Having laid the foundations for fermentation technology research in India, he is remembered for the breadth and clarity of his scientific pursuits In 1941, a new Fermentation Technology laboratory was set up at IISc. It was something of a travelling entity, having been founded at the Department of Biochemistry and transferred at different points […]
Category: History
Homecoming: Biochemistry Alumni who Returned to the Institute
PB Seshagiri, Sandhya S Visweswariah and Varsha Singh talk about their academic journeys There is no doubt that IISc attracts some of the best students in the country. But a few of them have come full circle, returning to the Institute – some even to the same building – where they took their baby […]
Neurolathyrism: An Unsolved Mystery
Experiments in PS Sarma’s lab at the Department of Biochemistry in the 1960s explored a mystery disease caused by excess consumption of seeds of a controversial pulse crop For many years, the Department of Biochemistry at IISc worked extensively on nutrition. Its researchers have analysed the importance of vitamin B1 in our diet. They […]
‘I dabbled in many things…and gained a lot of happiness’
PR Krishnaswamy, alumnus of the Department of Biochemistry, has had a distinguished yet unconventional research career. In the second of this two-part profile, he recounts how he went from academia to industry to the corporate world and back, all the while pursuing his research interests It was a rainy day in July 1973 when […]
The Land on Which We Stand
IISc’s neighbourhood has a long and rich history In the late 1890s, JN Tata was hunting for a suitable location for what eventually came to be known as the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). By the early 1900s, Bangalore had become the frontrunner to host the research institute, not least because of the wholehearted support […]
‘They were beautiful experiments that gave me an insight into life’
PR Krishnaswamy, who was a student in the Department of Biochemistry in the 1950s, went on to have a distinguished yet unconventional research career. In the first of this two-part profile, Krishnaswamy, now 91, describes the influence of his mentors in the Department.
The Tatas and Medical Research in India
Tata medical philanthropy in colonial India was not confined to investing in bricks and mortar but also aimed at creating a culture of medical research.
The Birth of Wipro’s Computer Systems Business
IISc’s role in helping Wipro launch its minicomputers in 1981 As one of India’s leading technology companies, Wipro is today largely known for its Information Technology (IT), engineering, and consulting services. But what brought Wipro into the IT industry was its computer systems business in the 1980s. The origins of the company’s most flourishing business […]
‘People took pride in their work and in the Institute’
Jawaharlal Vaid, 88, was at the Institute from 1951 to 1957 at the Department of General and Applied Chemistry (eventually renamed Inorganic and Physical Chemistry), doing his Master’s and PhD. He went on to have a distinguished career in industry, working for the Indian Telephone Industry, and setting up India’s first capacitor plant for Jay […]
Vikram Sarabhai’s years at IISc
2019 is the birth centenary of Vikram Sarabhai, the founder of India’s space programme, who was born in Ahmedabad on 12 August 1919. Sarabhai, pursuing his studies at Cambridge when WWII broke out, returned to India to work with CV Raman at IISc, where he also met Homi J Bhabha. In these excerpts from her […]