Page 90 - CTB-1 10 May

90 PIONEERING A NEW FUTURE
Raman Research Institute
Above: The institute’s founder Sir CV Raman delivering a lecture on physiology of vision at the RRI auditorium
A student from the Soft Condensed Matter group at RRI using an X-ray diffractometer to analyze liquid crystals
Below: Sir CV Raman explaining scientific concepts to visitors
The Raman Research Institute was founded in 1948 by the Indian physicist and Nobel Laureate, Sir CV Raman, to continue his studies and basic research after he retired
from the Indian Institute of Science.
The research conducted at the institute
continually advances knowledge base via an improved understanding of the fundamental laws and behaviour of nature spanning sub- atomic to cosmological length scales,
thereby laying the basic foundation for advancement of science and its component benefits to the society. More importantly,
RRI strives to engender quality research manpower in the above-mentioned areas through its vibrant post-doctoral, doctoral, research assistantship and visiting student programmes. The work quality and quantity
is evidenced by the documented research reports provided annually to the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.
SUCCESS STORIES
Discovery of Discotic Liquid Crystals: One of the key outcomes of the research, which brought fame
to RRI in the post-CV Raman era, was the prediction and discovery by Professors
S Chadrasekhar, BK Sadashiva and KA Suresh in 1977 of
liquid crystals of disc-like
molecules – Discotic Liquid Crystals. Recognized in 1993 by Fuji Films as a solution to the problem of wide viewing screens, Discotic Liquid Crystals are used today in most commercial LCD screens as WV films to provide wide angle viewing. The optical compensation film made of Discotic liquid crystals widens the viewing angle of twisted Nematic LCs, minimizing off-axis leakage, so that brightness contrast and colour fidelity is preserved
over a wide viewing angle.
Key Role in Detection of Gravitational Waves: RRI theoretical physicists/ mathematicians played a key role in the persistent and prescient international effort over several decades that recently detected gravitational waves. Professor Bala Iyer did the detailed general relativity calculations that predicted the precise form of the ‘chirp’ signals from merger of black holes and
Prof CV Visweswara was the first to predict the ‘ring-down’ signal from the end of the merger; both these were obviously validated in the
LIGO detection of a brilliant gravitation wave
in September 2015 from a coalescing black hole binary. It is this foundational and substantial theoretical physics effort that has made it meaningful for India to now be a respected partner in Science Mega Project LIGO and have a LIGO- India station on Indian soil.
LEGACY
RRI is an icon that symbolizes and represents the heritage of Indian physicist and Nobel Laureate
Sir CV Raman, continuing his legacy and style of qualitatively impactful research
that earns the nation a respectable place. The institute preserves the inspirational
spirit of this stalwart of our scientific cultural history.