This book is about the remarkable scientist Homi Jehangir Bhabha who, at the age of eighteen, went to Cambridge to study Physics and started his research career there. In 1939, when Bhabha came to India on a short vacation, he was forced to stay on as the Second World War broke out. This was, of course, a blessing for the country as he later steered the country’s scientific destiny. The book records Bhabha’s contributions which were in many dimensions and were not just purely scientific.
A physicist and a prolific writer, Dr G Venkataraman has had a distinguished career in science and technology at BARC, Mumbai, IGCAR, Kalpakkam, and Anurag, DRDO, Hyderabad. He was a Jawaharlal Nehru Fellow from 1984 to 1986. He has also served as Vice Chancellor and Honorary Professor at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prashanthi Nilayam. He is a recipient of many awards, including the Sir C V Raman Prize, C V Raman Centenary Medal, Padma Shri, Indira Gandhi Award and the Indian Science Congress Medal for his contributions to the popularisation of science.
Besides the Vignettes in Physics series, Dr Venkataraman has authored two monographs—Dynamics of Perfect Crystals and Beyond the Crystalline State. He is also the author of the widely acclaimed Journey into Light: Life and Science of C. V. Raman.