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Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (August 12, 1919 – December 31, 1971) was an Indian physicist. He is considered the Father of the . Many Indians consider him to be a national hero.
Early years Vikram Sarabhai was born in Ahmedabad, India to an affluent, business family. He was one of eight children of Sarla Devi and Ambalal Sarabhai. After his studies at the Gujarat College at Ahmedabad, he thought of going to England for higher studies in Physics. In 1937, he left for England and joined St. John's College, Cambridge University where he received his undergraduate degree in 1940. In 1943, when he was just 23, Vikram went up the Himalayan mountains to conduct experiments on cosmic rays under the tutelage of Nobel laureate Sir C.V.Raman. He was successful in his efforts. He was awarded a Ph.D. by Cambridge University in 1947 for his studies on this subject. Indian Space Program The establishment of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was one of his greatest achievements. He successfully convinced the government of the importance of a space programme for a developing country like India after the Russian, Sputnik launch. Dr. Sarabhai emphasized the importance of a space program in his quote: "There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or the planets or manned space-flight." "But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society." Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha, widely regarded as the father of India's nuclear science program, supported Dr. Sarabhai in setting up the first rocket launching station in India. This center was established at Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram on the coast of the Arabian Sea, primarily because of its proximity to the equator. After a remarkable effort in setting up the infrastructure, personnel, communication links, and launch pads, the innaugural flight was launched on November 21 1963 with a sodium vapour payload. As a result of dialogue with NASA, Dr. Sarabhai launched the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) during July 1975 - July 1976. Dr. Sarabhai started a project for the fabrication and launch of an Indian Satellite. As a result, the first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, was put in orbit in 1975 from a Russian Cosmodrome. Dr. Sarabhai was very interested in science education and founded a Community Science Centre at Ahmedabad in 1966. Today, the Centre is called the Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre. He led the family's 'Sarabhai' diversified business group. His interests varied from science to sports to statistics. He set up Operations Research Group (ORG), the first market research organization in the country. Dr Vikram Sarabhai established many institutes which are of international repute. Most notable among them are IIMs(Indian Institute Of Management) which are considered world class for their management studies. Also he helped establishing PRL(Physical Research Laboratory) which is doing commendable job in R&D in Physics. Dr Vikram Sarabhai setup ATIRA (Ahmedabad Textiles Industrial Research Association) which helped the booming textiles business in Ahmedabad. He also setup CEPT(Center for Environmental Planning and Technology). Not stopping with all these he went ahead and setup BMA (Blind Men Association) which helps visually challenged people with necessary skills and support.(Akash Shah) Personal life He was married to the notable Indian classical dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai. They had a son, Kartikeya and a daughter Mallika who went on to attain fame in dance. Vikram Sarabhai died in his sleep at a young age of 52 on 31 December 1971. Awards Distinguished Positions Honors The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, (VSSC), a research institute specialising in solid and liquid propellants for rockets located in the South Indian city of Trivandrum, or (Thiruvananthapuram) is named in his memory. Along with other Ahmedabad-based industrialists, he played a major role in the creation of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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