Seperti kita punya Johanes Surya, CNR Rao dan isteri giat mempopulerkan sains dikalangan anak-anak. Sebagai penghargaan atas hasil penelitiannya dalam bidang nano yang berdampak pada kehidupan manusia, Dan David Foundation baru-baru ini menyampaikan hadiah kepadanya sebesar $ 1 juta yang harus dibagi bersama dengan Robert Langer (MIT) dan George Whitesides (Harvard).
Dikalangan ilmuwan, CNR Rao (71) yang pernah pinjam uang pembeli stelan jas untuk upacara menerima gelar Ph.D dari Purdue University, sudah tidak asing lagi. Sudah 1,200 karya ilmiah dimuat dijurnal-jurnal dan dia sudah menulis 37 buku. Bersama 20 mahasiswanya, CNR Rao bergelut mencari terobosan di bidang nano (ukurannya 1 per 80,000 rambut manusia) dan mendapat kegunaannya bagi kedokteran dan teknologi. Kini sedang ditekuni aplikasi nano pada superconductivity untuk menghasilkan bahan tanpa friction (gesekan) dalam suhu kamar. Dan David Foundation menandai bahwa innovasi itu akan merupakan revolusi bagi transmisi listrik, elektronika, dan transportasi. Salam, RM ----------- Wednesday, May 25, 2005 Four annas from father to highest honour since Raman’s Nobel C N R Rao shares prestigious Israel Dan David Foundation material science award with MIT, Harvard scientists RESHMA PATIL MUMBAI, MAY 24 Every morning, a 71-year-old scientist is the first to enter his futuristic materials science laboratories in Bangalore where experiments are of a precision thinner than a strand of human hair. C N R Rao, the grand old man of Indian science with 50 years of research behind him, received the 2005 Dan David Prize for materials science in the Future Time Dimension last night. And the man who once pocketed a four-anna reward from his father for securing first-class in an exam when he was 10, now shares a million-dollar award. The Dan David Foundation headquartered at Tel Aviv University annually recognises achievements that impact the world. ‘‘This is the highest prize an Indian scientist has received at least in the last 70 years, since C V Raman’s Nobel,’’ Rao told The Indian Express from Tel Aviv, Israel. ‘‘It’s an honour for Indian science and my students,’’ says Rao, who is also chairman of the science advisory council for the Prime Minister. The prize winners are called ‘‘laureates’’ and Rao shares the million-dollar prize for materials science with Robert Langer of MIT and George Whitesides of Harvard University, USA. ‘‘There are no week-ends, no holidays for Rao,’’ says colleague and chemistry professor V Krishnan, at Bangalore’s Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research where Rao is the Linus Pauling Research Professor. ‘‘He’s the first to enter his lab at 8.15 am, when some students are still sleeping,’’ says Krishnan, who also gives a thumbs-up to Rao’s gourmet cooking. ‘‘He’s never idle, chasing one idea after another.’’ In fact, Rao’s biography by Mohan Sundara Rajan recounts the early days when he borrowed money to buy a new suit for his PhD interview at Purdue University. ‘‘Today, Rao’s books are studied by students worldwide,’’ says R V Hosur, chairman of the chemical sciences department at Mumbai’s Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). ‘‘I’ll continue to work as long as I can. No retirement,’’ says Rao, with 1,200 research publications, 37 books, fellowship of 23 science academies worldwide behind him. Rao’s group of 20 students work on futuristic applications in medicine and technology with atomic precision at nano size—1/80,000th the width of human hair. There’s also research in superconductivity, to make materials lose resistance to current at room temperature, that could revolutionise the power transmission, electronics and transport industries. The Dan David Prize—its laureates donate 10 per cent prize money to graduate students in their fields—cites Rao as ‘‘among the world’s foremost solid state and materials chemists. His work on transition metal oxides has led to basic understanding of novel phenomena.’’ Rao was among the first to see potential in solid state chemistry, an unrecognised, non-existent subject in India until the 1960s. But Rao is currently sharing an experiment larger than nano. He and wife Indumati are busy writing a four-part book, Learning Science, to open the world of science to students. ‘‘It will be released in three months in CDs also,’’ says Rao. ‘‘The book will describe the universe and the world of physics, chemistry and biology.’’ URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=70984 ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease? Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts! http://us.click.yahoo.com/OCfFmA/UOnJAA/E2hLAA/BRUplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. 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