C. N. R. Rao: Difference between revisions

{{short description|Indian chemist}}

| name = C. N. R. Rao

| birth_name = Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao

| image = Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao 03650.JPG

| image_size = 220px

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1934|06|30|df=yes}}

| birth_place = [[Bangalore]], [[Kingdom of Mysore]], [[British Raj|British India]]

| field = [[Chemistry]]

| alma_mater = [[Mysore University]] ([[B.S.|BS]])<br />[[Banaras Hindu University]] ([[M.S.|MS]])<br />[[Purdue University]] ([[PhD]])

| known_for = [[Solid-state chemistry]]<br />[[Materials science]]

| prizes = [[Marlow Medal]] (1967)<br>[[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology]] (1969)<br>[[Hughes Medal]] (2000)<br>[[India Science Award]] (2004)<br>[[Dan David Prize]] (2005) <br>[[Legion of Honor]] (2005)<br>[[Abdus Salam Medal]] (2008)<br>[[Royal Medal]] (2009)<br>[[Padma Shri]] (1974)<br>[[Padma Vibhushan]] (1985)<br>[[Karnataka Ratna]] (2001)<br>[[Bharat Ratna]] (2014) <br>[[Order of Friendship]] (2009) <br>[[National Order of Scientific Merit]] (2012)<br>[[Order of the Rising Sun]] (2015) <br>[[Von Hippel Award]] (2017) <br>[[ENI Award]] (Oct, 2021)

| footnotes =  

| homepage = [http://www.jncasr.ac.in/cnrrao/index.html www.jncasr.ac.in]

'''Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao''' [[Fellow of the Royal Society|FRS]], also known as '''C. N. R. Rao''' (born 30 June 1934), is an Indian [[chemist]] who has worked mainly in [[solid-state chemistry|solid-state]] and structural chemistry. He has honorary doctorates from 83 universities from around the world, and has authored around 1,770 research publications and 53 books.<ref name=":1">https://jncasr.irins.org/profile/2645#other_information_panel</ref> He is described as a scientist who had won all possible awards in his field except the Nobel Prize.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sathyamurthy|first1=N.|last2=Rao|first2=C. N. R.|date=2019|title=Face to Face with Professor C N R Rao|journal=Resonance|language=en|volume=24|issue=7|pages=775–791|doi=10.1007/s12045-019-0840-2|s2cid=201041154}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Pulakkat|first=Hari|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/bharat-ratna-nominee-cnr-rao-won-all-possible-awards-but-the-nobel-prize/articleshow/25959582.cms|title=Bharat Ratna nominee CNR Rao won all possible awards but the Nobel prize|date=2013-11-18|work=The Economic Times|access-date=2020-03-03}}</ref>

A precocious child, Rao completed BSc from [[Mysore University]] at age seventeen, and MSc from Banaras Hindu University at age nineteen. He earned a PhD from Purdue University at age twenty-four. He was the youngest lecturer when he joined the [[Indian Institute of Science]] in 1959.<ref name=":2" /> After a transfer to [[Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur]], he returned to IISc, eventually becoming its Director from 1984 to 1994. He was Chair of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India during 1985 to 1989 and  2005 to 2014. He found and works in [[Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research]] and International Centre for Materials Science.

Rao received most important scientific awards and honours including the [[Marlow Medal]], [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology]], [[Hughes Medal]], [[India Science Award]], [[Dan David Prize]], [[Royal Medal]], Von Hippel Award, [[ENI award]] 2020 for research into renewable energy sources and energy storage, also called the Energy Frontier award (Oct, 2021). He also received [[Padma Shri]] and [[Padma Vibhushan]] from Government of India. On 16 November 2013, the Government of India selected him for [[Bharat Ratna]], the highest civilian award in India, making him the third scientist after [[C.V.Raman|C.V. Raman]] and [[A P J Abdul Kalam|A. P. J. Abdul Kalam]]<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/cnr-rao-sachin-receive-bharat-ratna/article5652196.ece?homepage=true | title=C.N.R. Rao, Sachin conferred Bharat Ratna | newspaper=The Hindu | date=4 February 2014 | access-date=12 February 2014| last1=Dhar | first1=Aarti }}</ref> to receive the award.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sachin-eminent-scientist-CNR-Rao-get-Bharat-Ratna/articleshow/25892638.cms | title=Sachin, eminent scientist CNR Rao get Bharat Ratna | work=The Times of India | date=16 November 2013 | access-date=16 November 2013}}</ref><ref name="BR1">{{cite web | url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/sachinretirement/sachin-first-sportsperson-to-win-country-s-highest-civilian-honour-bharat-ratna/article1-1151983.aspx | title=Sachin first sportsperson to win country's highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna | work=[[Hindustan Times]] | place=New Delhi | date=16 November 2013 | access-date=16 November 2013 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117200437/http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/sachinretirement/sachin-first-sportsperson-to-win-country-s-highest-civilian-honour-bharat-ratna/article1-1151983.aspx | archive-date=17 January 2014 | df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="BR2">{{cite web|url=http://pmindia.nic.in/press-details.php?nodeid=1748 |title=Bharat Ratna for Prof CNR Rao and Sachin Tendulkar |publisher=[[Prime Minister's Office (India)|Prime Minister's Office]] |date=16 November 2013 |access-date=16 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131119004210/http://pmindia.nic.in/press-details.php?nodeid=1748 |archive-date=19 November 2013 |df=dmy }}</ref> He received the award on 4 February 2014 from President [[Pranab Mukherjee]] at the [[Rashtrapati Bhavan]].<ref name="times14">{{cite news|title=Sachin Tendulkar and CNR Rao conferred Bharat Ratna|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/series-tournament/sachin-tendulkar-hangs-his-boots/top-stories/Sachin-Tendulkar-and-CNR-Rao-conferred-Bharat-Ratna/articleshow/29849599.cms|newspaper=The Times of India|access-date=4 February 2014|date=4 February 2014}}</ref><ref name="hindu2014">{{cite news|title=CNR Rao, Sachin receive Bharat Ratna|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/cnr-rao-sachin-receive-bharat-ratna/article5652196.ece|access-date=4 February 2014|newspaper=The Hindu|date=4 February 2014}}</ref>

C.N.R. Rao was born in a [[Kannada Brahmin|Kannada Madhva Brahmin]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Chemistry By Othello|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/chemistry-by-othello/288699|publisher=Outlook India|access-date=9 December 2013}}</ref>  family<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.timesofindia.com/city/bengaluru/Second-Bharat-Ratna-for-Chikkaballapur/articleshow/25911102.cms|title=Second Bharat Ratna for Chikkaballapur|publisher=Times of India|access-date=17 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay.aspx?newsID=236568|title=Udupi: New govt should invest more on science: Bharat Ratna Dr C N R Rao|publisher=Dajiworld|access-date=21 May 2014}}</ref> in [[Bangalore]] to Hanumantha Nagesa Rao and Nagamma Nagesa Rao.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/kannada/news-interviews/Bangalorean-CNR-Rao-to-get-Bharat-Ratna/articleshow/25896306.cms | title=Bangalorean CNR Rao to get Bharat Ratna | work=The Times of India | date=16 November 2013 | access-date=16 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/369562/scientist-wonders-why-nobody-asks.html | title=Scientist wonders why nobody asks him about Dan David prize| work=Deccan Herald | date=18 November 2013 | access-date=18 November 2013}}</ref> His father was an Inspector of Schools.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Ganguli|first1=A.K.|last2=Ramakrishnan|first2=T.V.|date=2016|title=Living Legends in Indian Science: C.N.R. Rao|url=https://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/111/05/0926.pdf|journal=Current Science|volume=111|issue=5|pages=926–931}}</ref> He was an only child, and his learned parents made an academic environment. He was well versed in [[Hindu literature]] from his mother and in English from his father at an early age. He did not attend elementary school but was home-tutored by his mother, who was particularly skilled in arithmetic and Hindu literature. He entered middle school in 1940, at age six.<ref name="stephen" /> Although he was the youngest in his class, he used to tutor his classmates in mathematics and English. He passed lower secondary examination (class VII) in first class in 1944. He was ten years old, and his father rewarded him with four [[Indian anna|annas]] (twenty-five paisa). He attended Acharya Patashala high school in [[Basavanagudi]], which made a lasting influence on his interest in chemistry. His father enrolled him to a [[Kannada]]-medium course to encourage his mother tongue, but at home used English for all conversation. He completed secondary school leaving certificate in first class in 1947. He studied BSc at [[Central College, Bangalore]]. Here he developed his communication skills in English and also learnt [[Sanskrit]].<ref name=stephen>{{cite web| author= Stephen David | title= How I made it: CNR Rao, Scientist |url= http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/How+I+made+it:+CNR+Rao,+Scientist/1/100031.html|date=3 June 2010 |work= India Today |access-date=23 November 2013}}</ref>

* DSc from Mysore University in 1961

* [[Marlow Medal]] by the [[Faraday Society]] of England in 1967<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=http://www.xn--ppstlicheakademiederwissenschaften-b4c.va/content/accademia/en/academicians/ordinary/rao.html|title=Chintamani N.R. Rao|website=The Pontifical Academy of Sciences|access-date=2020-03-03}}</ref>

* [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology]] in Chemical Science in 1968<ref name=":4" />

* Yedanapalli Medal and Prize in 1973<ref name=ias>{{cite web|title=RAO, Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra|url=http://www.ias.ac.in/academy/rao_pop.html|publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences|access-date=30 July 2014}}</ref>

* C. V. Raman Award in Physical Science by the [[University Grants Commission (India)|University Grants Commission of India]] in 1975<ref name=ias/>

* S. N. Bose Medal by the [[Indian National Science Academy]] in 1980<ref name=bas>{{cite web|title=Professor C.N.R. Rao FRS Biography|url=http://www.bas.org.bd/fellowship/list-of-fellows-/userprofile/cnrao.html|publisher=Bangladesh Academy of Sciences|access-date=30 July 2014}}</ref>

* [[Royal Society of Chemistry]] (London) Medal in 1981<ref name="C.N.R. Rao - Elsevier">{{cite book | url=http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-solid-state-chemistry/editorial-board/cnr-rao/ | title=C.N.R. Rao - Elsevier | publisher=Elsevier | date=2015 | access-date=December 5, 2015}}</ref>

* Member of many of the world's scientific associations, including the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]], [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]], the [[Fellow of the Royal Society|Royal Society]] (London, 1982), [[Royal Society of Canada]], [[French Academy]], [[Japan Academy|Japanese Academy]], [[Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts]] and [[Polish Academy of Sciences]], [[Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences]], [[Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts|Serbian Academy of Sciences]], [[Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts|Slovenian Academy of Sciences]], [[Brazilian Academy of Sciences]], [[Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences]], [[National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Korea|National Academy of Sciences of Korea]], [[African Academy of Sciences]], and the [[American Philosophical Society]]. He is also member of the [[Pontifical Academy]] and Foreign Member of [[Academia Europaea]].

* Founding member of the [[World Cultural Council]] in 1981.<ref>{{cite web | title = About Us | publisher = [[World Cultural Council]] | url = http://www.consejoculturalmundial.org/about-us/ | access-date = November 8, 2016}}</ref>

* Honorary doctorates from several universities including Bordeaux, Caen, Colorado, Khartoum, Liverpool, Northwestern, Novosibirsk, Oxford, Purdue, Stellenbosch, Universite Joseph Fourier, Wales, Wroclaw, Notre Dame, Uppsala, [[Aligarh Muslim University]], Anna, AP, Banaras, Bengal Engineering, Bangalore, Burdwan, Bundelkhand, Delhi, Hyderabad, IGNOU, [[Indian Institute of Technology Bombay|IIT Bombay]], Kharagpur, Delhi, Patna, JNTU, Kalyani, Karnataka, Kolkata, Kuvempu, Lucknow, Mangalore, Manipur, Mysore, Osmania, Punjab, Roorkee, Sikkim Manipal, SRM, Tumkur, Sri Venkateswara, Vidyasagar, [[Amity University, Gurgaon]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Satyarthi's '3D' model: Dream, discover, do|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/Satyarthis-3D-model-Dream-discover-do/articleshow/46318805.cms|website=Times of India|access-date=3 October 2015}}</ref> and [[Visveswaraya Technological University]].<ref name="insa"/><ref name="john"/>

* Hevrovsky Gold Medal of the [[Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences]] in 1989<ref name=bas/>

* Meghnath Saha Medal of the Indian National Science Academy in 1990

* Einstein Gold Medal of [[UNESCO]] in 1996<ref name=":4" />

* Centenary Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, London in 2000<ref name=":4" />

* [[Hughes Medal]] by the [[Royal Society]] in 2000<ref name=":4" />

* [[Doctor of Science]] from [[University of Calcutta]] in 2004<ref>[http://www.caluniv.ac.in/About%20the%20university/university_frame.htm Honoris Causa] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808224127/http://www.caluniv.ac.in/About%20the%20university/university_frame.htm |date=8 August 2011 }}. Caluniv.ac.in. Retrieved 13 March 2012</ref>

* Somiya Award of the International Union of Materials Research in 2004

* [[India Science Award]] in 2004<ref>{{cite journal |author= Ramasami T|title= India Science Award and Dan David Prize for C. N. R. Rao |url= http://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/mar102005/687.pdf|journal= Current Science |volume=88 |issue= 5| pages=687 |year=2005 }}</ref>

* [[Dan David Prize]] from Tel Aviv University in 2005<ref>[http://www.hinduonnet.com/2005/03/04/stories/2005030419220500.htm The Hindu : Karnataka News : Dan David prize for C.N.R. Rao] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606102413/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2005/03/04/stories/2005030419220500.htm |date=6 June 2011 }}. Hinduonnet.com (4 March 2005). Retrieved 13 March 2012.</ref> shared with [[George M. Whitesides|George Whitesides]] and [[Robert Langer]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dandavidprize.com/index.html |title=Dan David Prize |access-date=6 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511221915/http://www.dandavidprize.com/index.html |archive-date=11 May 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Rao is married to Indumati Rao in 1960. They have two children, Sanjay and Suchitra. Sanjay works as a science populariser in schools around Bangalore.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/know-bharat-ratna-c-n-r-rao-scientist-par-excellence-30466.html|title=Know Bharat Ratna C.N.R Rao, scientist par excellence|last=Anon.|date=2013-11-16|website=www.indiatvnews.com|language=en|access-date=2020-03-03}}</ref> Suchitra is married to [[Krishna N. Ganesh]], the Director of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) at Pune, Maharashtra.<ref>{{cite news|title=C.N.R Rao, scientist par excellence (Profile)|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/c-n-r-rao-scientist-par-excellence-profile-113111601169_1.html|work=Business Standard News|access-date=18 November 2013|date=16 November 2013}}</ref> Rao is [[technophobia|technophobic]] and he never checks his email by himself. He also said that he uses the mobile phone only to talk to his wife.<ref>{{cite web| author= Pallava Bagla | title= Bharat Ratna awardee CNR Rao: the scientist who finds computers 'distracting' |url= http://www.ndtv.com/article/people/bharat-ratna-awardee-cnr-rao-the-scientist-who-finds-computers-distracting-446963|date= 16 November 2013|publisher= NDTV |access-date=23 November 2013}}</ref>