Prof. Barry Ramachandra Rao, former Head of Department of Physics, Andhra University, was remembered by his students, who are now retired professors, colleagues, and prominent members from his community on his 10th death anniversary at a meeting held in the Senate Hall of Andhra University on Thursday.
A protégé of Prof. S. Bhagavantam, the young B.R. Rao completed his education, including his Ph. D, from Andhra University and joined the university as lecturer in 1944.
Hailing from the fishermen community, Mr. Rao rose to become the Vice-Chairman of University Grants Commission for two terms from 1976 to 1982 and also served as Rajya Sabha member from 1982 to 88. He was awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award in 1965.
He was instrumental in setting up the AU Space Science Group and was responsible for many path-breaking research and discoveries in the area of radio and space research. According to an article written by P. Balarama Rao of National Remote Sensing Agency and published in Current Science in the May 25, 2006 edition, after Prof. Rao’s death in 2005, the first multi-frequency HF pulse radar in spaced-receiver configuration was developed by B.R. Rao’s group and a comprehensive study was made of ‘ionospheric plasma’ drifts over low altitude. The present day HF Doppler radar, Doppler meteor radar, and Doppler sodar systems are based on the study made by B.R. Rao’s group at Andhra University.
Speaking on the occasion, MLA (Visakhapatnam South) Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar said that Prof. Rao’s statue should adorn the Beach Road, and he would take up the cause.
He also said that he would rope in all the 11 MPs from the fisherman community to take up the cause of granting SC status to the community.
Prof. Ratna Raju, who studied under Prof. B.R. Rao, reminisced that it was he (B.R. Rao) who had brought the first computer to the AU, and the Computer Science Department should be named after Prof. B.R. Rao.
Registrar V. Uma Maheshwara Rao pointed out that in 2011 the university council had agreed to put up a statue of the eminent space scientist. The proposal is still pending. He promised to speed up the proposal. Former V-C of JNTU-Kakinada Prof. Allam Appa Rao said that Prof. B.R. Rao was a disciplinarian and had spent most of the time with his students.
Former Mayor P. Janardhana Rao, MLC Ratna Kumari, State and Central Government BC Welfare Association general secretary M. Rambabu, and A. Ramesh, president of AU Fisherfolk Employees Welfare Association, spoke.
Students and colleagues of
Prof. B.R. Rao
recall his
discoveries and
path-breaking research on his 10th death anniversary
