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Some of his honors and awards include:
Some of his honors and awards include:


* 1985{{Spaced en dash}}[[SS Bhatnagar Prize]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=INSA :: Indian Fellow Detail|url=http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Jie0e59iR2AJ:www.insaindia.res.in/detail/N79-0510+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us|access-date=2020-12-16|website=webcache.googleusercontent.com}}</ref>
* 1985{{Spaced en dash}}[[SS Bhatnagar Prize]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=INSA :: Indian Fellow Detail|url=http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Jie0e59iR2AJ:www.insaindia.res.in/detail/N79-0510+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us|access-date=2020-12-16|website=webcache.googleusercontent.com}}</ref><ref name=":3" />
* 1987{{Spaced en dash}}[[Padma Bhushan]], India's third highest civilian award.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Writer|first=Staff|date=2020-12-15|title='Pained by his demise': PM Modi condoles death of Professor Roddam Narasimha|url=https://www.livemint.com/news/india/-pained-by-his-demise-pm-modi-condoles-death-of-aerospace-scientist-roddam-narasimha-11608014788602.html|access-date=2020-12-16|website=mint|language=en}}</ref>
* 1987{{Spaced en dash}}[[Padma Bhushan]], India's third highest civilian award.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Writer|first=Staff|date=2020-12-15|title='Pained by his demise': PM Modi condoles death of Professor Roddam Narasimha|url=https://www.livemint.com/news/india/-pained-by-his-demise-pm-modi-condoles-death-of-aerospace-scientist-roddam-narasimha-11608014788602.html|access-date=2020-12-16|website=mint|language=en}}</ref>
* 1990{{Spaced en dash}}[[Gujarmal Modi]] Award<ref name=":0" />
* 1990{{Spaced en dash}}[[Gujarmal Modi]] Award<ref name=":0" />
* 1998{{Spaced en dash}}[[S. Ramanujan]] Medal, Indian Science Congress<ref name=":0" />
* 1998{{Spaced en dash}}[[S. Ramanujan]] Medal, Indian Science Congress<ref name=":0" />

Revision as of 05:58, 16 December 2020

Roddam Narasimha
Born(1933-07-20)July 20, 1933
DiedDecember 14, 2020(2020-12-14) (aged 87)
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Alma materMysore University
Indian Institute of Science
California Institute of Technology
Scientific career
FieldsFluid dynamics
Thesis Some Flow Problems in Rarefied Gas Dynamics [1][2]  (1961)
Doctoral advisorHans W. Liepmann[3]
Doctoral studentsK. R. Sreenivasan[4]
Rama Govindarajan[5]

Roddam Narasimha (20 July 1933 – 14 December 2020) was an Indian aerospace scientist and fluid dynamicist. He was a Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science (1962–1999), Director of the National Aerospace Laboratories (1984–1993) and the Chairman of the Engineering Mechanics Unit at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore (2000–2014).[6] He was the DST Year-of-Science Chair Professor at JNCASR and concurrently held the Pratt & Whitney Chair in Science and Engineering at the University of Hyderabad. Narasimha was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian award, in 2013.[7]

Early life

Narasimha was born on July 20, 1933. His family traces its origins to Roddam, a village in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.[8] His father, R.L. Narasimhaiah, was a professor of physics in Bangalore's Central College, and was also a Kannada language science writer with a focus on physics and astronomy.[9]

Narasimha completed his schooling at Acharya Pathasala in the Gandhi Bazaar neighborhood of Bangalore.[8] He gained his graduate degree in mechanical engineering from University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering in Bangalore, which was affiliated with Mysore University. During this time he visited the Tata Institute (now known as the Indian Institute of Science), where the Spitfire aircraft displayed in the aeronautical department caught his interest. After his graduation in 1953, while he was encouraged by his family members to accept a job with the Indian Railways or with Burmah Shell, he joined the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore for his masters in engineering, which he completed in 1955.[10] During this time he worked with Satish Dhawan, who later chaired the Indian Space Research Organisation. He then went to the United States to complete his doctorate in 1961 under Hans Liepmann at the California Institute of Technology.[11]

Career

Narasimha started his research career at Caltech, working on the problem of jet engine noise reduction. However, with the launch of Russian Sputnik and the resulting interest in space programs had him shifting focus to rarefied gas and fluid dynamics working with Hans W. Liepmann.[12] He further continued his research in this topic at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he went on to studying aerodynamics and supersonic flows toward better understanding the structure of shockwaves. It is mentioned that during this time, he worked on one of the space agency's first computers.[12]

He returned to India, in 1962, and joined the Indian Institute of Science as a professor in its Aeronautical engineering department and continued his focus on fluid dynamics studying turbulent flow and relaminarization which included study of fluid flow from turbulent to laminar forms, or from chaotic to streamlined forms.[12]

He served multiple academic and research positions including Professor at the Indian Institute of Science (1962–1999) during which he was the ISRO K.R. Ramanathan distinguished professor from 1994 to 1999, Director of the National Aerospace Laboratories (1984–1993), Director National Institute of Advanced Studies (1997–2004) and the Chairman of the Engineering Mechanics Unit at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore (2000–2014).[13] He was the DST Year-of-Science Chair Professor at JNCASR and also held the Pratt & Whitney Chair in Science and Engineering at the University of Hyderabad.[12][14] He was a member of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's scientific advisory council.[12] He was also a visiting member of the faculty at foreign universities including University of Brussels, Caltech, University of Cambridge, Langley Research Center, University of Strathclyde and University of Adelaide.[12]

During his time at the National Aerospace Laboratories, he led the research efforts into parallel computing as means to solve fluid dynamics problems.[12] He was also a member of the investigation team under Satish Dhawan in 1970, that studied the airworthiness of Indian Airlines Avro 748.[12][15]

He was the longest-serving member of the Indian Space Commission, a policy making body for space exploration in India.[12] He resigned from this position in February 2012, in protest at the blacklisting of three former ISRO technocrats including G. Madhavan Nair, former ISRO chairman, for their perceived role in a controversial agreement between ISRO's commercial entity Antrix and Devas Multimedia in 2005.[16][17]

Honours

Narasimha was a honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, and also of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He was a distinguished alumnus of Caltech and the IISc.[18][19] He was also a foreign associate of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences in the United States.[20]

Some of his honors and awards include:

He was the author of more than 200 research publications and fifteen books.[27]

Books

  • Narasimha, Roddam (1961). Orifice Flow at High Knudsen Numbers. Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory.
  • Narasimha, Roddam (1962). Collisionless Expansion of Gases Into Vacuum. Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory.
  • Narasimha, Roddam; Ojha, S. K. (1967). Effect of Longitudinal Surface Curvature on Boundary Layers.
  • Narasimha, Roddam; Srinivasan, J.; Biswas, S. K. (2003). The Dynamics of Technology: Creation and Diffusion of Skills and Knowledge. SAGE. ISBN 978-0-7619-9670-5.
  • Kalam, APJ Abdul; Narasimha, Roddam; Dhawan, Satish (1988). Developments in Fluid Mechanics and Space Technology: Asian Congress of Fluid Mechanics.
  • Narasimha, Roddam (2020). Vijnaana Samskriti: ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ: ರೊದ್ದಂ ನರಸಿಂಹ ಅವರ ಆಯ್ದ ಬರಹಗಳ ಅನುವಾದ [Vijnaana Samskriti: Translations of the writings of Roddam Narasimha into Kannada]. Akshara.

Personal life

Narasimha was married and had a daughter. He died on December 14, 2020 from brain haemorrhage at the MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital in Bangalore. He was aged 87. He had earlier had a heart attack and had suffered a brain stroke in 2018.[28]

References

  1. ^ Narasimha, Roddam (1961). Some flow problems in rarefied gas dynamics (phd thesis). California Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Caltech Thesis Library - Roddam Narasimha" (PDF). Caltech Library. Retrieved 15 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "Roddam Narasimha - The Mathematics Genealogy Project". Genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Katepalli R. Sreenivasan". Mathematics Geneaology Project. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  5. ^ Desikan, Shubashree; Kulkarni, Tanu (16 December 2020). "An intellect with a passion for learning, discussing and teaching". The Hindu. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Prof Roddam Narasimha, former Director of CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (from 1984 to 1993) is no more. - CSIR - NAL". www.nal.res.in. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Padma Awards". pib. 29 January 2013. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  8. ^ a b "Aakaasha Raaya – Bhāvanā". Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Roddam Narasimha: A keen scientific mind and scholar". The Week. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  10. ^ "Caltech Aerospace (GALCIT)". Galcit.caltech.edu. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Flow Problems in Rarefied Gas Dynamics" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sandhya Ramesh (15 December 2020). "Aerospace scientist Roddam Narasimha, 'an authority on fluid dynamics', dies at 87". ThePrint. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Prof Roddam Narasimha, former Director of CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (from 1984 to 1993) is no more. - CSIR - NAL". www.nal.res.in. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Narasimha Roddam - Academic profile". www.jncasr.ac.in. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Above the Clouds – Bhāvanā". Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  16. ^ "Roddam Narasimha quits Space Commission". TheHindu.com. Associated Press. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
  17. ^ "Eminent Indian space scientist quits in protest". TDNPost.com. 24 February 2012. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
  18. ^ "Caltech Aerospace (GALCIT) | Distinguished Alumni". Galcit.caltech.edu. 31 October 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  19. ^ "Distinguished Alumni List". Indian Institute of Science. Archived from the original on 15 March 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  20. ^ "2000 NAS New Member Elections". .nationalacademies.org. 2 May 2000. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  21. ^ a b c d e "INSA :: Indian Fellow Detail". webcache.googleusercontent.com. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  22. ^ a b Writer, Staff (15 December 2020). "'Pained by his demise': PM Modi condoles death of Professor Roddam Narasimha". mint. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  23. ^ "Nature - Prize Winners of the Year (2008)" (PDF). Nature. Retrieved 15 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. ^ "Honour for scientist Roddam Narasimha". The Hindu.com. Associated Press. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
  25. ^ "Padma Vibhushan Awardee Aerospace Scientist Roddam Narasimha Dies At 87". Outlook India. Retrieved 16 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  27. ^ "Narasimha Roddam - Publications". Jncasr.ac.in. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  28. ^ "Padma Vibhushan awardee and eminent aerospace scientist Roddam Narasimha dies". Hindustan Times. 15 December 2020. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
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