The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Alladi Ramakrishnan’s portrait in ‘Hall of Fame’ at Presidency College

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Alladi Ramakrishnan’s portrait in ‘Hall of Fame’ at Presidency College

Special Correspondent

— Photo: S. R. Raghunathan

VISIONARY: M. Ananda Krishnan, Chairman, IIT-Kanpur, unveiling the portrait of MATSCIENCE founder Alladi Ramakrishnan, in Chennai on Friday.

CHENNAI: A portrait of the founder of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (MATSCIENCE), Alladi Ramakrishnan, will adorn the walls of the “Hall of Fame” of Presidency College, his alma mater.

The enlarged portrait, which captures Alladi Ramakrishnan on his return from the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, U.S., was unveiled on Friday at a function hosted by the college alumni attended by a gathering of his associates, students and family members.

By coincidence, the Thiruvalluvar Hall where the portrait was unveiled was the very venue where Alladi Ramakrishnan delivered the famous “The Miracle has happened” speech in 1962 on the launch of his dream institution, which was opened by Nobel Laureate S. Chandrasekhar.

M. Ananda Krishnan, Chairman, IIT-Kanpur, who unveiled the portrait, hailed Alladi Ramakrishnan as a visionary architect and a great institution builder.

He called for inculcating Ramakrishnan’s advocacy of “intolerance for incompetency” and “impatience for opportunity” in an era where mediocre institutions were subsuming the first-rate centres of excellence. “A country’s prestige was directly dependent on the calibre of its educational, scientific or research institutions.”

Dr. Ananda Krishan, who shared a long association with the scientist, also recollected the events that led to the founding of MATSCIENCE as a harbinger of “intellectual renaissance.”

Former Supreme Court Judge and president of the Presidency College Alumni Association S. Mohan said Alladi Ramakrishnan was a distinguished scientist who made signal contributions to mathematical sciences.

N. Ravi, Editor, The Hindu, said the outstanding qualities in Alladi Ramakrishnan were total commitment for science and the delight he took from intellectual pursuit, the ability to dream big and espouse original work instead of incremental advancement to science and his institution building capacity.

The scientist’s son Alladi Krishnaswamy said the family members were touched by the gesture by the college.

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