World remembers C.V. Raman, 1st Asian Nobel awardee
C V Raman
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, November 7: The scientific community worldwide is celebrating the 135th birth anniversary of C. V. Raman, who was the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize. Known for the Raman Effect in Physics, the Nobel laureate was also awarded Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award.
“The Raman effect is the change in the wavelength of light that occurs when a light beam is deflected by molecules. It was named after Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman who was born 7 November 1888. The Raman effect is used to analyse different types of material,” the Nobel Academy said in a post on X, while recalling the contribution of Raman. It also posted a video of Raman’s first visit to Sweden to receive the Nobel Prize.
“Today is the 135th birth anniversary of C.V. Raman, experimental physicist par excellence. He was the solo recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for his revolutionary work on light scattering carried out at the Indian Association for the Advancement of Science in Calcutta,” former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh said in a long post on X, while recalling the rich contributions of Raman in building India’s scientific community and institutions. He said that what is immortalised in science as the Raman Effect was born out of his first voyage to Europe in 1921 and wondering at the beautiful blueness of the Mediterranean Sea.
“Raman was supremely self-confident and fearlessly outspoken. A superb science communicator, Raman set up the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1934 and also offered a home at the Indian Institute of Science in then Bangalore to German scientists fleeing Hitler’s rule. One of them Max Born (Nobel in 1954) did in fact spend time at the IISc,” added Ramesh.
Raman’s legacy is seen in the Raman Research Institute in Bengaluru. He was also instrumental in setting up the Indian Institute of Science. Besides, He was able to network with leading scientists of his days and bring their scientific wealth to India.
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