India lost a leading light in the domain of science today, with the passing of astrophysicist and science communicator and Dr Jayant Vishnu Narlikar. The 87-year-old breathed his last early in the morning in Pune, his family said.
He had recently undergone a hip surgery, and is survived by three daughters. His wife Mangala Narlikar, a mathematician, passed away two years ago.
Narlikar was a force to reckon with in cosmology, and gained fame both as a researcher as well as a writer who popularised science. He also set up premier research institutions in the country.
Jayant Vishnu Narlikar: Early life, education and worldwide recognition
Narlikar was born in Kolhapur on July 19, 1938. His father, Vishnu Vasudev Narlikar, was a renowned mathematician, and the head of the Mathematics Department in Banaras Hindu University. His mother, Sumati Vishnu Narlikar, was a Sanskrit scholar. Narlikar did his schooling in Varanasi, and went to Cambridge for higher studies, becoming a Wrangler and Tyson Medallist in the Mathematical Tripos.
He returned to India to join the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (1972-1989), and led the Theoretical Astrophysics Group to international heights.
He rose to international fame with his research in astronomy, and he worked on several research projects with eminent British astronomer and professor Fred Hoyle. The duo propounded the Hoyle–Narlikar theory of gravity (also known as conformal gravity) in 1964, which sought to improve on Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.
He founded the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune in 1988 as per the invitation of the University Grants Commission and served as its first director. He held the directorship of IUCAA until his retirement in 2003.
Narlikar was also a popular science communicator, and popularised science through his books, articles, and radio/TV programmes.
