CV Raman anniversary: The Indian Nobel laureate with ‘many firsts’

Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik paid homage to the remarkable scientist on Twitter. Along with the Odisha CM, several other eminent personalities also paid tribute to the Nobel laureate on Twitter.

At the time when India was on the verge of transforming into the world’s biggest democracy, CV Raman was busy in bringing laurels to the nation in his way. He not only became the first Indian scientist to win the Nobel Prize but also achieved many other milestones in his life.

Many firsts of CV Raman

CV Raman was the first Indian scientist to win Nobel Prize

CV Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for discovering the phenomena behind the dispersion of light, known as, the Raman Effect. Under this phenomenon, Chandrashekhara Venkata Raman explained how the wavelength of a beam of light changes after it is passed through a medium. It was for this discovery that CV Raman was felicitated with the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930. CV Raman won Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian prize, in 1954. He was also awarded several globally acclaimed awards including the Lenin Peace Prize and the Franklin Medal

CV Raman became the first Indian Director of IISC, Bangalore

Adding another feather to his cap, CV Raman became the first Indian Director of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1933. He handled the post for four years till 1937. He continued to work in the college and was the HoD of the Physics department at IISC till 1948. In addition to being a Nobel Prize winner, he is also a relative of another Nobel Prize winner. He was the uncle of Subrahmanyan Chandrashekhar. S Chandrashekhar was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983.

CV Raman was the first Pallet Chair of Physics at Calcutta University.

CV Raman always wanted to work in the field of scientific research and advancements. However, it was difficult to continue with his job as an accountant in the Indian government’s finance department. This is the main reason why he left the job in 1917, to completely devote himself to the field of science and research. Later, he accepted the offer of Pallet Chair of Physics at Calcutta University. Notably, he was the first person to hold a position in the university. At present, the position is being held by Amitava Raichaudhuri.

CV Raman education

In 1907, CV Raman completed his Master’s degree in Physics from the Presidency College, University of Madras. At that time, he also worked in the finance department of the Indian government. Afterwards, he began his teaching career as a Physics professor at the University of Calcutta.

CV Raman’s love for music

Apart from Physics, CV Raman was hugely fond of Indian classical music. He not only enjoyed the music but also used his innovation to come up with a mechanical violin. He was very much interested in the acoustics of stringed instruments. CV Raman was always amazed by how sound and notes were used to create the ‘Jugalbandi’ of art and science. He also conducted research in the ‘Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS)’. He discovered ‘The Raman curve’, a frequency response curve that relates the frequency response of the violin with its quality.