Ranjan Roy Daniel (also referred to as R. R. Daniel or Rajan Roy) (11 August 1923 – 27 March 2005) was an Indian

Nagercoil Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on ...

born physicist who worked in the fields of

cosmic rays Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our ow ...

and

space physics Space physics, also known as solar-terrestrial physics or space-plasma physics, is the study of plasmas as they occur naturally in the Earth's upper atmosphere ( aeronomy) and within the Solar System. As such, it encompasses a far-ranging number o ...

, and remained Director Chairman of

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is a public deemed research university located in Mumbai, India that is dedicated to basic research in mathematics and the sciences. It is a Deemed University and works under the umbrella of the De ...

.Stephens, S. A. (10 October 2005)
"Ranjan Roy Daniel (1923–2005)"
''Current Science'', Vol. 89, No. 7, pp. 1277–1279,

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute was ...

IISC. He also served as an advisor to the prime minister of

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, Indira Gandhi in 1976. He worked in the field of cosmic rays with

Homi Jehangir Bhabha Homi Jehangir Bhabha, (30 October 1909 – 24 January 1966) was an Indian nuclear physicist, founding director, and professor of physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). Colloquially known as "Father of Indian nuclear pro ...

for 23 years. He was awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished servi ...

in 1992 by the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

, for his contributions to science and engineering.

Early life and education

Daniel was born on 11 August 1923 in

to M.A. Daniel Nadar and Theresa Chellammal Daniel. He was the third of five siblings. He received his early and secondary education at

Scott Christian Higher Secondary School Scott Christian Higher Secondary School (SCHSS) is one of the oldest higher secondary schools in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu. It is being run by CSI Kanyakumari Diocese. It is situated at the centre of the Nagercoil Town. Activities and awar ...

in his hometown,

. After completing secondary school in 1939 from

Scott Christian College Scott Christian College is an autonomous, co-educational, arts and science college in Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu. Run by the Diocese of Kanyakumari of the Church of South India, the college is graded "''A''" under National Assessment and Accreditat ...

, he went on to pursue a BSc in physics from

Loyola College, Chennai Loyola College is a private Catholic higher education institution run by the Society of Jesus in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded in 1925 by the France, French Jesuit priest, Francis Bertram, along with other European Jesuits. It is ...

, the

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

. Under the influence of the Indian Nobel laureate

Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (; 7 November 188821 November 1970) was an Indian physicist known for his work in the field of light scattering. Using a spectrograph that he developed, he and his student K. S. Krishnan discovered that when ...

he was advised to pursue the next phase of his education at

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 191 ...

, from which he received MSc (Physics) degree in 1946.Ghosh, Swarna Kanti (February 2006)
"Remembering Prof. R.R. Daniel"
''Sampark'', Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 9–10. Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

Career

He joined

(TIFR) in 1947 as a scientist. From there he was sponsored by the Indian government to carry out research studies in the UK at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a Red brick university, red brick Russell Group research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Society of Merchant Venturers, Merchant Venturers' sc ...

in 1951. He carried out research in the H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory, headed by the Nobel laureate

C. F. Powell Cecil Frank Powell, FRS (5 December 1903 – 9 August 1969) was a British physicist, and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for heading the team that developed the photographic method of studying nuclear processes and for the resulting discovery of ...

, using nuclear emulsions exposed to cosmic rays at high altitudes. He completed his PhD research under

Donald Hill Perkins Donald Hill Perkins (15 October 1925 – 30 October 2022) was a British physicist and an emeritus professor at the University of Oxford. He achieved great success in the field of particle physics and was also known for his books. Perkins was ...

in April 1953. He went on to TIFR throughout till his retirement in 1988. He was made a Fellow of the

Indian National Science Academy The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is t ...

(INSA) in 1975, and was awarded the Vainu Bappu Award in 1992.

Personal life

He married Serena Padmini, second daughter of G.M. Samuel and Annammal Samuel, in 1948, and the couple had four children. After his retirement he settled in Nagercoil.Serena Padmini
/ref> He died on 27 March 2005 after a prolonged illness.

References

External links

Works by Daniel, R. R. (Ranjan Roy)

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel, Ranjan Roy People from Kanyakumari district Indian astrophysicists 1923 births 2005 deaths Loyola College, Chennai alumni Banaras Hindu University alumni Alumni of the University of Bristol Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering Tata Institute of Fundamental Research faculty 20th-century Indian physicists People from Nagercoil Scientists from Tamil Nadu Cosmic ray physicists