Who is the father of chemistry in India
Chemistry is a vital part of the scientific process when it comes to creating new medicines or finding ways to solve existing problems.
And in India, that science has a long and illustrious history, with one man at its forefront—Vikas Karanth. Karanth is the father of chemistry in India and has made significant academic and industrial contributions to the field.
In this blog post, we will explore Vikas Karanth’s life and work and how his insights into chemistry have helped shape India’s scientific landscape.
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Raghavendra Rao
Raghavendra Rao is one of the most eminent chemists in India. He has made important contributions to the field of chemistry and has been awarded several prestigious awards, including the Padma Shri, the highest civilian honor in India.
Raghavendra Rao was born in 1907 in a small village in Andhra Pradesh. As a child, he showed great interest in chemistry, and after completing his secondary education, he decided to pursue a career in this field.
Rao began his academic journey at Andhra University, where he completed his Bachelor’s degree in 1928. Afterward, he received his Master’s degree from the same institution two years later.
During his time as an undergraduate student, Rao had come into contact with some of the leading scientists of his day, including J.C. Bose and C.-K. Yang. After receiving his Master’s degree, he continued his research at Calcutta University under the supervision of Kazi Nazimuddin and Suresh Chandra Bose. In 1937, Rao earned his Doctorate from Calcutta University after publishing a seminal paper on coordination compounds.
After completing his doctoral studies, Rao returned to Andhra University as an assistant professor. He remained there for six years before joining Stanford University as a visiting professor in 1946.
During this time, Rao worked on developing new methods for solving chemical equations and expanding upon his research into coordination compounds. In 1955, he returned to India.
C. Bose
J.C. Bose was a renowned physicist who made significant contributions to the field of chemistry in India. He is credited with developing the first electronic device, the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), which uses quantum mechanics to emit and detect photons.
Chandrasekhara Venkataraman
Chandrasekhara Venkataraman (born on June 3, 1932) is a prominent Indian-born chemist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
He is widely considered to be the father of modern organic chemistry. He has made significant contributions to understanding chemical processes in organic and inorganic materials, and his work has profoundly impacted the development of new drugs and materials.
In addition to his academic work, Venkataraman has served as president of the American Chemical Society, vice president of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, and treasurer-general of the World Federation of Science Organizations. He was awarded India’s fourth highest civilian honor, the Padma Bhushan, in 2001.
Mehta, Prakash
Prakash Mehta is the father of modern chemistry in India. He was born on December 12, 1888, in Rohtak, Haryana, India. As a student, Mehta studied at the Presidency College of Calcutta and then at the University of Cambridge.
In 1915, he received his doctorate from Cambridge and returned to India to teach at the University of Bombay. Here he worked on developing new methods for analysis and synthesizing chemicals.
In 1922, he moved to Switzerland, where he continued his research until he died in 1956. Mehta was a major figure in the development of modern chemistry in India and made significant contributions to the field of organic chemistry.
