India is home to world famous mathematicians and scientists. Many useful theories and groundbreaking scientific procedures are discovered by the ancient Indians including the discovery of zero.
Here is a list of famous Indian scientists from 20-21st century who influenced the world through their works.
Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose
Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, CSI, CIE, FRS, also spelled Jagdish and Jagadis, was a polymath, physicist, biologist, biophysicist, botanist, and archaeologist. He pioneered the investigation of radio and microwave and laid the foundations of experimental science in the Indian subcontinent. He is known as one of the fathers of radio science. He invented the crescograph, a device for measuring the growth of plants. A crater on the moon has been named in his honor.
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Srinivasa Ramanujan was a largely self-taught pure mathematician. His highly original work enriched number theory and, more recently, physics.
He was the first Indian to honored with Fellow of the Royal Society. In his short lifetime, he produced almost 4000 proofs, identities, conjectures, and equations in pure mathematics. His contributions to string theory revolutionized modern physics. Ramanujan is still one of the most reputed mathematics in the world.
Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman
Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was an Indian physicist who carried out ground-breaking experiments in the field of light scattering(Raman scattering effect), which earned him the 1930 Nobel Prize for Physics. India honored him with its highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.
Meghnad Saha
Meghnad Saha was an eminent Indian astrophysicist who gave the world the theory of ionization which explained the origin of stellar spectra. Meghnad Saha’s best-known work concerned the thermal ionization of elements, and it led him to formulate what is known as the Saha equation. Saha’s theory may be considered to be the starting point of modern astrophysics. Saha also invented an instrument to measure the weight and pressure of solar rays. Saha was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Physics
Satyendra Nath Bose
Satyendra Nath Bose was an Indian physicist specializing in theoretical physics. Best known for his work on quantum mechanics 1920s, His findings lead the foundation for Bose-Einstein statistics and the theory of the Bose-Einstein condensate.
Bose is a self-taught scholar and a polymath, he is interested in varied fields including physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, mineralogy, philosophy, arts, literature, and music.
Homi Jehangir Bhabha
Homi Jehangir Bhabha was an Indian nuclear physicist and the mastermind behind India’s nuclear programmes. He also made important contributions to the field of quantum theory and cosmic radiation, electronics, space science, radio astronomy, and microbiology. Bhabha was honored by many rewards from the Indian government as well as foreign universities. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1954, the third-highest civilian award in India.
Venkatraman Radhakrishnan
Venkatraman Radhakrishnan was a space scientist and member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He was an internationally acclaimed astrophysicist and also renowned for the design and fabrication of ultralight aircraft and sailboats. His findings helped the scientist to reveal the mysteries behind pulsars, interstellar clouds, galaxy, and various other celestial bodies.
Dr. Vikram Sarabhai
Dr. Vikram Sarabhai was considered as the Father of the Indian space program. India honored him with both Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. The establishment of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was one of his greatest achievements. He successfully convinced the government of the importance of a space programme for a developing country like India after the Russian Sputnik launch. While working as the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India He laid the foundations for the indigenous development of nuclear technology for defense purposes.
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was an Indian American astrophysicist. He won 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics with William A. Fowler for “…theoretical studies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of the stars”. His studies gave more insights into the evolutionary stages of massive stars and black holes. The Chandrasekhar limit is named after him. Indian govt: honored him with the second-highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan.
APJ Abdul Kalam
APJ Abdul Kalam was an Indian scientist who served as the 11th President of India. He studied physics and aerospace engineering. He was intimately involved in India’s civilian space programme and military missile development efforts. He is known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He also played a pivotal organizational, technical, and political role in India’s various nuclear programmes.
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