Dr K.S.Parthasarathy
19 November 2008
They blazed a trail
By Dr K S Parthasarathy
On 30th October 2008, the Prime Minster, Dr Manmohan Singh, through a video conference from New Delhi, addressed a gathering at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and launched the birth Centenary Celebration of Dr Homi Bhabha. He honoured Govind Swarup, Suresh L. Kati, S. R. Paranjpe and H.S.Kamath, four distinguished scientists with Lifetime Achievement Awards for the year 2007. The awards, instituted for the first time, consisted of Rs. 10 lakhs each and citations.
Prof. Govind Swarup is conferred the award for "his international recognition and outstanding contributions in the field of radio astronomy and for building ingenious radio telescopes for front line research".
Swarup constructed a 530 m long and 30 m wide parabolic, cylindrical radio telescope of an innovative design at Ooty in South India. Using the method of lunar occultation, it provided for the first time, high-resolution angular data for more than one thousand weak radio sources and independent evidence for the Big Bang model.
In his book Bhabha and his magnificent obsessions, G.Venkataraman described in his inimitable style, the story of the Ooty radio telescope, as told by Swarup.
The idea for the radio telescope came to Swarup in a flash in June 1963 while reading two papers in Nature within two months of his joining the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. In August 1963, Bhabha grilled him for a couple of hours and gave him the go ahead for the project.
In January 1965, they chose a site for the telescope at Ooty. "Although the Collector of Nilgiris wondered why we were in such a hurry when the life of a star is billions of years, Bhabha got a prompt response from R Venkataraman, then Minister of industries in Tamil Nadu [later to become the President of India]". He allotted the site and electrical connections in a few months.
During 1987-1996, Swarup was principally responsible for the design and construction of the Giant Meter-wave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in Western India. It is the largest radio telescope in the world operating in the frequency range of about 100-1430 MHz. Hundreds of radio astronomers from India and 22 countries use it.
Shri Suresh Kati provided leadership to master the Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor Technology program and to bring it to commercial level in the country despite innumerable constraints.
Kati and his team designed the reactors at the Narora Atomic Power Station which incorporates the best of the safety features to meet international standards. The design of Narora reactors is the standard for 220MWe reactors in the country. He was the Executive Director of the Group which developed the 500 MWe plant which also required many novel systems to be designed and tested prior to their construction.
"The excellent performance of Indian PHWRs is the result of his original contributions in design and is an overwhelming matter of pride for the nation", the citation added.
Kati has strong views on the choice of nuclear technology for India. In the June 2008 issue of the Nuclear Engineering International, he argued that heavy water moderated organic cooled reactors (HWOCR) are the best choice for India as they cost less to construct.
"A 220 MWe PHWR when converted to function as an HWOCR will have a capacity of 270-280 MWe", he asserted.
Shri H. S. Kamath, BARC, Mumbai got recognition for "his outstanding contributions, particularly in the area of Plutonium fuels technology development programs of the Department of Atomic Energy over the last three decades".
During the early eighties, he handled the responsibility to build the Advanced Fuel Fabrication Facility [AFFF] to fabricate MOX fuel for Tarapur Atomic Power Station [TAPS]. "He played a key role in the plant’s conceptual lay out, its detailed engineering, erection of equipment and machinery, safety clearances and commissioning of the plant".
The MOX plant at Tarapur presently fabricates the fuel for Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor [PFBR-500] under construction at Kalpakkam. Kamath and his team at BARC, Trombay manufactured the unique mixed carbide fuel for the Fast Breeder Test Reactor [FBTR] at Kalpakkam; it received international attention due to its excellent performance.
Kamath along with his team is responsible for fabricating fuels for special purpose research reactors and strategic applications. "He is also an acknowledged expert in safety, security and safeguard issues related to special nuclear material", the citation noted.
Shri S.R.Paranjpe contributed significantly to the Fast Reactor Technology programme of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). He led the Indian team for the Design and construction of Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR).
Realizing that the steam-generator is a critical component for the success of fast reactor programme, he incorporated them in FBTR. He proposed the use of high plutonium carbide, a unique fuel which saw a burn-up of 155 GWd/t without any failure- a unique feat for any carbide fuel in the world.
He was the architect of the Project report of the first design of the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR). "He built up and nurtured a brilliant team of engineers who designed the PFBR, and have the capability to take on the challenges of advanced breeder reactor designs required for the energy security of India".
"Shri Paranjpe is a multifaceted personality, one who practices what he preaches, a brilliant bridge player and a committed believer in Homeopathy", his long time colleague S K Chande, Vice Chairman, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board reminded me.
Why did these exceptionally brilliant persons choose science and technology for a career, leaving greener pastures behind?
"When I graduated, I could not appear for the Indian Railway Service Commission’s examination, I was under aged; later, I appeared and got selected….I got a Class I post in Central Railway. Just before that I had joined the DAE, I chose DAE as it was a new field and that it would be more challenging. I never regretted the decision". Kati confided
The story was similar for many outstanding persons who joined the DAE. (PTI Feature)
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