Professor Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao

BY : Tanmay SharmaEnroll. No : 150170117054Div : L (I.C.)Subject : CPD (2990001)Project 3 : Thesis on famous Personality.

Early life and education

C.N.R. Rao was born in Bangalore ( 30 June 1934) to Hanumantha Nagesa Rao and Nagamma Nagesa Rao.

 He was well versed in Hindu literature from his mother and in English from his father at an early age. 

 He attended Acharya Patashala high school inBasavanagudi, which made a lasting influence on his interest in chemistry.

 He studied BSc at Central College, Bangalore.  He obtained a master's in chemistry from BHU two years later. 

 His first research paper was published in the Agra University Journal of Research in 1954. He completed PhD in 1958, only after two years and nine months, at age twenty-four.

Profession Rao is one of the world's foremost solid state and materials chemists. He has

contributed to the development of the field over five decades.[11] His work on transition metal oxides has led to basic understanding of novel phenomena and the relationship between materials properties and the structural chemistry of these materials.

Rao is currently the National Research Professor, Linus Pauling Research Professor and Honorary President of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research,Bangalore which he founded in 1989. He was appointed Chair of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Indian Prime Minister in January 2005, a position which he had occupied earlier during 1985–89. He is also the director of the International Centre for Materials Science (ICMS) and serves on the board of the Science Initiative Group.

He shares co-authorship of around 1500 research papers and has co-authored and edited 45 books.

Notable Contributions

Rao was one of the earliest to synthesize two-dimensional oxide materials such as La2CuO4. His work has led to a systematic study of compositionally controlled metal-insulator transitions. Such studies have had a profound impact in application fields such as colossal magneto resistance and high temperature superconductivity. Oxide semiconductorshave unusual promise. He has made immense contributions to nanomaterials over the last two decades, besides his work on hybrid materials.

After completion of his graduate studies Rao returned to Bangalore in 1959 to take up a lecturing position, joining IISC and embarking on an independent research program. From 1963 to 1976 Rao accepted a permanent position in the Department of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, during which time he was elected as a fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1964. He returned to IISc in 1976 to establish a solid state and structural chemistry unit. [10] and became director of the IISc from 1984 to 1994. At various points in his career Rao has taken appointments as a visiting professor at Purdue University, the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and University of California, Santa Barbara. He was the Jawaharlal Nehru Professor at the University of Cambridge and Professorial Fellow at the King's College, Cambridge during 1983–1984.[12]

Personal life

Rao is married to Indumati Rao in 1960. They have two children, Sanjay and Suchitra. His son Sanjay Rao is engaged in popularising science in Bangalore's schools .His daughter Suchitra is married to K.M. Ganesh, the director of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) at Pune, Maharashtra.[32] Rao is quite technophobic. He removed computers from his tables and never checks his email by himself. He also said that he uses the mobile phone only to talk to his wife.

Awards and recognition

Indian governmental honours

Padma Shri in 1974 Padma Vibhushan in 1985 Karnataka Ratna by the 

Karnataka State Government in 2001[30]

Bharat Ratna in 2014[6][7]

Foreign honours Great Cross of the National Orde

r of Scientific Merit from the President of Brazil in 2002[18]

Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour, France) in 2005[18]

Order of Friendship by the President of Russia in 2009[31]

Order of the Rising Sun (Gold and Silver Star) of Japan in 2015

Professor sharing light moments with Sachin during award ceremony(Bharat Ratna).

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