliament. She added: 'I am satisfied that the Government is coming to the House regularly to keep Parliament informed.' Hoyle interrupted, saying: 'I'm not satisfied, I think that's the key because both back benches, quite rightly, should hear it first. I don't care how many have been done in the House, it's the one's that have not been done we should be talking about.'
Economic Times
25-05-2025
- Science
- Economic Times
Jayant Vishnu Narlikar: The great astrophysicist believed it's essential to have voices who question mainstream dogma
In June 1995, Cambridge University's Institute of Astronomy (IoA) celebrated the 80th birthday of its founder, the renowned physicist Fred Hoyle. Members of the original team who helped establish one of the world's leading scientific institutions in 1972 were invited. Among them was Jayant Vishnu Narlikar, one of the founding faculty of IoA, and one of Hoyle's old research students. Narlikar was then founding director of Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune, a place modelled closed after IoA. At the summer garden party on one of those rare English sunny afternoons, Hoyle, the most important figure in Britain's post-WW2 astronomy and space sciences establishment, was asked to speak about his life in science. In a letter to Robert Hooke in 1675, another Cambridge scientist, Isaac Newton, had famously said, 'If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.' Hoyle started his speech about his main contributions to astronomy by saying, 'If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of a Jayant.' In the 1960s, Narlikar, with his mentor Hoyle, developed a work that's arguably the finest among their scientific oeuvres. Hoyle-Narlikar theory of gravity presented an alternative to Einstein's general relativity by fundamentally incorporating Mach's Principle. Think of it this way: what if the weight and mass (inertia) of an object isn't just something it has by itself, but is actually influenced by everything else in the universe? Unlike Einstein's theory of relativity, which sees gravity as a warping of space and time, Hoyle and Narlikar proposed that gravity is a direct interaction between all particles in the universe, near and far. Their theory also included a unique concept called the 'creation field', which meant new matter constantly appearing to keep the universe expanding without becoming empty. This was consistent with their model of the universe-steady state theory-which believes the universe to be infinite in age and expanse. While we now have strong evidence for the Big Bang model-which believes the universe began from a point almost 14 bn years ago-this theory was a bold and thought-provoking alternative that pushed scientists to think differently about how our universe works. Celebrity came early to Jayant Narlikar. He was a decorated student, a senior wrangler in Cambridge mathematics with lots of prizes under his belt. With his work on cosmology with Hoyle being discussed in the halls of science across the world, the Indian government laid out a red carpet for him to return to India and set up a strong group in physics and astronomy research at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), from which would hopefully spawn many others. In 1988, UGC created for him his own institution, IUCAA, in Pune, to help build astronomy and cosmology teaching and research in all the universities across India. At 27, he had been awarded the Padma Bhushan, which later became a Padma Vibhashan as he stepped off his 3-term stint as director of IUCAA. Narlikar's approach to the nature of gravity, even at an early stage of his career, showed that at heart, he was a maverick. As most cosmologists grew comfortable accepting the Big Bang model, Narlikar held his ground that the steady state had to be the answer. As more evidence was unearthed in favour of Big Bang, he responded with alternative explanations. With Geoff Burbidge and others, he proposed the quasi-steady state model, a universe that contracts and expands, cycling endlessly, with no beginning. The cosmic microwave background, which is the strongest evidence in support of the Big Bang, was elegantly explained with a kind of interstellar dust. Models of dust led to more problems. But Narlikar was undeterred. He refused to stop thinking, or reimagining. He was not a contrarian, but somebody who believed that it's essential to have voices who question mainstream IUCAA director, I cherished Narlikar's daily presence at the institute in his office next to the library, where I would regularly go for discussions and advice. In the entire time I worked with him, I found his allegiance to his theories never to be dogmatic. In front of students and other academics, he would be open to all-out debate about anything he did or did not believe in. He would argue with impeccable rigour, ever fact that I often contradicted him in academic debates was never held personally against me, or anybody else. Narlikar was a professional academic in every sense of the term.I got interested in astronomy as a child from his books, and Carl Sagan, whose TV series, 'Cosmos,' he brought to Doordarshan audiences. Later on, as I worked alongside him to bring science to the public, especially to young people, I saw the true Jayant Narlikar-the maverick who was not afraid to question the core dogmas of science, as well as all-pervasive pseudo-science in society, embodied in astrology and general was truly a giant, not just of astrophysics or academia, but of rational thought and expression, and spent a lifetime very effectively communicating this to the rest of the world. There won't be another of his kind. Adieu.
Scroll.in
22-05-2025
- Science
- Scroll.in
Jayant Narlikar (1938-2025): A bright star who rewrote the story of the cosmos
A bright star has gone dark. Astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar died in Pune on May 20. He was 87. He devoted his life to the quest for scientific knowledge, the advancement and dissemination of rational thought and the steadfast struggle against pseudoscience. There is perhaps no student of science in India today who must not have heard of Narlikar. Using chalks of various colours and a blackboard, Narlikar imparted lessons on the universe, and our place in it, to generations of students. Narlikar was born in Kolhapur in 1983. His father was a professor of mathematics at Banaras Hindu University. Narlikar followed in father's footsteps, graduating in mathematics from Banaras Hindu University and then pursuing higher studies at Cambridge, where he was awarded the Tyson Medal in the Mathematical Tripos course. At Cambridge, Narlikar met renowned British physicist Fred Hoyle. In the 1960s, radio astronomer Martin Ryle provided new experimental data to Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory, supporting the Big Bang Theory. The universe began as an infinitely small, hot, and dense point that swiftly expanded and proceeded to stretch for 13.8 billion years, according to the Big Bang Theory. Narlikar and Hoyle used Ryle's data to show that his results were inconclusive for the Big Bang Theory. Their research yielded the Hoyle-Narlikar theory, also known as the Quasi Steady State Cosmology Theory or Conformal Gravity Theory. It presents an alternate explanation for the formation of the universe. Unlike the Big Bang Theory, the Steady State Theory contends that the cosmos is constantly expanding and creating new matter. This theory asserts that the mass of every object in the universe is affected by its interactions with other objects. Physicist Albert Einstein was inspired by this principle, but could not incorporate it into his theory of relativity. Narlikar and Hoyle's theory proposed a 'creation field', which is a hypothetical negative energy field that continuously creates matter, explaining the Steady State Universe: the universe has no beginning or end, it goes on forever. Their theory gave rise to an alternative understanding of the structure of galaxies, the distribution of matter and cosmic microwave background radiation. In his autobiography, My Tale of Four Cities, Narlikar uses a banking analogy to describe how the world expands steadily while retaining a constant density: 'To understand this concept better, think of capital invested in a bank which offers a fixed rate of compound interest. That is, the interest accrued is constantly added to the capital which therefore grows too, along with the interest. The universe expands like the capital with compound interest. However, as the name 'steady state' implies, the universe always presents the same appearance to any observer. Such an observer, for example, can measure the density of the universe from time to time. He or she should find the universe to have the same density at all times. How is this possible, when we know that anything that expands becomes diluted and less and less dense?' To answer this question, wrote Narlikar, cosmologists Hermann Bondi, Thomas Gold, and Fred Hoyle 'had to conclude that there is new matter created to make up for the diminishing density of existing matter'. This theory makes it possible to explain how stars dating back billions of years can be found, but it is not possible in the Big Bang theory, because it posits that the universe is 13.8 billion years old. The Steady State Teory, based on mathematical principles, is not universally accepted but gave rise to new debates in cosmological research. Narlikar's research on black holes was just as highly regarded. He proposed the concept of a self-gravitating system, which examines the gravitational impact of matter on the geometry of space-time surrounding black holes. A self-gravitating system is one in which the gravitational forces between its components are strong enough to keep the system together and prevent it from dispersing. His studies also focused on active galactic nuclei – AGN. These are the extraordinarily bright, compact centre regions of galaxies where a supermassive black hole actively accretes matter. Narlikar's research centered on the dynamics of black holes and the behaviour of energetic galactic sources, which included the creation of his 'magnetic field ejection model'. It is a cosmological model that proposes that magnetic fields cause quasars and other intense objects to be expelled from galaxies, explaining their observed redshift, which is when galaxies appear to emit red light, and other features. Upon returning to India from Cambridge in 1972, Narlikar joined the theoretical astrophysics group at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, where he remained for 17 years. Under Narlikar's guidance, the institute's Department of Theoretical Astrophysics achieved global acclaim in the mid-1980s. In 1988, the University Grants Commission entrusted Narlikar with the establishment of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune. The centre, founded by distinguished scientists such as Ajit Kamdevi and Naresh Dadhichi, is now recognised as a premier institution in astronomy and astrophysics, both in India and internationally. Under Narlikar, the centre cultivated a multitude of emerging scientists. He retired as the centre's director in 2003. Narlikar was also a dedicated advocate for science. He was prominent in Maharashtra's anti-superstition movement. With scholars and activists Sudhakar Kunte, Narendra Dabholkar, and Prakash Ghadpade, Narlikar demonstrated the ineffectiveness of astrological predictions. In 2018, he attended a science conference organized by the Breakthrough Science Society at Jadavpur University. Only months before his death, in February he had participated in the All India Science Congress in Trivandrum, Kerala. He exemplified the scientist who was an equally effective public speaker. Narlikar was also a science fiction writer, especially for younger readers. He wrote in Hindi, English and Marathi. Many students of the 1990s grew up reading Narlikar's writing, especially his novels. Decades before Covid-19 and artificial intelligence, Narlikar, in The Plague of Athens, wrote about the pandemic that followed a virus brought to earth by an asteroid. In another story, Narlikar wrote about super-intelligent robots, somewhat like ChatGPT today. Throughout his life, he also wrote articles to help ordinary readers understand complex scientific subjects. His achievements were celebrated early in his life, with Padma Bhushan at the remarkably young age of 27. Narlikar went on to receive several awards: the Adam's Award (1967), Kalinga Award (1996), Padma Vibhushan (2004), and Maharashtra Bhushan (2011). In the July 1964 issue of the National Planning Commission's magazine Yojana, a column asked 'Should we get Jayant back?' He was 26 years old then. Today, that line is just as relevant. Shamim Haque Mondal is a researcher in the Physics Division, State Forensic Science Laboratory, Kolkata.
Indian Express
20-05-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
Jayant Narlikar (1938-2025): The North Star in Indian astrophysics, he was ahead of his time — and space
Big Bang is an exploding myth, read the sign outside his room. It was also a sort of theme song for the person inside. For Jayant Narlikar, the established theory about how the universe came into being, through a Big Bang about 13.8 billion years ago, was never really a settled issue. Narlikar, who had contributed immensely to the development of an alternative model of the universe along with his mentor Fred Hoyle, passed away Tuesday morning in Pune. He was 87. Ailing for some time, he had had a fall two weeks ago and had to be operated upon last week. One of the most celebrated Indian scientists, Narlikar, then a young researcher at Cambridge University in the UK, had attracted global recognition for his work on what is known as the steady-state theory of the universe, developed by Hoyle, in collaboration with Hermann Bondi and Thomas Gold. The Big Bang theory suggests that the universe has a definite beginning, and a possible end. In contrast, the steady state theory, which was the mainstream theory in the 1950s and 1960s, maintains that the universe has always been the way it is, without any beginning or an end. The idea has become less popular over time, with mounting evidence that supports the Big Bang theory. But Narlikar remained unconvinced. Acknowledging that he was in a small minority, he argued in his autobiography 'A Tale of Four Cities' that there was still enough evidence to 're-examine the situation'. 'It is not that Narlikar was blind to the new evidence coming out in support of Big Bang. He was a scientist of the first order. It is just that he strongly believed in his work. So, every new piece of evidence for Big Bang used to be taken as a fresh challenge by him, a new opportunity to test his ideas. And his responses, or criticism, of the new evidence used to be as scientifically rigorous as it can get,' said Somak Raychaudhuri, a former director of Pune-based Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), which Narlikar was instrumental in setting up, and where he had an office room until a couple of years ago. 'In many ways, Narlikar was like Hoyle. They had amazing ideas on several matters related to science. Many of these were very unconventional ideas, but backed by rigorous mathematics and data,' said Raychaudhuri, now vice-chancellor of Ashoka University. The Hoyle-Narlikar theory, as it came to be known, on the steady state universe was just one such idea. In the process of formulating their model, the two also came up with an alternative theory of gravity, by modifying Einstein's general relativity. Then there was their work on cosmological red-shifts, the fact that light coming from far-away objects appears shifted towards longer wavelengths, corresponding to the red end of the visible spectrum. Narlikar questioned the accepted understanding that the red-shifting was caused mainly by the relative motion of the source. 'Their big ideas have become out of fashion these days, but much of the underlying mathematical structures, and the methods that they developed have withstood the test of time,' Raychaudhury said. And even, bigger ideas, including a possible alternative to Big Bang, are not completely discarded, said Ajit Kembhavi, one of the students of Narlikar, and another former director of IUCAA. 'Science is based on evidence. As new data emerge, theories evolve. Nothing is permanent. For example, there is some emerging evidence that may support newer versions of the steady-state theory. Similarly, there are many examples of anomalous red-shifts, that appear inconsistent with conventional explanations of why this happens. The scientist, Halton Arp, has been a great expert at finding these. Some of the data coming in from the James Webb Space Telescope seem to be clashing with our established theories. This is the way science advances. Alternative ideas are a must, as long as they aligned with basic scientific principles. Jayant (Narlikar) was like that,' Kembhavi said. In his autobiography, Narlikar himself wrote that some of his ideas were probably too ahead of their time. 'One moral that I have learnt from my (and more so from Fred Hoyle's) scientific career is that to have the maximum impact of your ideas, you must be only slightly ahead of time; if you are ahead of time by several years (as we were on this occasion), your ideas are dismissed as outlandish and then forgotten,' he wrote. He was referring to three of his papers published in 1966, including the one on gravity, which, he said was considered 'provocative' in the scientific community. But the talks related to these papers, two years ahead of their publication, had attracted a lot of media attention, and Narlikar was interviewed by many in the UK. It got him a lot of fame back home, with even Indira Gandhi, not a Prime Minister then, sending him a congratulatory note, in which she noted that had her father been alive (Jawaharlal Nehru had passed away a fortnight earlier), he would have been thrilled by his achievements. The international acclaim that the 26-year-old Narlikar was getting was noted by the Indian government too. Former union minister Jairam Ramesh posted a clipping Tuesday from the Yojana magazine of the erstwhile Planning Commission, an issue of July 1964, which discussed whether India should get Jayant back to the country. Narlikar did, eventually, return to India after a few years, where he trained several generations of astrophysicists and built institutions like IUCAA. He delved into science fiction, writing short and long stories in Marathi and English, many of which became part of the school curriculum. He pursued science popularisation, and campaigned against superstition and pseudo-science. He would specifically get himself photographed eating during eclipses to make a point. He used to organise special science sessions for schoolchildren at IUCAA and would spend hours answering their questions. 'One of his enduring legacies would be the large number of students he guided and mentored. Look at all the big names in astrophysics in India. Thanu Padmanabhan (who died in 2021), Sanjeev Dhurandhar, Ajit Kembhavi, Naresh Dhadich – all have been trained by Narlikar, and they, in turn, have trained many more. The astrophysics scene in India is quite vibrant,' said Tarun Souradeep, astrophysicist and director of Bengaluru-based Raman Research Institute, himself a student of Narlikar. 'Narlikar was a very good listener and very open to new ideas. It did not matter where the idea was coming from. He would often tell students, look it is amazing how that model works so well, now let us examine why our own does not work equally well in this situation. He would ask us to question established theories. Narlikar's students excelled in very different fields within astrophysics. He never forced his own ideas on them,' Souradeep said. In his autobiography, Narlikar made a self-assessment of his career. 'Honestly, reviewing my achievements, I find that I have not done badly, although I could have done better, but at a price. Most of the awards, honours and recognitions that I have won came my way without me soliciting them. I am also aware that I could have done better on this count, if my work had supported the doctrines favoured by the majority,' he wrote. To not be deterred by a doctrine just because it is favoured by the majority is what his life was about – both its art and its science.
