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Young World
WORLD OF SCIENCE
Man of varied interests
DR. T. V. PADMA
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Homi Bhabha was devoted to the cause of peace.
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Dr. Homi Bhabha was a brilliant scientist. In collaboration with Walter Heitler he developed a theory regarding cosmic ray showers termed the Cascade theory. A phenomenon discovered by him is named “Bhabha Scattering”. In 1939, he set up the Cosmic Ray Research Unit at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
He is chiefly remembered for his role in the development of atomic energy. He was the first Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (1948) and Secretary of the Atomic Energy Department (1954). He was instrumental in starting the construction of India’s first atomic power plant in Tarapur.
Pioneering work
Bhabha was devoted to the cause of peace. He led the way in the campaign for the development of atomic energy for peaceful purposes. In recognition, he was made the president of the UN Atom for Peace Conference in 1959.
His leadership of the atomic energy programme continued for 22 years. He took the help of the Tata Trust in starting an institution devoted to fundamental Research. This resulted in the creation of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, which today is one of the premier research institutions in the world. The institution was originally situated in Bhabha’s ancestral home in Bombay!
Bhabha was a man of wide interests. He encouraged research in many fields including electronics, space, radio astronomy and micro-biology. He started building the radio telescope in Ooty which was completed in 1970. A connoisseur of art, he requested M. F. Hussain to paint a mural at TIFR when he was a relative unknown. He never lost touch with small, practical details. When he heard that a Baobab tree was going to be uprooted from a busy street of Bombay, he arranged for it to be transplanted in the TIFR grounds!
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