R Srinivasan Institute Chair

Description

About the cause

The Prof. R. Srinivasan Institute Chair Professorship at IIT Madras will honour the legendary professor and will be instituted in the Department of Physics. This Chair will be occupied by Prof. M. S. Ramachandra Rao, Professor and Previous HOD in the Physics Department.

Prof. R Srinivasan completed his Ph.D from Madras University in 1957 and is currently working in Department of Physics IISc, Bangalore. He worked as a Professor in the department of Physics, IIT Madras from 1962-1990. From 1979-1981, he was the Dean of Academic Research, From 1981-1983, Dean of Student Affairs and Deputy Director of IITM from 1982-1984. Later, he became a director of IUC-DAEF in 1990. Professor has also worked as a Visiting Scientist in Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, from January 1996 and initiated research in Cold Atoms which is now one of the active centres in India doing research on cold atoms and molecules. Professor was also a consultant to Cryogenics Division of Institute for Plasma Physics in Gandhinagar for four years.

Professor has set up the Low Temperature Laboratory which was acclaimed as one of the best laboratories in the country. From 2001 he has developed a low cost kit for experiments in Physics at the B.Sc, M.Sc and Post-M.Sc levels and got a company in Bangalore to manufacture the items and sell them. 100 Refresher courses in Experimental Physics have been conducted all over India from Kashmir to Kerala and Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh. About 2000 teachers and students have been trained on the experiments.

His research activities focus on Theoretical Physics: Lattice dynamics and an-harmonic properties of crystals, non-linear elasticity, surface modes of vibrations, Experimental Low Temperature Physics: Superconductivity, magnetic properties of materials at low temperatures, Atomic Physics: Laser cooling of atoms. Professor has published more than 200 in theory and experiment in International Refereed Journals.

Professor has worked abroad on Material research, Nuclear research centre and have achieved various awards and honors, which includes Life Time Achievement Awardee of the Indian Cryogenics Council, Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, Instrumentation Society of India Awardee etc.

We request all alumni who have interacted with Prof R.Srinivasan, and have fond memories with him, to sponsor for the Chair. An Institute Chair requires an Endowment of Rs 1 Cr, and the annual returns from the principal will be used to sustain the Chair.

We appeal to all of you to join hands in this endeavour and contribute generously.

How the money will be used

The endowment interest will be used to fund a salary increment for the awarded Professors for the Chair.