Jayant Narlikar
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Jayant Vishnu Narlikar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 July 1938 |
| Nationality | Indian  |
| Alma mater | Banaras Hindu University Cambridge University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astrophysics,Physics |
| Institutions | Cambridge University Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics |
| Doctoral advisor | Fred Hoyle |
Professor Jayant Vishnu Narlikar (born July 19,1938) (Marathi: प्रा. जयंत विष्णू नारळीकर) is an eminent Indian astrophysicist. Narlikar is considered a leading expert and defender of the steady state cosmology. His work on conformal gravity theory with Sir Fred Hoyle, called Hoyle-Narlikar theory, demonstrated a synthesis can be achieved between Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity and Mach's principle. India’s second highest civilian honour, Padma Vibhushan, was awarded to him for his work. Prof. Narlikar is the founder director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) at Pune, India.
Life and career
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Prof. Narlikar was born in Kolhapur, India on July 19, 1938. His father, Vishnu Vasudev Narlikar was an eminent mathematician and general relativist. He was Professor and Head of the Department of Mathematics at the Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. His mother, Sumathi Vishnu Narlikar was a sanskrit scholar.
1957 - Jayant topped Banaras Hindu University Bachelor of science examination. The same year he went to Cambridge University in UK to study mathematics further.
1963 - Narlikar did his Ph.D. under the guidance of Scientist Fred Hoyle. That year he went to King’s College, Cambridge as Berry Ramsey Fellow.
1966 - Fred Hoyle established Institute of Theoretical Astronomy in Cambridge. Narlikar became the founder staff member of the institute. That year, Narlikar married mathematics researcher Ms. Mangala Rajwade,PhD. The couple have three daughters - Geeta, Girija and Leelavati.
1969 - Jayant Narlikar was a Senior Research Fellow King’s College, Cambridge for the next three years
1972 - Narlikar returned to India and took up Professorship at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. At the TIFR, he was in charge of the Theoretical Astrophysics Group, which he developed into a strong center for astrophysics
1988 – University Grants Commission (India) sets up the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) at Pune. Narlikar became the Founder-Director of IUCAA.
Research and work
His work on conformal gravity theory with Fred Hoyle, called Hoyle-Narlikar Theory put forth that the inertial mass of a particle is a function of the masses of all other particles, multiplied by a coupling constant, that is a function of cosmic epoch. In cosmologies based on this theory, the gravitational constant G decreases strongly with time.
Prof. Narlikar is active in popularising science. He has written many articles in leading periodicals and has given lectures. He has written science fiction in Hindi, Marathi and English
He is famous amongst Indians who saw him on TV giving a prologue to each episode of Carl Sagan's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage in the late 1980s.
Main publications
Books
- Current Issues in Cosmology, 2006
- A Different Approach to Cosmology : From a Static Universe through the Big Bang towards Reality, 2005
- Fred Hoyle's Universe, 2003
- Scientific Edge: The Indian Scientist from Vedic to Modern Times, 2003
- An Introduction to Cosmology, 2002
- Quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei : An Introduction, 1999
- From Black Clouds to Black Holes, 1996
- Seven Wonders of the Cosmos, 1995
- Philosophy of Science: Perspectives from Natural and Social Sciences, 1992
- Highlights in Gravitation and Cosmology, 1989
- The Lighter Side of Gravity, 1982
- Physics-Astronomy Frontier (w/Sir Fred Hoyle), 1981
- The Structure of the Universe, 1977
Recent articles
- Creation of Matter and Anomalous Redshifts, 2002
- Absorber Theory of Radiation in Expanding Universes, 2002
Sci-fi novels
In English :
- The Return of Vaman, 1990
- The Adventure
In Marathi (मराठी):
- Yakshachi Dengi (यक्षाची देणगी)
- Preshit (प्रेषित)
- Virus (वायरस)
- Vaman Parat Na Ala (वामन परत न आला)
- Abhayaranya
- Aakashashi Jadale Nate
Honours and Awards
At Cambridge, Prof. Narlikar became Wrangler in 1959 and achieved distinction at the Part III of the Mathematical Tripos. He has won Tyson medal in astronomy there. He has received the Indira Gandhi Award of the Indian National Science Academy (1990) and the Kalinga Award of UNESCO (1996).
In 2004 Prof. Narlikar was awarded Padma Vibhushan - India's second highest civilian honour.
External links
- Jayant Narlikar's Home page
- An interview with Jayant Narlikar on virus from outer space (2003)
- An interview with Jayant Narlikar on the origin of Universe (2004, in Spanish)
- Jayant V. Narlikar's Summarized Biography
- Publications of J.V. Narlikar - part 1
- Publications of J.V. Narlikar - part 2
- Cosmology, Facts and Problems (French)