Two Chandrasekhars and their students

I discuss the legacy of two important individuals Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Sivaramakrishna Chandrasekhar and their students. I highlight their styles of doing research and how they inspired important schools of thought. I emphasize the role of economic privilege and gender. I discuss Bimala Buti and mention about interesting books on women in science : Lilavatis Daughters and Lab Hopping.

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“Chandra :: About Chandra :: Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar – The Man Behind The Name.” Accessed June 14, 2023. https://chandra.harvard.edu/about/chandra.html.

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Chandrasekhar, S. Liquid Crystals. Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Cladis, Patricia E., Banahalli R. Ratna, and Ranganathan Shashidar. “S. Chandrasekhar (1930–2004): Discotic Liquid Crystals.” Angewandte Chemie International Edition 43, no. 26 (2004): 3360–3360. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.200460918.

Dunmur, David, and Tim Sluckin. Soap, Science, and Flat-Screen TVs: A History of Liquid Crystals. Oxford University Press, 2014. https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Soap_Science_and_Flat_Screen_TVs/2iSQDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover.

Goodby, John W. “Sivaramakrishna Chandrasekhar (1930–2004).” Nature 428, no. 6986 (April 2004): 906–906. https://doi.org/10.1038/428906a.

Gray, G. W., G. R. Luckhurst, and E. P. Raynes. “Sivaramakrishna Chandrasekhar. 6 August 1930 — 8 March 2004: Elected FRS 1983.” Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 53 (January 2007): 127–41. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.2007.0015.

Great Indians: Professor Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-lJjR7pM7k.

“Imprints Collection.” Accessed June 17, 2023. https://wwws.rri.res.in/htmls/library/imprints_collection/bios/obituary_chandrasekhar.html.

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“Kameshwar C. Wali.” In Wikipedia, May 16, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kameshwar_C._Wali&oldid=1155091599.

Kumar, G. V. Pavan. “Raman’s Nephews.” Scatterings (blog), February 27, 2020. https://backscattering.wordpress.com/2020/02/28/ramans-nephews/.

“Lilavatis Daughters | Women in Science | Initiatives | Indian Academy of Sciences.” Accessed June 17, 2023. https://www.ias.ac.in/Initiatives/Women_in_Science/Lilavatis_Daughters.

NobelPrize.org. “The Nobel Prize in Physics 1983.” Accessed June 14, 2023. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1983/chandrasekhar/biographical/.

Penguin Random House India. “Lab Hopping.” Accessed June 17, 2023. https://penguin.co.in/book/lab-hopping/.

“Prof. G S Ranganath.” Accessed June 14, 2023. https://wwws.rri.res.in/htmls/library/imprints_collection/album/Prof.%20G%20S%20Ranganath/index.html#.

“Prof G S Ranganath | Imprints Collection | Raman Research Institute.” Accessed June 14, 2023. https://wwws.rri.res.in/htmls/library/imprints_collection/bios/gsrangnath.html.

“Prof G Srinivasan.” Accessed June 14, 2023. https://wwws.rri.res.in/htmls/library/imprints_collection/album1/Prof%20G%20Srinivasan/index.html.

“Prof. G. Srinivasan | Imprints Collection | Raman Research Institute.” Accessed June 14, 2023. https://wwws.rri.res.in/htmls/library/imprints_collection/bios/srinivasan.html.

“Prof. S. Chandrasekhar | Imprints Collection | Raman Research Institute.” Accessed June 14, 2023. https://wwws.rri.res.in/htmls/library/imprints_collection/bios/chandrasekhar.html.

“Sivaramakrishna Chandrasekhar.” In Wikipedia, February 8, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sivaramakrishna_Chandrasekhar&oldid=1138214704.

“The Women Scientists of India | Women in Science | Initiatives | Indian Academy of Sciences.” Accessed June 17, 2023. https://www.ias.ac.in/Initiatives/Women_in_Science/The_Women_Scientists_of_India.

Wali, Kameshwar C. A Quest for Perspectives: Selected Works of S Chandrasekhar (With Commentary)(In 2 Volumes). IMPERIAL COLLEGE PRESS, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1142/p175.

———. A Scientific Autobiography: S Chandrasekhar. WORLD SCIENTIFIC, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1142/7686.

Wali, Kameshwar C. Chandra: A Biography of S. Chandrasekhar. Centennial Publications of the University of Chicago Press. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1992. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo3774392.html.

Wali, Kameshwar C. S Chandrasekhar: The Man Behind the Legend. PUBLISHED BY IMPERIAL COLLEGE PRESS AND DISTRIBUTED BY WORLD SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHING CO., 1997. https://doi.org/10.1142/p030.

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Author: G.V. Pavan Kumar

Namaste, Hola & Welcome from G.V. Pavan Kumar. I am a Professor of Physics at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, India. My research interests are : (1) Optics & Soft Matter: Optically Induced Forces – Assembly, Dynamics & Function; (2) History and Philosophy of Science – Ideas in Physical Sciences. I am interested in the historical and philosophical evolution of ideas and tools in the physical sciences and technology. I research the intellectual history of past scientists, innovators, and people driven by curiosity, and I write about them from an Indian and Asian perspective. My motivation is to humanize science. In the same spirit, I write and host my podcast Pratidhvani – Humanizing Science.

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