Suri Bhagavantam (, ; 14 October 1909 – 6 February 1989) was an Indian scientist and administrator. He was Vice chancellor of

Osmania University Osmania University is a collegiate university, collegiate Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad, issued a ''firman'' calling f ...

and Director of

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

and

Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is an agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, charged with the military's research and development, head ...

Early life

Bhagavantam was born in Agiripalli, a village in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. After primary education in

Gudivada Gudivada is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Gudivada mandal in Gudivada revenue division. It is one of the cities in the state to be a part of Andhra Pradesh Cap ...

, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

from Nizam College, Hyderabad, under

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

. Impressed by the discoveries of C. V. Raman, he relocated to Calcutta and joined him in 1928. After the Nobel Prize-winning discovery, Raman chose Bhagavantam as his collaborator to further his research work. He earned his master's degree in science from Madras University during this period. When Raman joined the

as its director in 1933, he recommended Bhagavantam to join

Andhra University Andhra University is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. It is graded as an A++ institution by NAAC receiving a score of 3.74 on a scale of 4. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Mah ...

, Waltair as lecturer in physics. During that period, he became a popular lecturer and rose to become a professor and head of the department in 1938 and Principal of University College in 1941. The university conferred on him the

D.Sc. A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

degree (''honoris causa''). He wrote the well known book titled ''The Theory of Groups and its Physical Applications'' along with Venkata Rayudu. This book was published in three editions and was translated into Russian. It is often said that a whole generation of spectroscopists are brought up on this book. The other book he wrote here is titled ''Scattering of Light and Raman Effect''. After Indian independence, he joined as scientific adviser to the Indian High Commission in London under

V. K. Krishna Menon Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (3 May 1896 – 6 October 1974) was an Indian academic, independence activist, politician, lawyer, and statesman. During his time, Menon contributed to the Indian independence movement and India's foreign r ...

between 1948 and 1949. He travelled to many European countries and delivered scientific lectures. He returned to India in 1949 and joined

as head of the Physics Department. During this period, there was a spurt in research activity and more than 12 Ph.D. students got their doctorates. He was chosen as vice chancellor in 1952. In 1957, he became the Director of the

in Bangalore and served in that position for five years. He was appointed as the scientific adviser to the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

under the Ministry of Defence headed by Krishna Menon. He joined as Director of the

(DRDO) in 1962 after the Indo-Chinese War when Y B Chavan was the Defence Minister. He retired from the service in 1969. His birth centenary celebrations were held at Osmania University in 2009.

Positions held

*Principal of University College,

. *Vice Chancellor,

in 1952. *He was Director of

between 1957 and 1962. *He was Director of

in 1962 *He was president of the Current Science Association between 1970 and 1976.

References

* S. Bhagavantam — A Tribute, Obituary in

Current Science ''Current Science'' is an English-language peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. It was established in 1932 and is published by the Current Science Association along with the Indian Academy of Sciences. According to the ''Journal Cit ...

, 20 March 1989, Vol. 58 (6), pp. 334. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhagavantam, Suri 1909 births 1989 deaths Telugu people People from Krishna district Scientists from Andhra Pradesh Directors of the Indian Institute of Science Academic staff of Osmania University Academic staff of Andhra University 20th-century Indian physicists