All posts tagged: physicist

R Rajaraman, the Indian physicist recruited by Robert Oppenheimer who always wanted to come home

R Rajaraman, the Indian physicist recruited by Robert Oppenheimer who always wanted to come home

Published by Parlour News

In 1963, a young Indian confronted a dilemma that few in the present generation would have. Ramamurti Rajaraman had just obtained his doctorate from Cornell University, his supervisor being the future Nobel laureate Hans Bethe, who had played a major role in the Manhattan Project. In those days of frenzied armament, Ramamurti, just 24, with a doctorate in nuclear theory, was a prized catch for America. But he wanted to abandon his chosen discipline, return home and devote himself to social service. As his first death anniversary falls on July 12, Rajaraman’s life reflects how much India has changed since then. Born in 1939 in Coimbatore, Rajaraman shifted to Delhi with his parents. His father, Dr B Ramamurti, taught mathematics before he joined the founding team of the Central Statistical Organisation. Around that time, Tamils had begun arriving in Delhi for jobs in British bureaucracy. With command over English, they soon occupied government posts. And then emerged a concern: How to inculcate Tamil education in their children who had been removed from their culture? To …

Noted physicist Rohini Godbole passes away

Noted physicist Rohini Godbole passes away

Published by Parlour News

Noted physicist Rohini Godbole. Padma Shri recipient and pioneer of particle physics in India, Professor Rohini Godbole, passed away on Friday in Pune. In a condolence note, the Indian Institute of Science said: “With great sadness, we deeply mourn the passing of Prof. Rohini Godbole. She passed away peacefully early this morning in her sleep. In addition to being a great scientist, she was a great leader, guide, colleague, and friend. She was a champion of women in science.” Ms. Godbole joined the IISc in 1995 and retired as professor in 2018. According to the institute, she won many accolades and awards, including the Padma Shri, Ordre national du Mérite from France, memberships of various academies, and DLitt and DSc degrees from several institutes/universities. She also served on various advisory committees to governments in India and abroad. A file photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacting with noted physicist Rohini Godbole. | Photo Credit: PTI Prof. Godbole was born in 1952 in Pune. After graduating from the University of Pune, she did her MSc in …

Physicist who worked on room temperature superconductor accused of ‘research misconduct’

Published by Webster

An investigation has found that the physicist who claimed to have developed one of the first room-temperature superconductors engaged in “research misconduct,” as first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Ranga Dias, a researcher and assistant professor at the University of Rochester, has been under investigation by a committee of outside experts since last August over concerns about the accuracy of his findings. “The University has completed a thorough investigation conducted by a panel of scientists external to the University who have expertise in the field,” University of Rochester spokesperson Sara Miller says in a statement to The Verge. “The committee concluded, in accordance with University policy and federal regulations, that Dias engaged in research misconduct.” Last year, Dias co-authored a research paper in Nature highlighting a nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride. The paper claimed the material could conduct electricity at ambient temperatures without resistance. (If that sounds familiar that’s because you’re thinking of the supposed LK-99 superconductor that went viral on social media last year.) Scientists later found inconsistencies in Dias’ research. This paper, along with some …

A plasma physicist explains what’s next after this week’s nuclear fusion breakthrough

Published by Webster

Tammy Ma was about to board a plane at the San Francisco International Airport when she got the call of a lifetime. She’s a plasma physicist at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world’s largest and most energetic laser. An experiment at the facility had just accomplished a breakthrough in nuclear fusion that scientists have been trying to achieve for decades.  “I burst into tears, and I was jumping up and down in the waiting area,” Ma told reporters at a technical briefing on the achievement in Washington, DC, this week. NIF shot 192 laser beams at a tiny target filled with fuel and achieved “fusion ignition” in a controlled setting for the first time on Earth Very early that morning — 1:03AM on December 5th — NIF shot 192 laser beams at a tiny target filled with fuel and achieved “fusion ignition” in a controlled setting for the first time on Earth. That means that they’d been able to generate more energy through nuclear fusion than the laser energy used to kick off the …