Eminent scientist C.N.R. Rao has paid rich tributes to long-time friend and colleague, the organic chemist M.V. George, who passed away on Monday.
On Wednesday, Prof. Rao, accompanied by his wife Indumati, set up an endowment at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER Thiruvananthapuram) for an annual lecture on science commemorating Prof. George.
The endowment amount would come to approximately ₹15 lakh, J.N. Moorthy, Director, IISER Thiruvananthapuram, said. “It would give us the opportunity to invite distinguished scientists for annual lectures. We will also be able to offer them a prize of approximately ₹75,000,” he said.
Before delivering a talk on ‘Can India get to the top in science?’, Prof. Rao also spoke briefly about his long association with Prof. George.
“We were professors together at IIT-Kanpur. George was my companion in building the department (of Chemistry),” he said.
Prof. George, who died in Thiruvananthapuram aged 91, was instrumental in the development of photochemistry research in India. He had joined the Department of Chemistry of IIT-Kanpur in 1963, where he helped Prof. Rao and Prof. P.T. Narasimhan, develop it as one of the best in the country.
Prof. George was instrumental in establishing the Photochemistry Research Unit at the Regional Research Laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram (RRL-T), later renamed the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST).
Both Prof. Rao and Prof. George had also played pivotal roles in the establishment of IISER Thiruvananthapuram.
