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About Jayant Narlikar: Jayant Vishnu Narlikar is a famous Indian astrophysicist and cosmologist who is known for his work in theoretical astrophysics and cosmology. Moreover, he is most renowned for developing the conformal gravity theory. It is a hypothesis that extends the principles of Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Furthermore, Narlikar is a prominent figure in the scientific community as he has increased our understanding of the universe.
Table of Contents
Overview of Jayant Narliakar
Narlikar’s academic journey as well as career have been characterised by countless honours and contributions to the field of astrophysics.
| Jayant Narlikar Biography | |
| Date of Birth | 19th of July 1938 |
| Place of Birth | Kolkahpur, British India now in Maharashtra |
| Partner | Mangala Narlikar |
| Education | Banaras Hindu University |
| Cambridge University | |
| Fields of interest | Astronomy, Physics, Writer |
| Known for | Hoyle-Narlikar Theory of Gravity |
| Quasi-steady State Cosmology | |
What was the Early Life and Education of Jayant Narlikar?
Jayant Narlikar was born on the 19th of July 1938, in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. Narlikar’s early life was majorly influenced by his father, Vishnu Vasudev Narlikar who was a professor of mathematics.
- As he grew up in an academic environment he excelled in his studies, especially in mathematics and science.
- In 1957, Narlikar completed his B.Sc. degree in Physics from Banaras Hindu University.
- This in turn earned him a prestigious Cambridge Nehru Fellowship, thereby allowing him to go through with further studies at the University of Cambridge.
- At the university, he worked under the guidance of eminent scientists such as Fred Hoyle and got his Ph.D. in 1963.
Jayant Narlikar: Career
The career of Jayant Narlikar is a journey filled with many significant contributions to the world of cosmology as well as astrophysics.
- After completing his PhD, he continued his research at Cambridge and worked closely with Fred Hoyle.
- Together, they developed the conformal gravity theory, which challenges some elements of the Big Bang theory.
- In 1972, Narlikar returned to India and had an important part in setting up the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune.
- As the founding director of IUCAA, he gave a platform for advanced research in astronomy and astrophysics in India.
- Additionally, Narlikar has also authored many books and research papers that have been momentous in his field.
- Furthermore, he has also been a visiting professor at many prestigious institutions around the world.
Famous Books by Jayant Narlikar
In addition, other than academic research papers, Narlikar also wrote many non-fiction and a few fiction books related to astrophysics and cosmology. Here are some of those books:
| Books by Jayant Narlikar | ||
| Genre | Year | Book |
| Non-Fiction | 2012 | From Black Clouds to Black Holes (Third Edition) |
| 2008 | Facts and Speculations in Cosmology (with G. Burbridge) | |
| 2006 | Current Issues in Cosmology | |
| 2005 | A Different Approach to Cosmology: From a Static Universe through the Big Bang Towards Reality | |
| 2003 | Fred Hoyle’s Universe | |
| 2003 | Scientific Edge: The Indian Scientist from Vedic to Modern Times | |
| 2002 | An Introduction to Cosmology | |
| 2002 | Creation of Matter and Anomalous Redshifts | |
| 2002 | Absorber Theory of Radiation in Expanding Universes | |
| 2000 | A Different Approach to Cosmology (with G. Burbridge and Fred Hoyle) | |
| 1999 | Quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei: An Introduction | |
| 1996 | From Black Clouds to Black Holes | |
| 1995 | Seven Wonders of the Cosmos | |
| 1992 | Philosophy of Science: Perspectives from Natural and Social Sciences | |
| 1990 | The Extragalactic Universe: An Alternative View (with Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe) | |
| 1989 | Highlights in Gravitation and Cosmology | |
| 1982 | Violent Phenomena in the Universe | |
| 1982 | The Lighter Side of Gravity | |
| 1981 | Physics-Astronomy Frontier (co-author Sir Fred Hoyle) | |
| 1977 | The Structure of the Universe | |
| Fiction | 1989 | The Return of Vaman |
| The Comet | ||
| The Adventure | ||
Awards and Honours of Jayant Narlikar
Furthermore, throughout his career, he has been recognised for his work and has been given many honours and awards. Here are some of the awards and honours of Narlikar:
| Awards and Honours of Jayant Narlikar | ||
| Year | Award/Honour | Presented by |
| 1965 | Padma Bhushan | Government of India |
| 1981 | Rashtra Bhushan | FIE Foundation, Ichalkaranji |
| The late 1980s | Featured on a TV Show “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage” | Carl Sagan |
| 1989 | Atmaram Award | Central Hindi Directorate |
| 1990 | Indira Gandhi Award | Indian National Science Academy |
| 1996 | Kalinga Prize | UNESCO |
| 2004 | Padma Vibhushan | Government of India |
| 2009 | Physical Sciences Jury | Infosys Prize |
| 2010 | Maharashtra Bhushan Award | Government of Maharashtra |
| 2014 | Sahitya Akademi Award for his Autobiography in Marathi | Sahitya Akademi |
| 2021 | Presided over the 94th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan | – |
FAQs
Jayant Narlikar is famous for his work in cosmology, especially proposing alternative models to the prevalent Big Bang theory.
JV Narlikar has many prestigious titles from across the globe. Moreover, in 2004, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan.
Jayant Narlikar won the Sahitya Akademi award in 2014 for his Autobiography in Marathi.
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