National Science Day: Nation remembers Sir CV Raman

01 March, 2013

National Science Day (NSD) in India is observed on 28th February to honour our Nobel laureate Sir CV Raman for his invention of the Raman effect related to scattering of light. A number of science-related events were held all over India on the occasion of NSD-2013. Besides being awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, he was also conferred with the Bharat Ratna and Lenin Peace Prize.

It may be recalled that Sir C. V. Raman worked at Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata from 1907 to 1933 on various topics of Physics. On February 28th, 1928, he announced the discovery of the Raman effect at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore to win Noble Prize in physics in 1930 for it to become the first Asian and a non-White to get any Nobel Prize in science.

Sir CV Raman (1888-1970) was born into a Hindu Brahmin family in Tiruchirapalli and as a bright student and fast learner passed his secondary school education at an age of eleven and received his higher education at prestigious Presidency College in Madras to complete his B.Sc. at the age of fifteen with a gold medal in Physics. He passed M.Sc. with distinction at an age of seventeen, as per The Hindu.

It was in 1954, Sir CV Raman was awarded the Bharat Ratna and honoured with the Lenin Peace Prize in 1957. To celebrate the date of discovery of Raman Effect., in 1986, the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) designated February 28 as National Science Day.

This year, the American Chemical Society has designated the 'Raman Effect' as an 'International Historic Chemical Landmark' in the field of science.