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School education needs to be revamped if scientific temper is to be inculcated in children, says C.N.R. Rao
Last week, Bharat Ratna recipient, the eminent scientist C.N.R. Rao was at the GITAM University to deliver an endowment lecture. Here is an insight into one of the brightest minds of the country and what he feels should be done to encourage scientific temper in India and the status of scientific res
It is always interesting to pick at one of the brightest minds of the country. Last week, Bharat Ratna recipient, the eminent scientist C.N.R. Rao was at the GITAM University to deliver an endowment lecture. Here is an insight into what he feels should be done to encourage scientific temper in India and the status of scientific research.
He pointed out that scientific temper is directly related to school education and hence India can hope to catch up with countries like the USA, China, Germany and South Korea where scientific temper is truly present by revamping the education system as it was headed the wrong way today.
He was satisfied by the pace and coverage of scientific research in India but felt that other countries were far ahead and strenuous efforts need to be taken to achieve a higher level.
He lamented about the mad rush for engineering that has taken over the parents and schools today. The condition of most students is pathetic in IITs as they struggle with basic physics, chemistry and mathematics since they have been spoon fed to get through the entrance examinations. According to him, the way out is to do away with corporate school or college system and encourage schools and colleges that foster scientific temper should be encouraged.
He also feels that the government is to be blamed for science taking a back seat as today, the investment in science stands at less than 1% of the GDP.
Sharing his latest work with the youngsters, he said although he worked on several aspects like 2 dimensional oxides, nano-metals and grapheme, however, he was sure that chemistry will play a major role in nano technology and energy sector.
He asserted that the future is Nano technology and that it would find increasing usage in the energy sector.
The octogenarian still puts in more than 12 hours a day at his lab – a state-of-art facility. He shared that his work has been majorly influenced by the likes of Jagdish Chandra Bose and Dr. C.V. Raman.
Prof. Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao is the third scientist to be conferred the honour of Bharat Ratna only after Dr. Raman and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. He is also a recipient of Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan.
At just 21 years of age, he finished his Ph. D. from Purdue University and has not looked back in research work ever since.
Despite being a top-notch scientist, he is technophobic and stays away from the cell phone. “I don’t have a cell phone and just can’t relate how youngsters spend so much time over cell phones,” concluded Prof. CNR. Rao, with a smile.
* Read the original story by Sumit Bhattacharjee on www.thehindu.com