Talk:Jayant Narlikar

Narlikar, Prof. Jayant Vishnu (b. July 19,1938) (Marathi: प्रा.जयंत विष्णू नारळीकर) is an eminent astrophysicist of India. Narlikar is considered a leading expert and defender of the steady state cosmology. His work on conformal gravity theory with Fred Hoyle, called Hoyle- Narlikar theory, demonstrated a synthesis can be achieved between Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity and Mach’s principle. India’s second highest civilian honour, Padma vibhushan, was awarded to him for his work. Prof. Narlikar is the founder- Director of Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) at Pune, India. As a science fiction writer, Prof narlikar is active in popularising science.

Life and career

Prof. Narlikar was born at Kohlapur, India on July 19, 1938. His father, Vishnu Vasudev Narlikar was an eminent mathematician and general relativist. He was Professor and Head of the Department of Mathematics at the Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. His mother, Sumati Vishnu Narlikar was a sanskrit scholar.

1957 - Jayant topped Banaras Hindu University Bachelor of science examination. That year, He went to Cambridge University in UK to study mathematics further.

1963 - Narlikar did his Ph.D. under the guidance of Scientist Fred Hoyle. That year he went to King’s College, Cambridge as Berry Ramsey Fellow.

1966 - Fred Hoyle established Institute of Theoretical Astronomy in Cambridge. Narlikar became the founder staff member of the institute. That year, Narlikar married Mathematics researcher Ms. Mangala Rajwade,PhD.The couple has three daughters named Geeta, Girija and Leelavati.

1969 - Jayant Narlikar was a Senior Research Fellow King’s College, Cambridge for the next three years

1972 - Narlikar returned to India. He took up Professorship at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. At the TIFR he was in charge of the Theoretical Astrophysics Group, which he developed into a strong center for astrophysics

1988 – India’s University Grants Commission set up the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) at Pune. Narlikar became the Founder-Director of IUCAA.

Research and work

His work on conformal gravity theory with Fred Hoyle, called Hoyle- Narlikar Theory demonstrated a synthesis can be achieved between Einstein’s general theory of relativity and Mach’s principle. In this theory, the inertial mass of a particle is a function of the masses of all other particles, multiplied by a coupling constant that is a function of cosmic epoch. In cosmologies based on this theory, the gravitational constant G decreases strongly with time.

He has authored and co- authored many books that include : An Introduction to Cosmology, From Black Clouds to Black Holes , The Lighter Side of Gravity, Violent Phenomena in the Universe

Prof. Narlikar is active in popularizing science. He has written many articles in leading periodicals and has given lectures. He has written science fiction in Marathi, Hindi and English

Honours and Awards

At Cambridge, Prof. Narlikar became Wrangler in 1959 and achieved distinction at the Part III of the Mathematical Tripos. He has won Tyson medal in astronomy there. He has received the Indira Gandhi Award of the Indian National Science Academy (1990) and the Kalinga Award of UNESCO (1996).

In 2004 Prof. Narlikar was awarded Padma Vibhushan - India's second highest civilian honour.