TENZING NORGAY

Adventurist, First Indian to scale Mount Everest 
Tenzing was the first Indian to scale the highest peak of the world, the Mount Everest (height 8,848 metres) on 29, March 1953. He achieved this mountaineering feat together with Sir Edmund Hillary the well known adventurist of New Zealand.

Tenzing was born in Nepal in a poor family. Tenzing was a follower of Buddhism and had acquired the Indian citizenship in 1933.The childhood name of Tenzing was Namgyal Wagundi. He was also called Khumjung Bhutia.

The Government of India conferred the title of 'Padma Bhushan' on Tenzing in 1959. Tenzing was also awarded the George Medal in recognition of his excellent service in the field of mountaineering. For imparting training in mountaineering the Government of India established the 'Himalayan Mountaineering Institute' at Darjeeling in West Bengal In1954 and Tenzing was appointed Director (training ) in this Institute. Tenzing Norgay was nick named as 'Tiger of Snows'.

SUBRAMANYAN CHANDRASEKHAR Asrtophysicist, Nobel prize winner

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, a Nobel Laureate in Physics and one of the greatest astrophysicists of modern times was born on October 19, 1910 in Lahore, (now in Pakistan) to parents Chandrasekhara Subrahmanya Ayyaa civil servant and Sita Balakrishnan. Being the nephew of the great, C.V. Raman, a Nobel Prize winner in Physics young  Chandrashekhar's interest in the subject came naturally to him. 

In 1930, at the age of 19, he completed his degree in Physics from Presidency College, Madras and went to England for postgraduate studies at the Cambridge University. Chandrasekhar was noted for his work in the field of stellar evolution, and in the early 1930s he was the first to theorize that a collapsing massive star would become an object so dense that not even light could escape it; now known as the Black hole. He demonstrated that there is an upper limit ( known as 'Chandrasekhar Limit' ) to the mass of a White dwarf star. His theory challenged the common scientific notion of the 1930s that all stars, after burning up their fuel, became faint, planet-sized remnants known as white dwarfs. But today, the extremely dense neutron stars and black holes implied by Chandrasekhar’s early work are a central part of the field of astrophysics.

Initially his theory was rejected by peers and professional journals in England. The distinguished astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington publicly ridiculed his suggestion that stars could collapse into such objects( black holes). Disappointed, and reluctant to engage in public debate, Chandrasekhar moved to America and in 1937 joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Chicago and remained there till his death. At Chicago, he immersed himself in a personalized style of research and teaching, tackling first one field of astrophysics and then another in great depth. He wrote more than half a dozen definitive books describing the results of his investigations. More than 100,000 copies of his highly technical books have been sold. He also served as editor of the Astrophysical Journal, the field’s leading journal, for nearly 20 years; presided over a thousand colloquia; and supervised Ph.D. research for more than 50 students.

DR. H. J. BHABHA

Father of Indian nuclear science, 1st chairman of Atomic Energy Commission

The eminent scientist who ushered India into the atomic age was Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha. He was born on 30 October 1909 in a Parsi family of Mumbai. He is called the 'Father of Indian Nuclear Science'.

Dr.Bhabha was appointed the first chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, set up in 1948. It was largely due to his efforts that the nation's first Atomic research Center, now named Bhabha Atomic research Center, was established at Trombay, near Mumbai. Under his expert guidance the nation's first atomic reactor 'Apsara' was also commissioned in 1956. In 1945, he founded the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai.

Dr.Bhabha had a highly distinguished career and was an exceptionally bright student. Even as a student, he made some fundamental discoveries in electricity, magnetism, quantum theory and the cosmic rays.

Dr.Bhabha as the scientist of a very high caliber, received many national and international awards and honours. In 1942, he was awarded the 'Adams' award. In 1951, Bhabha was elected the president of the Indian Science Congress. In 1955, he was elected the chairman of the U.N. sponsored International conference on the peaceful uses of the atomic energy held in Geneva. The Government of India also honoured him with 'Padma Bhushan' in 1954. The 'Homi Jehangir Bhabha Award' has been instituted by Indian National Science Academy. He passed away in 1966 in a plane crash.

MEGHNAD SAHA

Physicist, Discoverer of Thermo- Ionisation Equation
Meghnad Saha, one of the famous Physicist was born in Saroyatali village in Dacca (now in Bangladesh). He invented an instrument to measure the weight and pressure of solar rays.  He produced the famous equation which he called 'equation of the reaction - isobar for ionization' which later became known as Saha's "Thermo-Ionization Equation". 

Saha was the leading spirit in organizing the scientific societies like the 'National Academy of Science' (1930), 'Indian Institute of Science' (1935) and the 'Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science' (1944). The lasting memorial to him is the 'Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics' founded in 1943 in Calcutta. He was the chief architect of river planning in India. He prepared the original plan for Damodar Valley Project.

DR.SHANTI SWAROOP BHATNAGAR Father of Research Laboratories

Dr. Shanti  Swaroop Bhatnagar is known as 'The Father of Research Laboratories'. He is remembered for having established various chemical laboratories in the country. 

He was born in Bera, Punjab. After completing his M.Sc in India he went to England on a fellowship. On his return he served as a professor in Benaras Hindu University. He used to spent all his spare time in his laboratory doing research.

He was awarded the title 'Sir' by the British in recognition of his service to Science, in 1941. As Nehru was much in favour of scientific development after Independence, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research was set up under the chairmanship of Dr. Bhatnagar. Later, he was awarded 'Padma Bhushan'. He became the first director-general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in 1940. After his death, CSIR established a Bhatnagar Memorial award for eminent scientists in his honour.

SRINIVASA RAMANUJAN Mathematician

Srinivasa Ramanujan  was a great Mathematician, who became world  famous at the age of twenty six. He was born at Erode in Tamil Nadu on 22 December 1887. 

Ramanujan could not complete his college education because of illness. He was so interested in mathematics that he learned on his own. He found out new formulas for solving mathematical problems and wrote articles about them. Professor Hardy a scientist in the Cambridge University saw one his article and impressed by his knowledge, took Ramanujan to England.  

Ramanujan was considered as the master of theory of numbers. The most outstanding of his contributions was his formula for p (n), the number of 'partitions' of 'n'. It was in 1914, while he was working in Trinity College he developed the 'Number Theory' and for his valuable contribution, was elected fellow of Trinity College on 18th October 1917. He returned to India in 1919 and began Research. He passed away on 26 April 1920. Government of India issued a commemorative stamp in his honour. Indian National Science academy and many other scientific institutions in India are giving various awards in memory of this brilliant mathematician.

Lakshmi Mittal Chairman and CEO of Mittal Steel

Steel Tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, the 57 year old non resident Indian living in Kensington, London, is the fourth richest person in the world, with a personal fortune of US$45.0 billion according to Forbes magazine. The Financial Times named Lakshmi Mittal its 2006 Person of the Year. This London-based Indian billionaire industrialist, was named one of the "100 most influential people" by Time magazine in May 2007. He was also listed as the richest person in Britain in the Sunday Times Rich list 2005. Since 2005, Mittal has been the richest person residing in the United Kingdom, the richest person in Asia and the 4th richest person on the planet. He is the President of the Board of Directors and CEO of Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest producer of steel. Arcelor Mittal is the combination of the world’s number one and number two steel companies, Arcelor and Mittal Steel.

Lakshmi Narayan Mittal alias Lakshmi Niwas Mittal was born on June 15th, 1950, in Sadulpur, a village which didn't have electricity until 1960's, in Rajasthan, India. His family moved to Calcutta in West Bengal, where he studied accounting and business at the prestigious St. Xavier’s College. His father Mohan Lal Mittal had set up a small steel mill in Calcutta.  After class, Mittal used to work in his father's company. 

After finishing his Bachelor of Commerce degree in business and accounting with first class, Mittal began his career in his father's steel firm in the early seventies. Realizing the fact that opportunities in India are limited for him, Mittal moved to Indonesia in 1976 and with his father's backing founded a steel plant, Ispat Indo and made the company a success. There began a saga of triumphs for the shrewd businessman.