The Early History of Particle Physics in India

The story of how research into the physics of cosmic rays and elementary particles began in India will be told in simple and non-technical language. Starting from the days before the First World War, the growth of research in this area will be traced more or less till the nineteen-sixties. On the way small anecdotes of the major personalities will be told. Finally, we shall discuss some lessons which can be learned from this historical exercise.

About the Speaker:
The speaker specialises in the physics of elementary particles and their interactions. A Ph.D. from the University of Calcutta, he has been a postdoc in TIFR and CERN and was on faculty of IIT Kanpur for several years before joining TIFR. Most of his research work has focussed on collider physics and the search for new physics beyond the Standard Model. He is interested in popularising science and also in the history of science as it developed in India.