It was double celebrations at the Bangalore-based National Centre of Biological Science (NCBS), a part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), on Monday and Tuesday.
Not only did the institution reach the milestone of having completed 20 years of research existence, its founder Obaid Siddiqi turned 80 recently, prompting the two-day celebrations that looked back at both the journeys with pride.
NCBS has now 23 faculty members and more than 200 students. NCBS uses experimental and computational approaches to the study of molecules, cells and organisms.
Speaking about the reason for choosing to set up NCBS in Bangalore, Mr. Siddiqi, said the idea to set up the centre was mooted when it became clear “development” would have to move outside the erstwhile Bombay.
He also recalled the struggle he went through while establishing the institute.
Sharing his thoughts about the institute, K Vijay Raghavan, Director, NCBS, said: “NCBS is special with free-thinking and non-hierarchal environment necessary for research students. Such culture, if preserved, can have an amplifying effect.”
Satyajit Mayor, Dean of NCBS, added in a lighter vein, “Students who are adventurous enough can come here.”
