M. G. K. Menon
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Mambillikalathil Govind Kumar Menon | |
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Born | |
Nationality | Indian |
Alma mater | University of Mumbai University of Bristol |
Known for | KGF Experiments |
Awards | Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (1960), Fellow of the Royal Society(FRS)(1970) Abdus Salam Medal (1996) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Physics |
Institutions | Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Indian Space Research Organization Department of Science & Technology, Government of India |
Doctoral advisor | Cecil F. Powell |
Mambillikalathil Govind Kumar Menon, FRS (born 28 August 1928), also known as M. G. K. Menon, is a physicist and policy maker from India. He has had a prominent role in the development of science and technology in India during the past four decades. One of his most important contributions was nurturing the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, which his mentor Homi J. Bhabha founded in 1945.
He undertook experiments with cosmic rays to explore the properties of fundamental particles. He was actively involved in setting up balloon flight experiments, as well as deep underground experiments with cosmic ray neutrinos in the mines at Kolar Gold Fields. He is currently the President of the prestigious Indian Statistical Institute[1] and the Vikram Sarabhai Fellow of the Indian Space Research Organisation . In the past, he has been President of the National Academy of Sciences, India, Director of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai (1966–1975), Chairman Board Of Governors, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and Chairman Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad. He has won the Abdus Salam Award, and is a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. He is one of the most prominent scientists from the state of Kerala. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in May 1970.[2] The asteroid 7564 Gokumenon was named in his honour in late 2008.JPL
Early life
Education
M. G. K. Menon was educated at Jaswant College, Jodhpur, and the Royal Institute of Science, Bombay, before he moved to the University of Bristol for his Ph.D in elementary particle physics under the guidance of Nobel Laureate Cecil F. Powell in 1953.[citation needed]
Association with TIFR
He joined TIFR in 1955 "essentially because of Bhabha", and the association lasted nearly five decades. He became the director of the institute in 1966, at the age of 38, following Bhabha's untimely death. In fact, M. G. K. Menon began handling the affairs of the institute ever since he was 33, because of Bhabha's increasing involvement with the country's nascent atomic energy programme.[citation needed]
Special Awards: He won the Padmabhushan in 1968 and Padma Vibhushan in 1985.[citation needed]
References
- ^ "Council Of The Indian Statistical Institute". Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- ^ "Lists of Royal Society Fellows". London: The Royal Society. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
External links
- Article by Menon: Impact of Advances in science and new technologies on society
- Article on Menon
- Interview about India's nuclear program for the WGBH series, War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
- Activists Condemn Gujarat Violence, Screen New Documentary [1]
- Articles needing expert attention from May 2010
- Indian physicists
- 1928 births
- Living people
- Karnataka scientists
- People from Mangalore
- Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy
- Fellows of the Royal Society
- Foreign Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences
- Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences
- Alumni of the University of Bristol